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.