1. The Bush Still Burns

Several years ago, I wrote a bi-weekly column for the Missouri West United Methodist Review. I titled it "...After the Burning Bush" for a couple of reasons. First, I recognized that I have been chasing after burning bushes, as in the bush that burned for Moses in Exodus 3, throughout my life. It is sometimes hard to know whether God started the search with a bush that was burning for me, or if I started it because I was looking for God. The starting point is pre-memory for me, and it probably doesn't matter since it has been a dance ever since. One bush burns when I don't expect it, then I go looking for another bush to burn when I can no longer see the last one.

Second, the title was an attempt to answer the question, "What do we do after the bush has burned in front of us?" The instructions and expectations were clearly stated to Moses. They have not always been as clear for me; however, I have always known that I don't get to stay on the hillside and enjoy the view. While it would be nice to sit down and muse about the greatness of one who can burn with out wilting, that would be missing the point. God did not pay a visit to Moses in order to impress Moses, but to spur Moses to action. The same is true for me.

So, the original newspaper column was designed to help me both search for and respond to the burning bushes in my life. This blog will serve the same purpose, though for a different audience. While it is fine for anyone to listen in, my focus will be on the pastors and lay persons of the United Methodist churches in northwest Missouri. That is because one of the more recent bushes called me to this place and these people. We do have a Phaoraoh to confront, some plagues to avoid, and miracles to behold. Perhaps there will be some others who journey with me through this blog. If so, welcome!