New Year’s Suggestions For Ministers

HEY YOU GUYS!
We made it to 2016.

Let’s make some resolutions!

I’m putting some suggestions out there because that’s what I DO (“it’s what I LIVE for” – Seawitch Ursula voice):

1. Give love freely but don’t give time so freely. Like, pay attention to who gives and loves you back, and stick with them. Open your hands and let the users fly, fly, fly! (*hokey spiritual music here*)

2. Be like, “Oh, yea, if I don’t read and study and spend time in quiet contemplation a LOT, I won’t have anything but cliched garbage that I dragged off a website to give to my community. So probably these 16 e-mails can wait for a day.”

3. Remember God? When was the last time you sat there during worship and let your eyes drift to the window above the choir loft and thought, “Oh, yea. God is the Thing doing all of this. I’m just part of the show that connects all of us with that reality.” Sometimes that happens to me and I wonder what would happen if I just sat there staring up at the window and didn’t get up for the next part of the liturgy. Just sat there. And I could say, “Hey, everyone. I can’t get up right now, I need to stare at the window. Could we all do that for a few minutes?”

I bet no one would die and probably it would be shocking and wonderful for all of us.

P.S. I’m not going to do that.

4. Don’t go to one thing that really doesn’t require your presence so you can do something you feel called to do. For me, I’ve been wanting to visit a few of the social services agencies in my city and introduce myself. That’s not going to happen unless something else doesn’t happen.

5. Spend a chunk of time with inspiring non-religious folks who look at you like “HUH?” at the idea of attending church/synagogue. Get a real sense of how absolutely, totally voluntary the whole concept of church and how profoundly irrelevant to millions of fantastic people. Adjust attitude and expectations accordingly.

6. Stop someone who is trying to tell you something important immediately after worship service and say, “This sounds really interesting and I want to talk about it but I won’t remember a thing you’re saying right now because I just led a worship service and I’m not all here. Please send me an e-mail! We’ll meet or talk later!” And thank them for understanding. If they don’t understand, that’s okay, too.

7. You better find something to laugh at every day or else it’s going to be tears and depression, kids. WORK to find the laughter. Scrabble for it like a hungry person claws at the dirt of the garden for one last potato.

8. Follow Black Twitter if you aren’t already. These are some of the Tweeters who helped me stay informed and enraged this year. Don’t expect polite language. This is life and death and white people need to listen up. “Black Twitter” is not a formal organization, so don’t look for one leader or voice to prevail. There is fierce resiliency and brutal, direct humor in this collective. Not for the faint of heart but we don’t need the faint of heart in this work.

Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney @WilGafney
Johnetta Elzie @Nettaaaaaaaa
Deray McKesson @deray
Feminista Jones @FeministaJones
5’7BlackMale @absurdistwords
Luvvie @AwesomelyLuvvie
Wesley Lowery @WesleyLowery
Ta-Nehisi Coates @tanehisicoates
Jamil Smith @JamilSmith
Bree Newsome @BreeNewsome
Misandrynoir @OhTheMaryD

(Please make your recommendations for this list!)

9. Throw out all the old cliches along with the holiday wrapping. Dump all your kitchen sink prayers and litanies. Find new language suitable for the times. Silence is better than mushy words.

10. Be fierce. The world doesn’t need “nice.” It needs good, and true, and faithful. Keep teaching that loving leadership doesn’t look like pandering, coddling, avoiding or enabling. Stay close to good leaders, encourage them, find the reasons for joy in the madness and hold it up as a beacon.

Be beautiful.
Happy 2016, darlings.