Small world, large minds and hearts

It's an amazing world. Last night we got a text message from David including a picture of Ethan sitting on a bench overlooking the Tacoma narrows and Salmon Beach.  David lived on Salmon Beach when he was in college and now he gets to take his son to visit his old college haunts while visiting family in Seattle.  Just this weekend we skyped with Chris in South Africa. We could see him clear as day in the chill of South African winter. On Wednesday Judy and I will fly to St. Petersburg and then on to Tallinn for the graduation at the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary where I will be delivering the commencement address.  And in that one paragraph, I just referred to three things that weren't even possible in the recent past--"text messages", "skyping" and visiting the former Soviet Union, let alone an entirely new South Africa. In so many ways, the world has become so small.  We can travel anywhere in the world in 24 hours, we can talk in "real time" with live video and we can create friendships or stay in touch in ways we never would have imagined when I was Ethan's, or even David and Chris's age.

But a small world calls for large hearts and minds.  Regrettably, the two do not always go together. The persecution of Christians in the "new" Egypt, the on-going strife in Libya, Afghanistan and Syria, the lack of vision and/or will among our national leaders to find common ground rather than political pettiness and partisan narrowness all suggest that even as the world has become smaller, sometimes our minds and hearts become smaller still.

It makes me proud to be part of a denomination that seeks to be a place of  "open hearts, open minds, open doors", rooted in the history of Wesley's theme--"The World is my Parish". It makes me proud to be part of a congregation that has a commitment to mission across the small global village.  It makes me proud to be part of a church committed to providing the best program and facility we can for the sake of future generations.

Oh sure, there will always be pockets of pettiness and small thinking, those we are unable to catch the larger vision and choose not to be part of the forward movement of the world or the church. We have a United Methodist general conference coming up and on the way we will see plenty of that. But I am convinced the future belongs to those who can look beyond their own narrow concerns and grasp a vision of what the world and the church can be and should be like in the days and decades ahead.  I am so grateful for those who have caught the vision of what a renewed fellowship hall can mean for the ministry of this church.  I feel so blessed to be able to share in the ministry of the church in Estonia, Costa Rica, Detroit and around the world. I mean, a few decades ago who would have ever guessed we would be skyping and text-messaging, visiting Russia or celebrating South Africa, or sending Monday Memos on the internet?

A small world calls for a large minds and hearts.