Showing posts with label Pastoring. Show all posts

To a new blogging home.

This blog is continuing over at WordPress.  You can find me now at www.epistleofjim.com.

Eugene Peterson has this to say:

Being a pastor is an incredibly good, wonderful work. It is one of the few places in our society where you can live a creative life. You live at the intersection of grace and mercy and sin and salvation. We have front line seats and sometimes we even get to be part of the action. How could anyone abandon the glory of that kind of life to become a management expert? We are artists not CEOs. The true pastorate is a work of art – the art of life and spirit.

Now I need to ask myself if I'm a "good" artist or one of those artists someone might look at and say, "my three year old can do better work."

via

Jason Byassee, of Duke Divinity School has put a lot of thought into the notion of ministry being "The Front Lines" of religious work. It's a pretty common metaphor, that I know I've used myself once or twice. The image is that of pastors going off to seminary or Bible College or some education where they are given some knowledge and some training -- sort of "The West Point" of the religious system. And then the pastors become the infantry, heading out to do battle with the devil and the social ills of the world while some of the shots are called by the bigwigs, conference leaders, denominational administrators, the "generals" of the General Conference who never set foot out there in "the trenches of ministry." After all, what do they know about life on the front lines with the MRE rations of church pot-lucks, armor that can't protect against the weapons staff parish committees throw at their pastors, and ineffective "field manuals"?

A couple of problems here:

1) It's a little over-dramatic and violent considering parish ministry.
2) It claims that the work of seminary, and indeed, denominational leadership is not real ministry.

So Byassee offers a medicinal image to take the place of the more militaristic one:

The academy is like a laboratory where we try new things. Some blow up, some disappoint, others contain promise to offer cures. Then the pastor is the physician that Origen discusses in the “Philokalia.” The physician must know all the herbs in the garden, and she must know the precise malady of the patient. Then she can mix up the proper cure for whatever illness she faces. The herb garden is the Scriptures, the concoctions are their mixture in the tradition (a little Esther, some Revelation, and voila!), and their proof is in the health of the church. Both lab researcher and general practitioner are trained as physicians and aim to be healers.

This image still ranks the parish and the academy appropriately. It also judges the academy by how innovative it is in bringing forth new (and old) things for the sake of the church. And its telos is in the health of the body for which we all care.

It’s far from perfect, I grant. What do you think would be better?

Do you have something better to offer?

I try to read a bunch of different stuff.  Granted most of it's online at this point, but I dabble in some pretty conservative blogs alongside the more moderate and progressive stuff.  And so I'm familiar with John Piper, a Baptist pastor in Minnesota.  He's written a lot and is influential in some of the more Calvinistic circles.  And, frankly, he has a lot of good stuff to say.

However, we differ on a lot of points as well.   I had heard about some comments he had made last week in a transcript over at Christian Post.  They were comments about men listening to female teachers.  Could a man learn from, say, Beth Moore?  Could a man have a female pastor?  And, yesterday, after reading more about it over at Internet Monk (one of my favorite places to visit), I thought I just might write a blog post on it.

Now, I know that there are many churches which say women can't be ordained.  And I know that there are churches where you wouldn't have women teaching men in the church.  However, I never took it to be a problem that men might learn from a Beth Moore study or from some other women.  But, apparently it can be a problem...according to John Piper.

Here's what he had to say when asked if it's wrong for a guy to listen to Beth Moore:

No. Unless you begin to become dependent on her as your shepherd-your pastor.

...The Bible is clear that women shouldn't teach and have authority over men. In context, I think this means that women shouldn't be the authoritative teachers of the church-they shouldn't be elders.

This doesn't mean you can't learn from a woman, or that she is incompetent and can't think. It means that there is a certain dynamic between maleness and femaleness that when a woman begins to assume an authoritative teaching role in your life the manhood of a man and the womanhood of a woman is compromised.

What I just said is unbelievably controversial. There are thousands, even millions of people that think this idea is absolutely obscene...

So the answer is, no it is not wrong for you to listen to Beth Moore, but it could become wrong. 

Well, I guess you can count me among those who think this is "absolutely obscene."  I just can't even fathom this.

And I'm left to wonder why the reverse isn't true.  If it's wrong for a man to have a woman pastor, why isn't it wrong for a woman to have a man pastor?  Lord knows I have a lot of women in our congregation that I'm trying to pastor the best I can.  I'm wondering what it is about "manhood" and "womanhood" that makes it problematic for men to learn from women...at any time.

I know my upbringing is different and I'm very well aware that my interpretation of Scripture would be different, but I really have no clue about this one.

It makes absolutely no sense.

For the first time ever, I branched off of Yahoo leagues and joined a pastoral league with Matt Kelly as the commissioner.  Matt is a United Methodist pastor from Nashville, TN who writes at "The Truth As Best I Know It." 

This new league is on Facebook, through Sports Illustrated.  It is a new setup for me.  I was very unhappy with how SI ran the draft.  It was "autopick" which can be a problem.  But, unlike Yahoo (and other leagues) that makes sure you get a complete roster, with all positions filled, this one didn't do it.  I ended the draft last night with NO QUARTERBACK, NO TIGHT END, AND NO KICKER.  That meant I had to very quickly get onto the system to add and drop a few players.  And, today, I completed a trade with another "owner" who had SIX QUARTERBACKS.  I had to give up my top Wide Receiver and a good Running Back to secure a top Quarterback.

Anyway, the season starts Thursday and I now have a complete team at my disposal.

Are you ready for some football?

No...the exclamation points just don't do it for me.  Let me try all caps.  Forgive me if it hurts your ears.

WHAT!  NO PRAYERS AT THE 9/11 MEMORIAL OBSERVANCE!?!?

Nope.  No matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get all worked up about this.

I don't know whether you've heard or not, but word on the street is that the ceremony of remembrance at the 9/11 memorial site is going to be free of any prayers, whatsoever.  There will be some moments of silence, which is always fitting for an occasion like that, but no prayers.  In fact, no religious leaders have been invited to speak.

This is, apparently, the same way it's worked for the previous nine anniversary observances in New York.  It's been geared to the families who lost loved ones there.

[New York Mayor] Bloomberg's office said the 10th anniversary ceremony would follow the pattern of previous observances on the date of the worst attack ever against Americans on their soil. Earlier anniversary events also have not included clergy, according to the mayor's office. The focus is to be on those who lost family members in the attacks.

"The ceremony was designed in coordination with 9/11 families with a mixture of readings that are spiritual, historical and personal in nature," said Evelyn Erskine, a spokeswoman for Bloomberg, in an email to CNN.

"It has been widely supported for the past 10 years and rather than have disagreements over which religious leaders participate we would like to keep the focus of our commemoration ceremony on the family members of those who died," she said.

There will be moments of silence in the 10th anniversary observance so people can have times of "personal and religious introspection," Erskine told CNN. (The Christian Examiner)

So, Bloomberg says this is how it's been done in the past. He said the planners don't want disagreements over who gets to be there and speak on behalf of this or that religion.  And he says that, everyone will get time for "personal and religious introspection."  OK, I get it.

But there is a point on the other side here that this was a religious attack on the US.  It was an attack by those who considered it a Holy War.  And, religion played a big role in how our country responded to the attack.  I can't deny that it was a different religious environment, even in Girdwood, for a few weeks.  There are others, however, who see this as a case of political correctness or the public square being hospitable to Christianity.


And there are some angry Christians making their responses known:


The Family Research Council has a petition with 55,000 signatures which says: "Your plan to exclude pastors and prayer from the Ground Zero commemoration is not only offensive to the families of victims, but strangely overlooks the role that faith played in bringing healing to countless lives."

Florida Pastor Joel C. Hunter also told The Christian Post in a prior interview that a 9/11 ceremony without church leaders or prayer paints an inaccurate picture of America. "It's going to be exclusionary, secularist only, and we are one of the most religious countries in the world. So, the bottom line is, this is not how we were founded. This is not who we are," Hunter said.


The American Family Association's Tim Wildmon, is encouraging its 2.3 millions subscriber to write to Bloomberg to protest.  He says: "I'm stunned. This event affected the whole psyche and soul of the country, and you are going to have no prayer? What's a memorial service if you are going to leave God out of it completely? It seems kind of hollow."

And, of course, we'd have to expect the Institute on Religion & Democracy.  Their Mark Tooley says:  “In a city where the most residents in recent memory now cite religious faith as strongly important, New York is tone-deaf to exclude all religion when remembering the slaughter of over 3,000 innocents.  To exclude clergy even at a memorial service implies that religion is not welcome in the public square, even in mourning.”

Look, I think I'd like a pastor or two to say some touching, maybe even important words at the service.  It would be cool if a rabbi and an imam were there as well.  No one can deny that the stories, the images, the words of faith took on new meaning to many people after the tragic acts of ten years ago.  Religion was very important...to many persons.

But it wasn't important to all.  And it wasn't my faith, the Christian faith, that was important to all of those for whom religion was important.  It may be political correctness on my part, but I'm not comfortable with lining up religious leaders from every faith under the sun...or at least every faith that responded that day or was represented among the victims.  And I'm not comfortable with having the big three (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim) speak and ignore the rest.

But, most important for me, I'm uncomfortable with the kind of Christianity that we normally see in our "public square."  It's a "safe" faith...avoiding the calls to confession for sins, avoiding language that might offend other faiths, prettying up the message of salvation and justice and hope.  It might make people feel better.  The words might be "nice."  But oftentimes we make it safe.

And so, sure, I lament that there won't be a prayer or Scripture read or the message of resurrection (a powerful one in the face of tragedy) proclaimed.  But that's because it would mean a lot to ME.

There will be many other places and times for us Christians to proclaim the good news in response to those attacks ten years ago.  I will do that in Girdwood next week as we, too, remember.

But forgive me if I'm not too angry that they won't be praying at the 9/11 memorial that day.  Well, the people up front may not be praying.  There will be a whole lot of praying from the folks in the crowd.

Image via WikipediaThis post really isn't about cults or Counting Crows although they both make an appearance.  It's really a post about ministry and pastoring and Girdwood Chapel and thinking ahead to the people who will follow you in ministerial leadership.

See, I was reading over at the Wall Street Journal an article entitled, "Disney, Walton, Ford, Gates: Tales of When Legends Leave."

(Yes, this has to do with Steve Jobs and the leaving of that "legend" from Apple...at least as the CEO of it.  I confess to reading a lot about his leaving over the last day or so.)

The article looks at what happened as legends left companies.  Walt Disney died.  Sam Walton died.  Henry Ford turned the company over to his son.  Bill Gates left after grooming a successor. It's no small task to take the ideas and ideals of a founder and take it into the future. And each of the companies that Disney, Walton, Ford, and Gates left behind had their struggles with new leadership. And, the guess is, Apple will have some struggles as well...no matter how much us "Apple Fan-Boys" talk about how Tim Cook has been effectively running the show for the last couple of years and how great the supporting team at Apple is. There will be challenges. It's hard to follow a popular act.

(It reminds me of the time some friends and I went to see the band Counting Crows way back in the early 90s at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They hadn't yet made it big but we loved the music and were delighted that they would be opening up for another band, Cracker, at a small club. We got there early to get a good spot on the floor and thoroughly enjoyed Adam Duritz and company as they ran through hits like "'Round Here" and "Mr. Jones and Me." But when they were done and the headliner hit the stage, we were out the door. We were just there for the opening act.)

In the article, however, there is a quote that caught my eye. It's from Harvard Business School professor Rakesh Khurana who has, apparently, "written extensively about CEO succession."  The quote of note says:

"The difference between a cult and a religion is that one outlasts the founder."

Whoa...  My mind flitted from the Waco cult to Jim Jones to the religious staying power of a John Wesley or St. Benedict.  What kept Wesley and Benedict from just being footnotes in history to being founders of religious orders still around to this day and still doing good work in the world?

But, then I realized this is a word for all of us clergy-folk...particularly those of us who are building churches or starting ministries or casting vision.  Is the stuff we're involved in...the good stuff...the holy stuff...going to have a life beyond our time in our present appointments?  What will happen to the church buildings, the small groups, the discipleship plans, the missions trips?  Granted, some things are merely for a season and will fade away almost by design.  But will our ministries have "staying power?" 

This is a struggle for those of us here at Girdwood Chapel and, in particular, me as pastor.  At this point in time I have no plans of leaving.  But I know that if there hasn't been a congregational "buy-in" for things like "Cookie Flinging" and "Love God. Love others. Change the world" and "communion every week" and our informal worship and the presence of kids in worship... If this hasn't become part of the proverbial "DNA" of the congregation, then it just might leave whenever I leave...or whenever some key leaders leave.  Will the congregation have to start over at ground zero? 

I am not the "founder" of Girdwood Chapel.  I came onto the scene some 50 years after that.  But, still, I don't want the mission and ministries and vision that we've worked on together over the last 11 years to end whenever my tenure ends--whether it's a year or two or ten from now.  I don't believe they've been "me-dependent."  And, if you're a pastor or church leader serving, working, planting, dreaming somewhere, I'm sure you don't want that as well.  You see yourself working on a playing field of time and space and mission that reaches beyond who you are.  It's not your mission.  It's God's.  Or at least you hope it is.  Therefore, you don't want it to remain unchanged and stagnant as it stretches into the future, but you don't want it to end as new leadership steps in.  You want what you do to be bigger than who you are.

This got me thinking.  Thinking can be dangerous at times.

• What can I do, right now, to ensure that God's good work in this place has some staying power? 
• What can I do to make sure that the ministry of this place is far more than what I have to offer or my personality or my pet projects? 
• What plan of succession do we church folk need to have in mind?
• Or, what can we learn from how Disney, and Ford, and Wal-Mart, and Microsoft and (now) Apple have tried to live beyond their leaders?

Still thinking...

Oh, and here's a little Counting Crows for you.  Round Here.

Image via CrunchBaseI have a pastor friend on Facebook who has, at least according to a member (or members) of his church, shared controversial posts and comments on Facebook.  I understand that "controversial" is in the eye of the beholder and clergy need to realize that their Facebook updates, their "Tweets," their blog posts end up speaking not only for them personally, but for the larger church.  So, sometimes those comments that we felt were utterly harmless can seem dangerous to those who hold opposing views or take what we say out of context. 

So, as I have pondered this, I came across the following from Steve Cornell at Wisdom for Life. 

Beyond this, consider some Do’s and Don’ts for pastors who update and tweet:
Seven Do’s  

1. Announce events and teaching themes
2. Link to helpful resources
3. Encourage others
4. Let people know a little about your life
5. Share Scriptures and helpful quotes
6. Ask for prayer for yourself and others
7. Limit your time on networks

Seven Don’ts

1. Post anything that you would fear being read at Church
2. Engage ongoing conversations with the opposite sex
3. Fish for affirmation or support
4. Post ambiguous or manipulative statements
5. Vent about Church matters or members
6. Become combative or defensive
7. Embarrass your family with comments or photos

And, after I saw ASBOJesus in my RSS feed, here comes a great cartoon from David Hayward, The Naked Pastor.  While David isn't pastoring a church at this time, he bears the wounds from trying to rock the boat and buck the system while serving in a local parish.  He also experienced great joy in the local church as well, but is clear in his writing how difficult it can be to "fight the good fight."

I love how he closes his post:

Viva la Rockers!

Viva la Buckers!

Saw the cartoon below over at David Hayward's site, NakedPastor.  Now, having followed David's blog and comics for a year or so, I know that he had a difficult period in his ministry.  I think he resonates with the cartoon.

For myself, I can think of a few instances where "tough skin" or "thick skin" were definitely needed in my own ministry--two more painful than the others.  In one case, my desire to do outreach to Hispanic persons in the community was met with a loud rejection by some members of the congregation I served.  There were angry letters and angry meetings.  But, probably the most hurtful part was persons walking out of the worship service before communion.  That seemed like an intentional attack on my pastoral identity.  Was it?  I don't know.  A lot of years have come and gone since then.  Everyone's moved on.  But, even though I had to have tough skin and try not to take it personally, I'm not sure I did a very good job with that.  The other serious case is less defined and harder to describe.  However, it involved persons questioning my integrity, my trustworthiness.  There was one real bad meeting that involved my wife leaving in tears.  It was painful.

But, I'm not sure I ever thought of it as having "tough skin" but rather trying to see what the underlying reasons for the complaints/concerns/attacks were.  I guess I've always known that many of the hurtful issues that come up in the church really aren't so much about "me."  (There may be some that were about me.  I'll admit that.)

On the other hand, I guess being able to step back and look at the root causes of crisis and concern and not take it all personally does require "tough skin."

Thanks, David, for making me think today.

                               Image via WikipediaYou know, as a pastor-type person, I have in me some strong desire to make things right.  I like to fix things.  I like to bring comfort to persons.  I like to come into difficult situations, perhaps like a knight in shining armor, to offer the love and peace of Jesus Christ.  And so, when I hear of folks hurting...when I know of a car accident or a loss of life...when I hear of marital difficulties...when someone's REALLY sick I want to throw on that breastplate of righteousness, pick up my shield of faith, don my helmet of salvation, and carry my sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6) and MAKE THINGS RIGHT...or at least MAKE THINGS BETTER...or at least...HELP.

Not everyone wants to be helped.  Some persons want to get through things on their own.

And, not everyone wants the particular help that I offer.  Some persons would really rather surround themselves with family and friends, without any of the "religious stuff" that I tend to bring with me.  They don't want to pray.  They don't want someone to hold their hand who isn't their spouse or child or parent.  When I walk into a hospital room, for instance, I can't help but be "pastor" there.  And there are some persons, even persons in our own church community, who don't want that at their hour of need.  There can be many, many reasons for this and I've been at this gig too long to take it personally.

But, still...that's hard to accept at times.

I can't do anything but accept it.

But it's hard to accept at times.

And so, whether they know it or not, I pray for them.

And so, whether they know it or not, I hurt for them.

And so, whether they know it or not, I pastor them...as best I can.

And, I pray that it helps.

I pray that it's helping now...

Image via WikipediaIn the secularizing times in which I am living, God is not taken seriously. God is peripheral. God is nice (or maybe not so nice) but not at the center. When people want help with their parents or children or emotions, they do not ordinarily see themselves as wanting help with God. But if I am going to stay true to my vocation as a pastor, I can’t let the “market” determine what I do. I will find ways to pray with and for people and teach them to pray, usually quietly and often subversively when they don’t know I am doing it. But I am not going to wait to be asked. I am a pastor. (The Pastor: A Memoir -- p.142)

(HT -- The Internet Monk)

At church this past Sunday, one of my parishioners--a friend, a leader, someone whom I truly care for--came up to me after the worship service and asked, "Jim, can we find some time to talk this week?"

This is not a phrase I particularly ENJOY hearing.  See, I do enjoy being involved in people's lives and I do appreciate the fact that I can be with them as they are facing difficult decisions or walking more difficult paths than they are used to.  I will be with them as they struggle with issues of divorce.  I will talk with them when they a facing medical issues or parenting issues.  I will talk them through hard discussions about moving out of state or business decisions or marriage or funerals.  I will hold their hand as they struggle with pain and loss.  But, this can all be very hard.

So, my heart sank, to some extent when I heard the words "Can we find some time to talk."  I was pretty sure this was either going to be one of the "medical" discussions or one of the "moving away from Girdwood" discussions, with an outside shot of it being related to children or spouse.  It's not that I had any particular indication that it was going to be these.  That's just where my heart and mind went.

And, as we sat in the coffee shop this week, making small talk, I kept waiting for the proverbial "bomb" to drop on the conversation where I would not only have to shift into "pastoral care mode" but would also hurt because of that this person was gong through or because they were leaving or whatever.

But there was no "bomb."

This person really just wanted to talk.

Nothing was pressing.

We just shared life for 90 minutes or so.  We laughed.  We recognized some of the struggles we both face.

And then we went our separate ways.

The other person just really wanted to talk, to catch up.

And it was wonderful.

Image by mtsofan via FlickrFour days of meetings last week.  They can be wearing.  They can be soul-exciting.  I love my colleagues and I love talking theologically and Scripturally with them rather than filling in forms or planning yet more meetings--doing the "business" of the church. 

I am amazed, at times, of the business that winds in and through my life here in Girdwood.  I am no wandering preacher, out among the people.  My "people time" is carefully planned in the schedule of my days, if I can squeeze it in between the work time, the family time, the me time.

On these days, as I sit in my office, something I've not had the pleasure to do for 10 years since I really had no office, I look outside and wonder if I'm missing something.  I may be here in Girdwood and have been for years...but sometimes I feel as if I'm not really "present" with the people.  What is my ministry of presence here?

Leave it to Henri Nouwen to get at some of this struggle in ministry:

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems.

My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.

-  Henri Nouwen

Sometimes it's hard taking on the burdens, the pain, of others.

It can be a holy thing.  It's a very Christ-like thing.  A cross-thing.

But it can be hard.  I think I've felt this more over the past year than I have at any other time in ministry.

I wouldn't give it up for the world....but there are days I just might "give it up" for the world or a whole lot less.

Today's not one of those days.  Today's a good day.  But I'm more aware now than I ever have been that empathy comes with a burden...which is why so many people fail to enter into it at all.

The cartoon is from ASBOJESUS.

Image via WikipediaRon Edmonson, back in December, posted 19 roles of a pastor that he could think up and asked his readers for more.  Here are his original 19:

• Mediator
• Counselor
• Encourager
• Teacher
• Minister
• Leader
• Social media manager
• Advocate
• Rehabilitation Coordinator
• Business Administration
• Human Resources
• Writer
• Technologist
• Data analyst
• Public speaker
• Theologian
• Politician
• Motivator
• Comedian

Here are more listed by his readers:

• Janitor
• Greeter
• Servant
• Shepherd
• Rescue Worker
• Recruiter
• Prayer Warrior
• Disciple
• Lawn manicurist
• Strategic Thinker
• Activist
• Visionary
• Fundraiser
• Preacher

What would you add?

photo © 2008 Jennifer Moo | more info (via: Wylio)


Please note:  I do not struggle with keeping things confidential.  I'm good at withholding information and, when needed, tiptoeing around the topics at hand so people aren't sure what it is that I know.  There have been times that persons who have shared difficult parts of their lives with me have ASSUMED that I went home and told my wife everything.  This has led to a couple of awkward conversations where the other party talked with my wife as if she already knew whatever it was that was confidential.  But I don't tell her anything I haven't been given permission to tell her.  And, frankly, sometimes it's easier just not knowing.

I know that confidentiality is important to protect folks.  It's important to maintain a level of trust so that folks feel comfortable coming to me with their struggles and hurts and celebrations.

However, what I find burdensome is knowing so many things about persons lives...their issues with their parents, their health, their marriages, their jobs and kids.  I've been around long enough that I've seen a lot and shared a lot with persons.  I don't think it's a matter of treating them differently.  I think it's a matter of me trying to share in their burdens.  I hurt because they hurt.  I really do.  Sometimes my heart just breaks for persons I care about as pastor and I then need to carry that burden, confidentially, with little chance fo me to unload my burden anywhere in the local community.

I appreciate the intimacy I get to have with folk.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't want to be "an island" and remove myself from those times.  I have found the dark, lonely, hurting places I've been with persons to be very holy times, filled with God and affirming my calling in ministry.  I have often said that, at death scenes in particular, I feel most pastoral.  Maybe that's because I feel God most at work and me most relying upon God.  I don't know.

I just know I need to share, too and I try to do that in such a way that my own baggage is revealed and not the baggage of the person I've been in dialogue with.   I thank God for those places in my life where I've had persons ready to help me bear the load.
  
Empathy can be a difficult thing when the sadness or pain of those around you is carried by you.  It was John Shirley who said, "I am cursed with empathy."  There are days I resonate with that and I need to take care of myself.

photo © 2003 Dave Gilbert | more info (via: Wylio)
Ernest Goodman at Missions Misunderstood recently wrote:

There are too many ‘experts’ using the word ‘missional’ to refer to traditional missions or serving in the local elementary school. Without a radical shift in the basic understanding of what it means to be on mission, we’re just doing more of the same.

He’s right, but it is not just about orthopraxy. What is missed to often in the missional discussion is that it is not about what we do or how we do it, but about who we are. Missional is about a Jesus followers DNA. It is about a life where “the way of Jesus” informs and radically transforms our existence.

So then, where does this leave me as pastor?  See, I'm not sure I've been doing a very good job at either "missions" or "missional."  Most of our "missions" have been one-day, brief experiences.  You know...come together, do something good for someone, go home.

How do we go about transforming "our existence?" 

I want to be part of a church where the entire DNA has been transformed so that every breath is seen in the larger missional context of the church.


(HT The Blind Beggar for the above quote)

photo © 2008 National Galleries of Scotland Commons | more info (via: Wylio)
I've been doing a lot of reading and looking at blogs.  I am humbled at the intellectual prowess I see.  I am awed at the sermon delivery.  All these young, evangelical, socially-minded pastors looks so hip and with it.  They seem immersed in the Gospel.  I feel like I can't hold a candle to them.  In short, I sometimes feel inadequate...here in my little (though now much bigger) church in my little mountain town in Alaska.

After all, what have I got?

Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but I'm guessing there are other preachers out there who have a little inferiority complex at times.  There's a lot of good preaching in the world and sometimes I'm not so sure it's coming from me.

So, it was with some relief I read Jared Wilson's blog post from way back in September...which seems like a lifetime ago now.   It's called "An Improvement-Proof Gospel" and it's a little reflection on Galatians 2:6 which says,  And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.

Jared writes:

Oh, how I love Paul! He is hilarious. He is so cheeky. "Sure, sure. Peter, James, and John, those pillars, they seemed like somebodies, I guess." Love it!

But is he being as disparaging as he appears? Not really, but sort of. Here's Luther on this verse:

Paul disparages the authority and dignity of the true apostles. He says of them, "Which seemed to be somewhat." The authority of the apostles was indeed great in all the churches. Paul did not want to detract from their authority, but he had to speak disparagingly of their authority in order to conserve the truth of the Gospel . . .

What they say has no bearing on the argument. If the apostles were angels from heaven, that would not impress me. We are not now discussing the excellency of the apostles. We are talking about the Word of God now, and the truth of the Gospel. That Gospel is more excellent than all apostles.

"The gospel is more excellent than all apostles." Yes!

You know what? Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, John Piper, Mark Dever, Will Willimon, David Platt. These guys and more are (probably) better preachers than you and me. But if your gospel is the Bible's gospel, their gospel isn't better than yours. Same gospel. They can't improve on it any more than you can defuse it.

If you're a good preacher, you're probably a better speaker than Paul -- because Paul himself acknowledged he wasn't an impressive speaker -- but if your gospel is the Bible's gospel, it is not your speaking that wakens hearts, but the same power the "unimpressive" Paul set loose.

If you know and speak the gospel, you are a channel for God's destroying of strongholds and resurrecting of lives. Every Christian who can articulate the gospel has the launch code and access to the button.

If you preach the gospel, you wield the most powerful word in the universe. It's not the gnosis of the apostles. It's the resurrecting word entrusted to us all. 

So, all I got to do is preach the gospel.  Read it.  Pray it.  Preach it.  Teach it.  And that is not only sufficient, it is all that I have.

Sometimes I just have to remember, it's not up to me.

It's the Gospel, stupid.

Image via WikipediaAs I look back, these are the things that have defined and shaped me over the past calendar year:

Moving into the new church building. -- I continue to say to our congregation that I don't want the building (or our economic state upon completion) to define us, but as their pastor I have invested much of myself into its completion.   Very few things in my life will compare with our consecration (in October) and our first official worship on Christmas Eve.

Performing my sister's marriage in May. -- It was awesome to be in a place in our relationship that this was meaningful for each of us.  Plus, I think her husband's awesome and it was great to see family and friends and meet new friends as well.

A trip to Indiana in the summer. -- "Back home again in Indiana."  While I might just stay in Alaska forever, there are some beautiful parts and beautiful people in Indiana.

Blogging. -- I started this thing in the spring, determined to "post regularly" which would be a change from the three or four other times I thought I had earnestly taken up blogging.  This time I stuck with it and, while this has given me a place to post some non-religious things I think are cool or meaningful, it has been a good move for me religiously.  I've expanded some of my influences, perhaps reading more on the evangelical side while maintaining some of my social values.  I'll be interested in seeing what it is I find important in the coming year.

Social Networking (by this, I pretty much mean Facebook). -- What a "time suck."  But, at the same time it has renewed relationships with persons I had not heard from in years and has become a vital part of my correspondence with persons.

A tragic November.--Deaths in our church community and our extended family.  This month tested some of my pastoral identification and made me question many issues about death and suicide.  It was a hard month with lots of emotional and spiritual involvement from me.  I was burdened by it and eager to move into, and immerse myself in, December and the progression towards Christmas.

The stress of my wife's job and education.-- This past year we felt the brunt of what it's like to have the mother of the house employed full-time and taking classes to pursue her teaching degree.   It meant putting the little ones into daycare for another day each week.  It meant having to compartmentalize my own work at times to free her up to meet deadlines.  It has also meant that I'll probably need to hold off on pursuing a Doctor of Ministry until she's done with her classes.  I don't think our family could take that.  There are long term benefits here, but over the next year it will continue to shape us as a family.

Two plays in the fall.  -- I was in "Once Upon a Mattress" and in a Murder Mystery for the Hotel Alyeska over Halloween.  I enjoyed both of these but there were a couple of weeks in October where I was in rehearsals for four hours a day on weekdays.  However, all of this is forgotten with the thrill of a performance.

The growth of my children and their accomplishments. -- A lot of what I do and who I am revolves around my family, shuttling them places, celebrating with them, worrying about them, teasing them, trying to have them grow in faith and love.  Confirmation class with my two older girls is part of this.

Sermon series. -- Particularly these three:  1) One on UnChristian (by David Kinaman), exploring the perception of Christianity in by those outside of the church and the reasons for the perceptions, 2) Adam Hamilton's 24 Hours that Changed the World, and 3) Start: Becoming A Good Samaritan, which continued to push our church in a more missional direction.

Self-Reflection. -- This blog.  The deaths in November.  Focusing on mission and ministry as we live into our new worship space.  My pastoral role.  Prayer time.  Sermon series.  I think I've grown a lot over the last few years.  While I see myself, at times, as a 20-something, brash pastor, I'm really not that person.  I'm a lot more mature and responsible in real life than the "loose cannon" I sometimes am in my head.  I've given myself a lot to think about this year.

This may not be a complete list and I might have left off something of note.  I'm sure that someone will bring any glaring omissions to my attention.  But I think these topics pretty much sum up a lot of my 2010.