Prepare Ye

OK Sports Fans. This is going to take a minute, and feel free to end this ride at any time.  This Sunday's (June 10, 2018) lessons for the Third Sunday after Pentecost were: Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; and Mark 3:20-35. The plan was to continue a sermon series on 2nd Corinthians, and the sermon text below kind of does that.  But I woke up Sunday morning and re-read this, and thought, that's not what I need to preach. Which is a problem because I'm having this mental conversation at 7:00 am, the first service is at 8:30, and I haven't showered yet. So, I prayed that the Holy Spirit make the "words of my mouth and meditations of my heart pleasing to you," and I made Her responsible.  People ask me why I like serving multiple churches. It is for Sundays like today. I took three swings in front of three different communities, trusting that God put the right words in my mouth in the right space-time coordinates. Here are my three effort...

Ten years ago this morning, I started a new adventure. Just before 8:30 am, I walked from my new apartment into a new building, sat in the front row and began to learn Greek from a brilliant, hilarious, rabbit hating, lamination loving, table hopping New Testament scholar. I also met some of my dearest friends and most faithful leaders of the church. Many of them scared me. Some said they had wanted to be a pastor since before they were teenagers. I thought some of them still were teenagers. I hadn't even thought of being a pastor until a little old lady suggested in just over a year earlier. This group of people who gathered in Valentine 310 that morning (and several others along the way) have helped me in immeasurable ways. They have inspired, challenged, comforted, cajoled, kicked me in the ass, prayed for, hugged, motivated, questioned, tutored, accepted and just been there for me for each day since. They have done everything from inviting me to study sessions, teaching me how ...

This is an article I wrote for a local newspaper for a column by local pastors. I feel that I must address the protest by white nationalists, white supremacists and Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend. They began on Friday night by surrounding a church where clergy and community leaders gathered in prayer before preparing to be a counter-protest the next day. Outside of the church, the crowd chanted Nazi slogans and threatened violence. On Saturday, clergy and members of their church gathered in the park where the protest was to go, and sang hymns. The protesters came because a statue of a Confederate general was being removed. The community had decided that it was a symbol of hate and division, and should come down. After their rally, many of the white supremacists used the clubs and shields they brought with them to beat on those who came out to speak against their protest. One extremist drove his car into a group of other cars, killing ...

It's been a while. I mean, a really long while. For those who regularly still have checked this, wow. Since you're probably friends, gee, get a life. If this shows up on a feed reader, you probably forgot about this blog. I did. The last real post from me goes back to March of 2011, and was about waiting for ELCA Regional Assignments. I think I stopped blogging because I was "concerned" about the wonderful Synod staffs & congregations sniffing this out and hitting the big DENIED button.  Well, too late. Since that last post , I got assigned to Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, the UP of Michigan and Wisconsin). Then I was called to the North West Synod of Wisconsin. I flew out to meet the Bishop & the Synod staff on my birthday. Got profiles of the churches which eventually called me.  Just before graduation, on the day I was putting on my play, "Four Voices, One Passion" (I'll get back to that in a future post), my mother was hospitalized....

  This is the manuscript I wrote on Saturday to create an outline from which to preach from on Sunday, September 11, 2011. I didn't stick to it. (I never do.) I've added in some of what I remember saying at the two services. Some of this I used, some I didn't but it all went into the stew, and each congregation got a different mix of veggies and meat in service today. Peter asks Jesus how often you must forgive someone who has sinned against you. This comes from the passage just before this, last week’s Gospel lesson, about what you are to do if someone sins against you. For those of you who weren’t here, let me recap: You are to talk to the person face to face so they understand what they did and how it affected you. If that doesn’t work, then you are to take a couple of friends with you and talk to the person again, again so they understand how what they did has wronged you. Should that not work, then bring the matter, and the person, before the congregation, again pres...

I'm going to try to make this blog functional again. The key part that was missing ... my motivation. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. PREVIOUSLY ON PREPARE YE: Since the beginning of March, when I had my last "real" post, ( The In Between Times ) I did get the call, and was assigned to a synod in the northwest part of Wisconsin (you can figure it out if you try really hard), flew out to meet the Bishop and his staff, received profiles for a two-point parish (two churches that work together to call a pastor and do other ministries). When I was preparing to come out to meet with the call committee, my mother had a heart attack. Instead of coming for the interview, I went back home to Michigan. I wound up spending the last two weeks of my Senior year with my mom in the hospital or recovering at home. She was bound and determined to come out to Gettysburg for my graduation, and made sure her doctors knew that. We drove out and she saw me graduate. W...

U2 - Until The End Of The World on May 21, 2011 at Denver's Invesco Field. Bono dedicated the song to Harold Camping after Camping's prediction of the Rapture had come and gone. One of my life lessons this past year, and one of the reason's I have not posted here a great deal is because I am realizing that my initial reaction to situations I disagree with should be at least tempered, if not ignored. I have found that my ability to respond gracefully is a "growing edge." Politically and theologically, I tend to be liberal and progressive. People who think the opposite of what I think tend to cause my stress level to shoot up. I can feel the muscles in my neck and shoulder tense up. My initial response is to lash out and try to inflict the same discomfort in them as I feel. Now, I don't believe that anyone at Fox News, or in the Fundamentalist Church gives a rat's behind what I think, but it doesn't mean I don't want to fire back. ...

For all of my friends in the ministry or trying to get into the ministry, I offer a cautionary tale: You take your first call in a town about two or three hours away from your home town. Things are going well in your first few months. You are getting settled in; you like the congregation and the congregation likes you. You develop friendships with your colleagues at other churches in the community. On the third month anniversary of your arrival at your new call, a woman, who is not a member of your congregation, is arrested. It is on an illegitimate charge. Five days later, on the day the woman is convicted of the charge, you are elected to be the leader of a new community group that will lead a community boycott in response to the arrest. That night you give an unscripted speech to a community assembly larger than any group you have ever spoken to before. On the eve of your fifth month in your call, your home is bombed. After a year, the protest is successful, and the city'...

I've been talking to a friend who has a big decision to make in the near future. They are having to decide how much of a bad situation they are willing to put up with. I'm struggling with my advice because I don't know how much of my experience and how I would deal with the situation is coloring my advice. I guess my CPExperience helps me to recognize my issues and make me aware of them. But I am still struggling with what to do and what to say (or not say.) I hope just being there to listen helps. So if you're mad, get mad Don't hold it all inside Come on and talk to me now Hey, what you got to hide? I get angry too Well I'm a lot like you When you're standing at the crossroads And don't know which path to choose Let me come along 'cause even if you're wrong Crissy Hynde & the Pretenders - I'll Stand By You (live)

It is eerily quiet on the grounds of The LTS. There are only a few people on campus doing their CPE, all of the Seniors have left and gone off to their calls and careers. Then the people of my class, the Middlers/Interns have been taking off, moving to their internship sites for a year. I'm one of the last ones left here, planning on moving to the Garden next week to start in August. I'm dealing with the hidden dilemma of the Seminary process, packing and moving. This is one of the dirty little secrets of the call process they don't tell you about. Well, for those of my readers who are in the discernment process, let me clue you in on this. From the time you leave your home, sweet home until your first call, you will probably move at least 4 times, possibly as many as 6 times in 4 years. Here is the breakdown: 1) From home onto campus - Depending on if you are a pipeliner, pseudo-pipeliner or second career person, this will entail either moving some stuff, gathering so...

I spent the better part of today driving around my hometown of Saginaw, Michigan . Since I headed off to The LTS two years ago, I really have not been back long enough to see how it had changed in that time, and when I had been back, I was usually tied up with family duties. So I just took the day to drive around to see the sights. Now Saginaw has been hard struck by the crash of the automobile industry in the 80's and has never recovered. Unemployment is somewhere in the 20% area and that only counts those who still can still collect benefits. When I was growing up in the late 60's and through the 70's, there were about a dozen plants, all running three shifts a day and sometimes working on weekends. Now there are a couple of plants working single shifts. I was stunned by how many plants no longer exist. They are not just vacant, they aren't there. They've been bulldozed, rubble removed and are now green areas surrounded by fences topped with barbed wire. I drove b...

Growing up playing and watching sports, I have always known that there were people who thought their knowledge or love of their sport was purer or greater than that of the masses. They had been fans longer, or remember the glory days of the "real stars," before technology or something else ruined the game. For example, Michigan football fans are especially arrogant. A trip to the Rose Bowl is their birthright, and National Championships are to be regular occurrences. Lloyd Carr was railed against for failing to deliver these, unlike the near divinity granted to Bo Schembechler , who usually lost when his teams made it to the Rose Bowl (or any bowl) and while Carr brought 1 National title to Ann Arbor when Bo never came close. But they have nothing on Notre Dame fans who truly believe God is on their side, they need to only find the prophet to lead them. Having lived in Pennsylvania for 2 years, I think the Penn State football fans merit recognition. Then there are hockey fan...

For the past couple of weeks, I have been on a break. Not a Ross & Rachel break, but days of rest. It feels like I've been going non-stop for so long, I don't know what to do with time off. So I have been a couch potato. I've been going through what stuff I want to take back to Michigan when I go back for about a month to spend with my Mom, y'know the stuff I dragged out to G'burg, but haven't used in 2 years. I had been looking at taking back some books, especially ones I knew I wouldn't use in the Garden on internship, but decided to put those into storage here in G'burg. But I've spent time flipping through some, especially some that I bought pre-Seminary when I was trying to deepen my understanding of exactly what I am doing. And I've realized there are as many takes on the role and nature of God, salvation and the relationship between humanity and the Divine as there are people willing to put their thoughts to paper. Sometimes, many time...

As I've finished, and am finishing (I'm using the perfect tense of finish) my second year at The LTS and the Road to Ordination (my favorite of the Hope-Crosby road movies) I am realizing what a high cost many of us have to pay for following our call. I have friends here and at our sister seminaries who have: lost parents, lost children, lost friends, lost marriages, lost their health, lost their life. I think there have been more weeks with people crying than not. When I have been asked what is the part of this I didn't expect, the real answer is that I didn't expect it to be so hard. I didn't think the process would get in the way. I didn't expect pastors to not provide or model pastoral care. I expected to be challenged mentally, morally, spiritually and theologically; I didn't expect to be challenged emotionally more than all those combined. I didn't expect God to show mercy and peace to those who are seeking to be leaders of the Church; I thought w...

I'll apologize again for not writing on a regular basis, but the back to school time has been special here at The LTS. Those of us in the middler class have been adjusting back to academic life after a couple of months of being thrown into the deep end of the practical theological pool that is CPE. People have had their theological foundations given a mighty shake. In addition to that, everyone is dealing with their own volume of emotional baggage. I've been trying to help people with that, counseling, cajoling, commending and listening. If I can help any of my colleagues deal with their dramas, than I feel I have been useful. In terms of my class work, it seems as though much of classes are answering the two questions I have been pondering all summer. The first is why bad things happen, and the second is since we are justified by God, what have we been justified for? I'm still trying to put everything together, but I may have a deep thought (or something that passes for a ...

Just got back to the 'burg after the graduation ceremony from my CPE site. (Pomp & Circumstance is sooooo moving.) My evaluation was fair, the things I did well and the things I could have done better I agreed upon with my supervisor. I told him that while the experience was valuable, enriching, educational and reaffirming, I can not say it was fun or that I enjoyed it. While I am glad I did it at the Sweet Big Deal State School of Medicine/Trauma Center and did it during the summer, I am not glad I did it now. Every day felt like it tore open new stitches on emotional wounds that had not yet healed. In my 73 days of CPE, I had contact with over 800 patients, family members and staff. I responded to 42 traumas, 9 heart alert codes, 1 brain attack and 3 death ministries. And I can tell you details about each one. I can still hear the flatline tone from the monitor of the patient who's room I had just walked into. I can still feel the wife's hand turn cold, clammy and fla...

I'm in a bit of a funk from CPEeeeek, so please pardon the weak rip offs of quotes of the 60's. I saw the best souls of my class destroyed by sadness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the hospital halls at dawn looking for a happy fix; Angel-hearted chaplains burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the heartache of night. - apologies to Allen Ginsberg's Howl Ask not what your God can do for you - ask what you can do for your God. apologies to John F. Kennedy

Let me start by saying my mom's doing better. She's been hospitalized with double pneumonia. She feels, sounds and looks a lot better than when I got back. She's waiting to get out of the hospital. To all the LTS people who heard & sent prayers, thanks. Bon Jovi - It's My Life When I was coaching football, one of my pet peeves were the "experts" who would sit in the stands and second guess everything the coaches did. Why'd you play this kid? Why did you call that play? The 'experts' whose experience was getting run off their JV team and yelling at the TV on Saturdays and Sundays had no idea what we were trying to do and what kids knew how to do what. With running youth sports on Saturdays, I dreaded a poor Friday performance, because I would hear from people who can't teach 4th graders to line up for free throws tell me why we should throw deep routes on 3rd & 1. When we converted the first down. This hasn't been an easy year for m...

I'm back in Michigan, having to make an overnite drive back from Gettysburg. My mom's was put in the hospital with double pneumonia (over-achiever!). So as soon as the Graduation & Eucharist was done, I loaded up the Saturn and drove the turnpikes back to America's High Five. Mom's doing ok, taking breating treatments and antibiotics. Good thing it was Finals week so I was used to pulling an all-nighter. The one bright spot. The hospital has wi-fi internet access. Didn't get to say good bye to as many people as I wanted to, so I'll be shooting emails out. But to any 'burgers who are lurking, I just want to say thank you for making a difficult year a lot less difficult. I want to thank everyone for checking in on me, and keeping an eye on me. I want to thank the people who shared a piece of their souls to let me know I was not in this alone. Y'know, the way people were looking out for me, you think they want to be pastors or something for God's s...