Ordination trials
08/01/2008 19:06
Most of you may know, I was examined by the Covenant
Presbytery credentials committee today, as one of the
final steps toward completing ordination. I was
approved by the committee, and will be recommended by
them for ordination.
Thank you for your prayers and support through this process. The final two steps are the oral exam before the entire Presbytery (on February 5), and the ordination service (date TBA). I look forward to finishing out this process, as it allows me to serve Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church as Pastor.
Thank you for your prayers and support through this process. The final two steps are the oral exam before the entire Presbytery (on February 5), and the ordination service (date TBA). I look forward to finishing out this process, as it allows me to serve Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church as Pastor.
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Who's in charge here?
07/01/2008 14:02
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
~II Corintians 4:5
Yesterday at lunch, Jack asked me, "Daddy-- are you in charge of part of the church?"
What a profound question! I'm thrilled that Jack is asking questions like this, and thinking about these things. I wonder how many people have actually thought about this question...
Here's how the rest of the dialogue went (roughly!):
Me: "Jack, daddy's job is to be the Pastor at the church, which is not about being in charge, it's about serving them."
Jack: "What does 'serving them' mean?"
Me: "It means that I help them when they need help, I encourage them if they are sad, and I teach them about Jesus and how He is what they need."
Jack: "Sometimes it seems like you're in charge..."
Me: "Well, sometimes people act like they want me to be in charge; but when they act like that, what they really want is for me to teach them how Jesus is in charge."
Jack: "That's good."
Working on a book
05/01/2008 10:02
I talk a bit about my ambitions to write a book on
pastoral placement and transition. Read
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Internet communities article
14/12/2007 15:55
I've always been fascinated with technology, and over
time I've developed a lot of thoughts and ideas about
how faith and technology collide. A few of these
thoughts made their way into an article that I
recently wrote for ByFaith magazine, which
ended up being called, "Looking for Love in a Few Wrong
Places". That article, which focuses
particularly on how technology and the Internet
allow communities to be built in new ways, is
now available on the ByFaith website,
in case you're interested.
By the way, if you don't already subscribe to ByFaith, I would highly recommend it (and not just because I write for them)-- it is a good magazine that offers a helpful look at many diverse topics.
By the way, if you don't already subscribe to ByFaith, I would highly recommend it (and not just because I write for them)-- it is a good magazine that offers a helpful look at many diverse topics.
Food for the hungry
06/12/2007 22:59
My friend Megan posted a challenging post on her blog
a few days ago. It turns out that Megan read
an interesting article in the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch about the struggles that
many food banks and food pantries face around
this time of year: they simply run out of food,
and are forced to limit their services or close
doors altogether.
The article points to the unexpected downside of our technological advances: the accuracy of inventory systems in grocery stores means that stores seldom over-purchase, and food packagers don't over-produce, in the quantities that they used to. The net result is that food banks and food pantries don't have the supply of food from the grocery stores and food packagers that they used to. As a result, they run out of inventory themselves.
Megan asks a hard question: what is their personal family responsibility for this problem? I love this question, as it reveals Megan's faith as real and practicable. I also love it because it forces me to consider this for myself, and my family.
In her post, Megan invites interaction about this subject, and I wanted to bring that discussion here, as well. I've also invited my friend Russell Smith to join the conversation. I'd like to work together toward some real answers to this problem-- something that we (as a community) can put into practice on a regular basis.
What do you think? We have a food pantry right here, through Fayette Cares-- my guess is that they are facing the same struggle. How can we answer? What should our personal responsibility in this problem be?
The article points to the unexpected downside of our technological advances: the accuracy of inventory systems in grocery stores means that stores seldom over-purchase, and food packagers don't over-produce, in the quantities that they used to. The net result is that food banks and food pantries don't have the supply of food from the grocery stores and food packagers that they used to. As a result, they run out of inventory themselves.
Megan asks a hard question: what is their personal family responsibility for this problem? I love this question, as it reveals Megan's faith as real and practicable. I also love it because it forces me to consider this for myself, and my family.
In her post, Megan invites interaction about this subject, and I wanted to bring that discussion here, as well. I've also invited my friend Russell Smith to join the conversation. I'd like to work together toward some real answers to this problem-- something that we (as a community) can put into practice on a regular basis.
What do you think? We have a food pantry right here, through Fayette Cares-- my guess is that they are facing the same struggle. How can we answer? What should our personal responsibility in this problem be?
Song from Sunday's worship
26/11/2007 10:56
Lyrics from David Wilcox's "Show the Way" which I
sang as my introductory illustration. Read
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Haiku #1
13/11/2007 14:32
I'm fascinated by the Haiku, a form of Japanese
poetry that is structured by a pattern of syllables
in each line: 5, 7, 5. Periodically, I will take a
moment to construct a Haiku as both an expression of
what I'm thinking or feeling and a brief exercise in
writing. Here is the first:
studying Bible
sermon is for this Sunday
will it be worthy?
studying Bible
sermon is for this Sunday
will it be worthy?