BENTON HEISLER
WMIC Dir. of Connectional MInistries
I am grateful for the words of Scripture that come to my mind and heart at various times of challenge and celebration.
If you make my Word your home, you will indeed be my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:13 New Jerusalem Bible.) Memory verses learned, and verses brought to life through the preaching or teaching of others, have thankfully found a place in the recesses of my heart and mind. I trust the same is common for you.
The privilege of a first grandchild has once again awakened that responsibility of teaching a new generation of the promises of God contained in the Scriptures. Here is a young impressionable mind and heart ready to learn about all that God holds in store for his life as his unique gifts develop over the years to come.
I am in the process of constructing a workbench with locking wheels. This allows both stability and flexibility in its use and location. My design includes using as many different species of wood native to Michigan as possible so that in the years to come I can teach my grandchild(ren?) the characters and identifying properties of these various woods. The other unique component of the design is to use only wood that has been rescued from becoming firewood or was destined to simply take up space in a land fill. The back frame of the bench will contain the handles and sound board supports (minus the iron harp) of our circa 1920’s family piano that was beyond restoration. As of this moment I have 13 different wood species ready to be shaped into the necessary frame, shelving and top.
My design includes using as many different species of wood native to Michigan as possible so that in the years to come I can teach my grandchild(ren?) the characters and identifying properties of these various woods.
Our Michigan Area New Conference Design Team is equally beginning the steps necessary to shape a vision, structure and ministry plan for the next generation of United Methodists in Michigan. Repurposed ideas and fresh new opportunities will find their way into our common future. During my ministry lifetime as a lay person and clergy I have been blessed to have personal interaction with the past seven bishops who have provided spiritual and administrative leadership for the MI area. They include Dwight Loder, Edsel Ammons, Judy Craig, Don Ott, Linda Lee, Jonathan Keaton and Deborah Lieder Kiesey. Next September, we will begin a new season of leadership as our common future is shaped by experiencing the unique gifts of a bishop who is still to be determined through the process, prayer and politics of the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in July.
Bishop Kiesey has consistently used I Corinthians 12 as a Scriptural image these past three years for our common creative work of becoming one new united Conference in Michigan. The images of that message have inspired my own paraphrase of the chapter:
“Now concerning the trees in the forest my brothers and sisters, I want you to have as much knowledge as possible.
There are many different trees but one forest and one Master Forrester who care for us all. There are a variety of uses for these many trees, but it is the Master Forrester who uniquely shapes them all.
One is slow growing, dense, hard to break, burns fast and with little ash. Another is lightweight, growing fast and tall, but soft when hit and easily dented; another has leaves that make a canopy of shade from the intense summer heat, and another that remains in various hues of green all year long; while still another contains an oil that allows it to spend decades in moisture and not rot; while still yet another has a fragrance that repels the moths from eating the blankets stored in the furniture made with its lumber; and yet still another has a bark that peels away as the tree expands and can be used to write upon or line a canoe or start a fire even as all others woods are damp.
So, just as the forest has many trees, these timbers are One Greatest Gift in the hands of the Master Forrester, using and shaping each unique timber for the common good.
The Red Oak cannot say to the Pine, I have no need of you, or, the Hemlock to the Cherry, I have no need of you. If we were all a Cedar, where would the beauty of the Maple and the Beech be in the Fall? Who would have the rich fragrance of the Sassafras, if we all were a Poplar? If Basswood becomes pallets and Maple the cutting boards, then who will be towering tall and straight helping to sustain the communications grid, if not the Lodge Pole Pine? And who can sway like the Willow or span the distance as a great beam like the White Oak?
If the Ash is destroyed by an insect the entire forest suffers. When the Hickory, Walnut, Apple and Beechnut drop their nuts and fruits all the animals of the forest rejoice! The decorative trees like the Gingko, Redbud or Bradford Pear cannot say to the hard woods, we have not need of you. Nor can the orchards say to all the trees of the swamps and marshes, we have no need of you.
Now you are all a part of the forest, uniquely members of it. And the Master Forrester has appointed you as stewards to manage the resources entrusted to you that the more excellent way, the One Greatest Gift (Love) might be revealed…”
When boards are painted it becomes more difficult to distinguish the unique gift of grain and color each possesses. “Painting one another with the same brush” equally diminishes the beauty God has placed in us all. Covered with stain/varnish the true beauty of each wood can still be seen. “Stained at the foot of the cross” we are all covered in God’s Grace, and each precious gift God has created us to be is revealed. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved is the power of God (I Corinthians 1:18.)”
The love, grace and the power of God, those are foundational building components from which every life will benefit. I pray that we all are building lives that reflect those enduring qualities. May the sawdust of errors and flaws be whisked away and only the beauty of new creation remain.
Last Updated on January 30, 2024