May 21, 2012
Pastorgraphs: “Unplugged”
San Diego Gas & Electric turned our
power off Friday night. No, it was not for an unpaid bill. It was a “planned
outage” with a couple weeks’ notice. The purpose was to unplug our
neighborhood’s old fashioned power system (with light poles and overhead wires)
for an upgrade to a new underground cabling system.
Unlike the Big Bad Blackout last September
that threw millions into darkness for 12 hours, we were expecting and looking
forward to this one. Without it, Jamacha Boulevard, which we travel each day to
get home, cannot be widened to four lanes. Some of the light poles are in the
right of way. A legal battle has held this project up for the entire twelve
years we have lived here. Now, having a four lane road with sidewalks and no
more unsightly power lines is within a couple months of reality.
Based on what we learned in September, we
charged up everything that has batteries, and prepared to “camp out” in our
home from 10:00 PM Friday to 7:00 AM Saturday, the time SDG&E said it would
take for the transfer.
What surprised me is how uncomfortable I
was during this transition. Normally, I follow Ben Franklin’s “early to bed”
advice, but like a child on Christmas Eve, I stayed up to watch the power go
off at 10:03 PM. It was so unusually quiet, I couldn’t get to sleep until about
midnight. Then at 3:33 AM, I awoke to the pop of our power coming back online.
We survived another power outage. And we are better off.
I shared this story in my report on the
District Realignment Task Force’s recommendations to the San Diego District
Pre-Conference Briefing Saturday morning. For me, it provided some lessons for
how to deal with change, and how the “unplugged” period between the old and new
systems provides opportunity along with anxiety.
It is true: The only thing that doesn’t
change is change. “If you want things to stay just as they are, some things
will have to change” is one of my favorite axioms. So change is inevitable.
Yes, it makes us uncomfortable. But it brings opportunities found nowhere else.
The old system worked, but not as well as
it could. For SDG&E, now there will be fewer service calls, fewer cars
hitting their light poles, and fewer outages from “down lines”. For citizens,
there will be fewer interruptions, a wider, safer roadway with sidewalks, and a
more beautiful environment without power lines everywhere.
If change is inevitable, does it not make
sense that we should do what we may to guide it and mold it (as much as
possible) to make us more efficient and effective? The alternative is to simply
hold on until change overtakes us, making us its servant.
SDG&E could do some things ONLY Friday
night during the “unplugged time” that they cannot do again without throwing us
back into darkness. They took advantage of that uncomfortable period to lay the
groundwork for a better system.
The analogy fits where we in the
California-Pacific Annual Conference are. We face important changes, some
forced by the economic downturn that have left our offering plates less full.
Others are needed to clear out an infrastructure of poles and wires that served
their purpose years ago, but are not working effectively today. We need a new
structure to align of Church, District and Conference missions.
If we are good stewards, we will (as Myron
Wingfield expressed well on Saturday) quit reacting and start planning for
better, more efficient and effective ways to be the people of God – and better
stewards of the resources entrusted to us.
The church has changed since its inception.
As Methodists, we may appreciate John Wesley’s organizational genius which
provided the mechanism to adapt the Method without destroying the Message. (I’m
glad I don’t have to ride a horse to the churches on my circuit!)
For anyone, anywhere, who is “unplugged”
today, in-between the old and new, embrace the discomfort as you move to a
better future. See the opportunities that can only be realized when you are
unplugged. It’s the unknown we fear most, not the change. And that is where
faith comers in.
God has a better way in a modern day of
getting the power to us, and through us to a world in need of that transforming
power.
Bless you, each and every one, Brother Bill
P.S. I took a week off from the E-Vangel
last week to give your “in-box” a rest.
From the Quote Garden
“A man dressed up
like the devil and walked into a worship service. Everyone, including the
minster and choir, jumped out of the windows or knocked people down to escape.
The only person left in the church was Sister Sarah in a wheel chair who had
been blocked and abandoned. Realizing the futility of her escape, she
approached the man and said, “Mr. Devil, I have been a member of this church
for 80 years. I have seen a lot of changes, and have been against every one of
them. And to be honest, I have been on your side the whole time!” ~ A story as old as dirt
Christ United Methodist Ministry
Center
“Christ in the Heart of San Diego”
3295
Meade Avenue - San Diego, CA 92116 - (619) 284-9205
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