Things I support (a little raving)

Last week I made a list of 8 things with which I am officially done. As I am now in the Christmas spirit, I thought I would try to make a list of things that I view as good and exciting. Without further ado, 8 things I support:

1. The life-changing power of the Gospel: God changes people through faith in Christ Jesus. I love to see the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of people in our little community. I love to see that look in someone's eyes when they all of sudden connect with God in a surprising, yet deeply satisfying way. I just love it when people hear the Scriptures speak to them; those moments when Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and someone hears those words being spoken to him or her. I really live for those times.

2. Enjoying my job: Life is far too short to spend our time doing things that make us miserable. Sure, there are good parts and bad parts to every occupation, but I truly enjoy what I am called to do. I love studying the Scriptures, I love teaching, and I love connecting with people around faith. Sure, there are times that I wonder if I have not made a huge mistake, but then God reminds in some way or another that He called me to be a pastor.

3. Vacation: While I enjoy what I do, I also enjoy time away to relax. Ministry is tough work for an introvert and I need time to be quiet and alone. Vacation helps me to do that and I am thankful for it and highly recommend it to everyone. If you cannot take a vacation, you are doing it wrong.

4. Warm feet: During winter I think about my feet a lot. Warm socks and cozy slippers certainly are a luxury in winter, but I support any and all means to maintain warm feet.

5. Family Movie Night: While many family movies leave something to be desired, there are some real gems out there worth watching. Marian is especially fond of any movie involving a monkey. Warm blankets, good snacks and family-friendly entertainment is alright in my book.

6. Dale Bruner's commentary on Matthew: Here's a link to the part 1 of Bruner's excellent commentary on Matthew on Amazon: here. Simply put, this is the best commentary on any biblical book I have ever read. It is simply uplifting and informative.

7. Giving Marian bubble baths: Marian is the cutest little girl I know. She especially enjoys taking baths. She splashes, plays and from time-to-time attempts to drink the water. No matter, when she is done she has that clean baby smell and settles down to take a good long night's sleep. Marian sleeping is good for daddy sleeping.

8. Bringing flowers to my wife: Tamara likes flowers. I like bringing flowers to her. I used to do so more often and now not so much. Hmm, perhaps a new year's resolution is in the works here.

That's my list and I'm sticking to it.

Things I am done with (a little ranting)

Over the last 2 and 1/2 years I have learned a very few things about pastoral ministry here in Merrill. Please note that I wrote, 'very few.' In general I am still trying to find my way through the maze of pastoral duties, congregational expectations and professional obligations. That being said, there are a few things with which I am done. I compiled them into a short list for easy access:

1. The Lectionary: I preached the lectionary for 6 months and then left it to go lectio continua. I just find that preaching a text without jumping over controversial passages is challenging both to me as the preacher and to the congregation. Plus, this helps with #2.

2. Biblical Illiteracy: I can handle that the culture is moving away from Christendom. What I cannot handle is the Church divorcing herself from knowledge of her Scriptures. I also am annoyed when people seek to criticize Christianity then show a woeful lack of knowledge concerning the central text of the faith. If for no other reason, people need to know the Bible to understand Western culture; its art, literature and background values.

3. Manipulation: The next person that passively-aggressively tries to triangulate me into doing something is getting both barrels of my sardonic wit.

4. HUGE portion sizes at restaurants: I am a man who loves to eat (I know gluttony is a sin, but what are you going to do?). Even I, however, have to throw my hands up and say, "Hey, that's too much for me." I would rather pay the same price for a reasonably sized meal than feel like I am wasting food. I get especially annoyed when I am on the road and the option of a doggy bag is unrealistic.

5. Wearing a watch: I quit wearing a watch a year ago. I do check the time and am on time to most appointments, but I am no longer a slave to the clock. Freedom is a good thing and I am thankfully living out my freedom given to me in Christ Jesus.

6. People who confuse weird and intelligent: Just because you are outside of cultural norms does not mean that you are intelligent or better. Sometimes weird is just weird.

7. Those who dismiss all Christians as unintelligent: Some Christians are anti-intellectual, anti-scholastic, and anti-science, but not all of us are. Some of us are quite intelligent and able to hold our own in intellectual discussions and debates. Remember, if you really want to argue against something, you look best when arguing against the best of your opposition. If you want to refute or argue against Christianity, pick on Calvin or Aquinas or Augustine or Barth.

8. Gross commercials: I hate watching a program and then, BAM, some lewd commercial comes on making everyone feel uncomfortable. I do not want to watch advertisements concerning sexuality and I wonder how effective those commercials are.

That's my list today and I'm sticking to it.

Should the Lord will it

I meant to be in San Francisco this morning awaiting my training for reading ordination exams. Instead, I am sitting in my living room. My flight was canceled yesterday due to inclement weather. I suppose I should feel upset, but yet I have peace. After all, who wants to be on an airplane when the pilot/tower are unsure if it is safe to fly.
About a year ago my wife and I were delayed returning from a retreat due to a problem with one of the plane's engines. While our daughter awaited our return at her Nana's house, we calmly lived through the experience (and slept in a really dingy hotel room). A gentleman seated directly in front of us, however, stood up and screamed at the flight attendant, "You get this ----- plane in the air right ----- now, I have a meeting to catch in the morning." He apparently did not care if the plane would fall out of the sky, because he had business to which he needed to attend. I am not sure what meeting is important enough to risk your very life.
This morning I am reminded about the reason for my peace, that is Christ Jesus, our Lord. James, the brother of Jesus once wrote, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.' Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.' " (James 4:13-15). While I may have made other plans, the Lord's will is still sovereign. So when flights are canceled, when people are late for meetings, when sorrows like sea billows roll, I can have peace because I know I follow the Lord and His will will be done.
So instead of traveling today, I will study and pray, visit and meet, but most of all serve the Lord and seek His will.

Faith and family

This week I am experiencing a real challenge. My wife's mother is very ill and so Tuesday my wife decided to go to Seattle to be with her. I completely support my wife's decision and believe she is doing the Lord's will in her presence with her mother.
The challenge comes on the home front. My beautiful and energetic one-year old is home with me, making even simple pastoral tasks very difficult. Even now I am stealing a few minutes during her naptime to put up this post.
As a family we need your prayers and most of all we need God to be strong in our weakness.

Help Wanted

One of the most frustrating parts of being a pastor is volunteer recruitment and retention. I am blessed at Merrill Presbyterian Church to have a good number of people in the congregation who are willing to give of their time and talents to serve God by serving the community. Of course a good number of people is not everyone, but I'm not complaining.
At MPC we really run in seasons that are opposite of our farming community. Whereas farmers are pretty laid back in the winter, the staff (and congregation) of MPC are somewhat idle in the summer months (hence I take a lot of vacation in July and August).
As August begins to wind down, however, the church season turns to 'spring.' 'Spring' means we are preparing fields for ministry, planting new discipleship programs, evangelism opportunities, social justice and educational ministries. All of these planting activities require support from the pastor, the officers and (crucially) volunteers from the congregation. When Jesus looked on the many people in need he had compassion on them. He then said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." [Matthew 9:37-38]. I take that to mean that there will always be more ministry needed than ministers available to do the work.
So I come to the pastor's dilemma. I certainly have more time available than members of the congregation to do ministry, but I cannot possibly do it all, nor would it be healthy emotionally, physically or spiritually for me to do so. This year as a congregation we have some tremendous opportunities to do ministry. The question, then, is are you willing to step forward to serve? Are you willing to labor for the kingdom? Are you willing to step up and step out for the Gospel?

The Spirit and Baptism

While I was pleased (at least doctrinally) with my sermon on Jesus' baptism yesterday, there was one exegetical point that really stood out to me that I was unable to capture.
Eugene Boring (a greater name for a biblical scholar I have yet to hear) points out that the Spirit comes to Jesus as he stands in the shallows of the Jordan just as the Spirit came to hover over the waters of creation. Boring (and Bruner) see in Christ the beginning of God's new creation. Whereas God had threatened extinction in the flood and wrought something somewhat new (or at least reclaimed) in the family of Noah and later the family of Abraham, in Jesus God was truly doing something new. In Jesus, the Son of God made flesh, God was creating a people with and by the Holy Spirit.
Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, states, "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new!" (5:17 NRSV). In Christ Jesus God inaugurated this new creation and through faith in Jesus, we are made new. Oh, we have fits and starts as the Holy Spirit works in us, but in God's eyes (and this is the most important perspective) we are already new.
Let us all live in the new way, the way of Jesus Christ as revealed in sacred Scripture.

Trinity talk

I just had a Jehovah Witness man stop by the house today. It has been many months since a JW representative came by the manse. The man who came by was named David. He was well dressed and seemed to be truly enjoying walking around in the beautiful Merrill sunshine.
I introduced myself to David and told him I was the pastor of the Church right across the street. David's beaming smile dimmed and his hopeful stance shrugged when I shared this news. He was somewhat out of sorts when I next invited him to chat for a while.
David was unsure of how to proceed so I suggested that we might talk about the Trinity (a doctrine the JW, as neo-Arians, deny). David had a lot of trouble with the concept of God as three persons. He kept wanting to tell me that I was dividing the one God into three parts (modalism). I told him that I respected the diversity of the persons of God and that he did not respect their essential unity, trying to seperate the Son and the Spirit from the Father in some kind of hierarchy that I neither suggested nor implied.
David turned me to the popular JW passage for 'dealing' with my 'error.' He quoted the JW prooftext Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." Actually, he first told me to read Colossians 1:18, "He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything," which ironically is where his argument collapsed. As an orthodox Christian, I affirm the doctrine of the Trinity, that God is from all eternity Father, Son and Holy Spirit; three in one, one in three. I stand with the historic Church affirming that Jesus Christ is fully human AND fully divine. In quoting from Colossians, David took things out of context. The remainder of the paragraph affirms the supremacy of Christ and qualifies the 'firstborn' status of Jesus as the 'firstborn' from the dead, i.e. the firstborn of the NEW creation. (See also Hebrews 7:3 "Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. "for the eternal existence of the Son of God).
Now I am an arrogant man, one prone to harsh interrogation and cruel inquisition. This is my modis oprandi as a sinner. With David, however, God, the Holy Spirit, gave me the fruit of gentleness, and I am very thankful. David accused me of not being open to God's leading in my reading of Scripture (an unusual accusation coming from a JW). He told me that I was unable and unwilling to deny the doctrine of the Trinity, despite (in his opinion), there being little evidence of the Trinity in Scripture. I thought, though did not say, that it is odd to me that he is unable and unwilling to consider the possibility of the Trinity when he reads Scripture.
We discussed the topic for a while, but really made no headway in coming to a shared understanding. David denied the basic orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and would not countenance its possibility. I denied the Arian heterodox teaching of the Son as a creature and would not countenance such a possibility.
David said some strange things. He assured me that it was Satan and not God who led the magi to the Christ child. He questioned why Jesus would take time to speak to the Father if they were the same person (I attempted to correct him, explaining the Trinitarian viewpoint on such matters, but David continually returned to his old argument, which is evidence of programmed talking points, and not of clear investigation and thought). He finally attacked the Church (all of us orthodox folks) for not using the name of God, YHWH, (which he insists is correctly pointed 'Jehovah,' and I assured him it was not). His argument was that we DIShonor God by not using God's name in worship. I told him we refer to Jesus all the time and call God the Father by the name Jesus used for him, i.e. 'Father.' David also told me that the word, 'Lord' in the Old Testament was inappropriate in place of the name of God, despite its historical precedent (a point he categorically denied, i.e. the Septuagint did not use 'kurios' in place of 'YHWH'). It is clear that David and I were not easy conversation partners on matters of theology.
We parted company cordially, with David assuring me he would look deeper into the doctrine of the Trinity for my sake (with the implication that in our next meeting, he would set me straight). I welcome David's future visit, hoping that the Holy Spirit will break through the walls he has erected around his beliefs and reveal God's Trinitarian truth.

Matthew series

"An account of the genesis of Jesus Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1)
Over the last week I spent a lot of time at a monastery in Mt. Angel. While the contemplative life is certainly not something I could see doing permanently, I appreciate the Benedictine sisters and their mission of hospitality. The peace and calm of the place certainly aided me in study and prayer. As the busyness of life slowed down, the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit was magnified.
I have felt for a while that Matthew was the next step in our preaching at MPC. What I was surprised to discover is that the path through Matthew that I thought might take as much as 7 months, will instead be a journey of over a year.
I hope and pray that the congregation will receive the new series with open arms and join in this journey through Matthew's account of the new creation that began in Jesus Christ.

Resurrection

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Today was an excellent day to worship.

I hope you all had a blessed day.

Baptism

In the coming weeks MPC will celebrate the sacrament of baptism 5 times. Early this year I told my Session that it was my stated goal to baptize more people than I bury this year. So far this year the congregation has not had a death, so these five baptisms will be a good head start.
I love baptism and I view it as pure gift of joy that the Lord has called me to be a minister and allowed me to officiate at the celebration of the sacrament. While I know I in myself am there to maintain decency and order (1 Cor 14:40) I do enjoy sharing that moment with the person being baptized.
In my short ministry I have had the opportunity to baptize 2 whole families at the same time (you cannot get much closer to Acts than that) and that opportunity is going to present itself again next week with a mother and her two children. The following week our congregation will witness the sign of God's faithfulness for a toddler and an infant. All of these baptisms are a sign of God's claim and seal of the person as Christ's own forever.
I love to remind people that Jesus' own baptism is a paradigm for our baptisms. As we emerge from the water, a visible sign of an invisible spiritual reality (thank you Augustine), God's Spirit is present with us and God claims us as his own child (see Matthew 3:16-27).
Is there a better way to bring God's people together than a baptism? As we welcome in new people to the Church, we are all reminded of God's unfailing love for us.

Why Gideon?

A few months ago at Little River Christian Camp (run by a nice couple) I sat planning out sermons through Resurrection Sunday. As providence would have it, the 1 Corinthians series ended on Transfiguration Sunday, meaning a new series would begin with Lent. I could not pass up the opportunity to do something special with those six weeks. But what could I choose?
I prayed and read, prayed and read, prayed and read and prayed. When I was done I felt fairly certain the book of Judges was the correct choice. I still have no idea why I felt that way and as I have been preparing sermons I still wonder how I feel so sure that it is the right decision (the Holy Spirit is like that sometimes I suppose). The trouble was the book of Judges was simply too large to treat adequately in six weeks. So I read and prayed, read and prayed, read and prayed. When I finished, it was clear that the Gideon cycle was the direction I was being led.
After bouncing my Lent plan off of one of my mentors, she asked a very important question, "Why Judges? Why Gideon?" As if she was not enough, my wife asked the same question. Now that I have launched into the series, I am sure more than a few in the congregation are wondering the same thing. The answer to the question is, honestly, I do not know except that it is the right thing for us here in Merrill right now.
Gideon, as a person in Scripture has always intrigued me (but so have several others like Moses, Ahab, Josiah, Peter and [of course] Jesus). Being intrigued with Gideon, however, is not enough basis for a sermon series. The question I have been struggling to answer is what does Gideon's story have to say to us in Merrill right now. Gideon is intriguing. He is perhaps the smoothest operator in all of Scripture (I mean, who else gets to test God not once, not twice, but three times and get away with it?). He reforms the worship of Israel and then leads Israel back into idolatry. He is absolutely the hero of Israel, but then oversteps the bounds of his call.
Gideon is not the reason for preaching through these chapters of Judges. Maybe I am just intrigued with the revelation of God in Judges. Many consider Judges a bloody and horrific book, but in it I see the God of righteousness and grace interacting with humanity, seeking to fulfill His providential purposes and provide for the fulfillment of His promises. Judges is the story of people who have every reason to give glory to God and worship God and God alone, but continue to turn away from God for reasons never fully explained. Maybe it was God's words through the prophet telling the Israelites, "But you have not given heed to my voice" (Judges 6:10b) that set me down this path.
In the end, I am not sure how to answer, "Why Gideon?" The only answer I can give is that the Holy Spirit led me to this text and in some way, in some form, Christ and Christ crucified is revealed in this as well.

Small Town Pastor Life

I have been a small town pastor for about a year and a half now. While I am no expert, I have learned three main things about being a small town pastor during my time here so far:
1. "People do not care how much you know until they know you care." A fellow pastor who has been in this business for over 50 years told me that as I was preparing to begin my ministry at MPC. I know it was not original to him, but it was the first time I heard it. Over the last months I have learned that it is very true. People need to know their minister cares. They need to know their minister has a deep and abiding relationship with God, a rich commitment to Jesus Christ and empowering love of the Holy Spirit. People also need to see that care carry over to them. While I am nowhere near perfect at doing this, I am learning how to be a better minister.
2. "If you want something done right, get help." This is a recent lesson I am learning. If I try to do everything myself (in the vain attempt to be sure it is done well) then I cannot wonder why no one is willing to help. People like to be involved (and even better they love to be invited). While I am nowhere near perfect at recognizing people's gifts and talents, I am learning to ask for help.
3. "No program in the world can substitute for the presence of the Living God." In our Wednesday and Sunday morning Bible Studies we are looking at Old Testament prophets. I am struck how God time and time again rejects empty worship gesture, asking instead for genuine affection and obedience. The lesson I am learning is that programs are far easier to administer than ministering in the presence of the Living God. The challenge is I am called to the latter, and never the former.

Those are just a few things God is helping me to learn. What is God teaching you?

I am not good at relaxing

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Despite Jesus clear instructions and invitation, I find it hard to relax. At times I feel like relaxing is somehow a waste of time (which, by the way, I am pretty good at doing). I feel guilty that there is something I should be doing, someone I should be visiting, somewhere I should be.
Perhaps, despite my faith, I have trouble believing Jesus meant what he said. "Deny [yourself], pick up [your] cross and follow me," (Mt. 16:24) you betcha. "I will give you rest for your souls," um, well that just sounds too good to be true.
What is certain is that Jesus worked and rested throughout his ministry. He made time to be with the people, but also to find a quiet place for himself. Jesus went to weddings and feasts and never once seemed to think any of these things was a waste of time, was time he could have spent doing something else more productive.
I know I am a better pastor when I take my days off, but sometimes that is hard to believe. To try to convince myself of this I went on a retreat last October where they drilled it into my head that Sabbath-keeping was time well-spent. I even made a rule of life with sabbath-keeping (read resting) activities featured prominently. Despite all of that, I still feel, well, guilty about taking time off.
I think I need help and I am convinced only Jesus can provide that help. If only I could get over my unbelief.

A Few Easy Resolutions to Build Up Your Faith

Every year I make new year's resolutions and every year I fall short. I am sure that this year will be no different.
That being said, I have found two easy resolutions that all of us can keep because all it involves is listening for about a half hour a day.
First, I am walking through the Bible in one year with the Daily Audio Bible (www.dailyaudiobible.com). Brian, the host, chooses a new English version each week and then reads through a daily selection. Each day's podcast is about 20 minutes. At the end of the reading Brian gives a short reflection and a few prayer requests. I know very little about him and his ministry, but his podcast ministry has been a blessing to me since about July last year and I look forward to this full year.
Second, I am also joining with the good folks of Princeton Theological Seminary (go Fighting Clergy) to listen through Calvin's Institutes throughout the year. A daily reading is about 10 minutes and has already given me much to think about as I listen instead of read. Details can be found at www2.ptsem.edu/ConEd/Calvin/.
I have also decided to listen to these two daily podcasts while exercising (we'll see how that goes).
I hope and trust that God will use these disciplines to teach and guide me as a disciple of Jesus Christ.