Reformation Day

It is the 490th anniversary of Reformation Day.
Let the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany be opened!



When will the next reformation begin? Who will be the unlikely leader? Martin Luther stood against the abuse he saw in the Catholic church, he was deemed a heretic by the Catholic church. What are the abuses that the church today is guilty of and who are they calling heretic? What is the purpose of the church?

Luther wanted the power of the church to be shifted away from clergy to the masses. He wanted a priesthood of all believers where people would have access to the Bible, the Word of God, for themselves. He wanted them to know God as loving and kind, a God of compassion. Martin Luther never intended to start a new denomination, he never intended to be schismatic, he just wanted to correct the injustice he saw. He argued against relics, they led to worshipping something other than God. He argued against indulgences, paying for grace that is God's gift to us.

What are the relics we worship today? How do we deal in indulgences in this day and age? What do we worship that isn't God and why do we ignore the grace we are given? When will the next reformation start?

Part 2....more sin

I decided that I needed to do some reading so I read Barbara Brown Taylor’s Speaking of Sin and reread part of Migliore on humanity and sin. Here is how sin was defined in the readings.

Barbara Brown Taylor – “Sin is the existential state of distance from God. Sins are willful human choices that maintain that distance.”

Migliore (157) “Sin is basically a refusal to live in right relationship with God and others, the denial of God’s grace and the refusal to live in just and peaceful community that participates in and reflects God’s own life in communion.”

Sin is our choice to live with broken relationship to God and others. We deny the grace that God has extended to us and (as stated in the Confession of 1967) “we claim mastery of our own lives and turn against God. It becomes idolatry of self or others. Something else is put first, something that is not God. I think this is a willful choice, either by ourselves or by others as their choices affect us too. This is where the corporate nature of sin comes into play. The choices we make affect the lives of others, both positively and negatively. It is only by grace that I can make any turn, any realization that I have placed something in the place of God. Only by grace through Jesus Christ can I hope to be restored in relationship with God or with others.

So now my question as this related to the church is do we place false standards on people, make requirements of them to be in relationship with us. I am drawn to the parable of the Prodigal Father. The youngest son is welcomed back with open arms after he comes to himself (I love that phrase), it is his moment of realization that he has distanced himself from his father. He plans his confession, the prepared speech he will make upon seeing his father and his offer for repentance, to live as one of the hired servants. And when he returns, because he has made his confession and repentance, he is given the restoration.

I see the church as the older brother. We are jealous when the father welcomes our brother home. We have been there all along, but have we truly been in relationship with the father (yes I know, I am using exclusive language)? Sometimes the greatest distance is where it seems to be least likely, is that the case now? Are those of us who claim to be Christians really in right relationship with one another or with God?

What would happen if we were to have the type of community that Bonhoffer writes about in Life Together? What would happen if we truly sought confession, pardon and repentance with one another that our relationships might be fully restored. What road blocks to we put up that keep us from being in right relationship? What standards do feel people have to meet before we will accept them?

BTW - If you haven't read John Shelby Spong's "The Sins of Scripture" I would recommend it. Interesting whether you agree with him or not.

On the topic of SIN

I have been attending a Sunday school class at my home church. It is taught by our parish associate and his wife. He is a retired pastor and she is a retired University professor of Religious Studies. They are teaching a class on the history of Christian doctrines. Today we were discussing Atonement theories. What was interesting today was at the end of class. We had a few minutes so Ray launched into a brief discussion of sin.

He asked if anyone had every knowingly and willingly done something to harm God. His contention is that sin is an act that is willingly done against God, and that we don’t try to harm God or neighbor generally. Sin requires a willful intent. To go with this he talked about how big is the god who you can sin against? He further contends that the concept of sin is something the church has put in place to create fear and guilt and to promote a wrathful God.

So what is sin? How does it affect your view of God? How does your understanding of God affect the understanding of sin? I’m still chewing on this one.

A gift from a friend

I had lunch with a pastor friend of mine who is the pastor of a 5 point parish. She has been in ministry for 29 years and has endured much that has paved the way for me and other women entering the ministry. She gave me a great phrase and outlook on my situation.

I am God's servant in waiting. That is what the servant does, waits for the master to call and the right servant is called for the task at hand. So I will wait. I will wait for the master to summon me for the task that I have the gifts to do.

The Search Starts Over

I have now been turned down by Boise, ID. I kinda knew it was a long shot since I didn't have the experience they were looking for and on some of these, the gender issue may still be lurking. So, I start over, sending PIFs to some new churches I have found online and hope to hear from some that I have been referred to. As I have gone through this process I think I am starting to have a clearer picture of what I am looking for in a church....finally!

I am disappointed and frustrated, but trying to patiently wait on God. I know that this is on God's time not mine, but it doesn't make the day to day of it any easier.

DeColores!!!!

I have spent the last 5 days at Canyon Camp near Hinton, Oklahoma. I went to Oklahoma Presbyterian Cursillo #38. Cursillo is a 72 hour spiritual retreat. A chance to get away from the busyness of life and to bask in the glory of God. A chance to be surrounded by Christian hospitality and love and to hear from laity and clergy what is means to live into Christ. As a staff member you are the givers of hospitality which a blessing in itself.

This time I was on staff not as a musician, but as a spiritual advisor. The weekend is run by lay people but there are 3 clergy who lead morning chapel, celebrate communion (the one ordained pastor on our staff did that), are available for individual intercessory prayer, and give some of the talks, This year, there were 2 of us who were on staff as spiritual advisors who have not yet been ordained. It was a great joy to serve as a spiritual advisor. It offered me a chance to preach in a new setting and within a short time. To work to bring in elements of what others have said into what I am saying. I also had the chance to do something I have never done, to preach in my pajamas.

The participants are told to "come as you are" so as the staff, we all model that too. The participants are given robes of righteousness, as was I. It is like wearing a bedspread. :) Good thing it was about Jesus telling us to come as we are.

If you have the chance I would recommend you pray about going.

Neenah said No

Let this be a lesson in trusting your own instincts. I got a phone call from one of the committee members in Neenah, WI and we are finished. They liked my energy, but felt there was a disconnect. As I have thought about it, I was having to talk myself into it. It wasn't a match.

In the long run this is for the best. It is always a little hard to take rejection, but when I stop and really look at it, I think I knew it wasn't right.

So it is back to the proverbial drawing board and waiting to hear from Idaho.

I am looking forward to being at Cursillo this weekend. Time away to regroup and to listen.

After the Interview

I felt my interview in Neenah, WI went well. I felt like I had a good rapport with the committee and with the pastors. I had lunch with the pastors. I think the Sr. pastor is more introverted and therefore I had some problems reading him and getting a feel for whether I could work with him or not. From some of the material they gave me and the interactions I had with folks, the church seems to be content with where they are and what they do. There are some who seem to want to expand and experiment, but I don't see either pastor really taking that on.

The big surprise of the weekend was being thrown in on Sunday morning. I ended up taking over the lessons in Middle School and in Pre-K because they wanted to see how I interacted with the kids and if I understood developmental levels. That is where my teaching background comes in handy! They wanted to see if I could pick up a lesson and run with it with no prep time.

Coming away from the interview, I didn't have an overwhelming feeling that I am called to Wisconsin, but I also didn't walk away thinking, "There is no amount of money that could get me there" Part of the problem is not having another face to face visit to compare it with. Time will tell. But I did get a phone call from the Sr. pastor tonight to get my address so he could send me a couple of audio tapes of his preaching. Interesting that he called and not a secretary or a committee member. He said they were very impressed with me and I was high on their list, but they had other candidates. He also said the next step would most likely include me being asked to come back. I'll keep you posted.

Some Pictures of Neenah

After 2 hours interviewing this morning, then dinner with the pastor and associate pastor, I got a tour of the church. Some of the pictures I took on the tour. Then I went on a driving tour then walked back down to the church from the hotel and took pictures of the outside of the building.

This is downtown Neenah.








First Presbyterian Neenah from the outside.












Who knew that the "Great God Org" lived in Wisconsin. This one happens to be of the Aeolian Skinner variety. The sanctuary is big. French Neo Gothic.

Neenah, Wisconsin

I arrived in Neenah, WI and was met at the airport by Scott and Dave, members of the APNC at First Presbyterian in Neenah. I am interviewing with them for an associate pastor for Christian Education position. I had a good phone interview with them and outside of not preaching much, it looks like a good position. Neenah is one of the communities in what is knows as the Fox Cities. Combined, the Fox Cities area is about 125,000 people.

I will post more after the interview and should have some pictures. What I have seen of the area, it is gorgeous. And I am loving that it is about 50 degrees outside.

4 Truths Discovered by Building Cathedrals

This is taken from an email I got. I pulled this part of it as I feel it applies to a more general audience.
The picture is of Castle Church in Wittenburg.


Four life-changing truths, I learned in reading a book on cathedrals:
(1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
(2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
(3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
(4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
 And the workman replied, Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done is too small for me to notice and smile over.

A Next Step

Next weekend I am flying to Neenah, WI for a face to face interview with First Presbyterian for their associate pastor for Christian Education. They emailed me the agenda for the weekend which includes a written "teacher training plan" and then have you "train the committee" as if we were CE teachers giving a lesson. Target taking 30 mintues to "train the trainers" and assume that the committee represents ages pre-school through adult. So that is the project, getting a topic figured out and getting everything made.

I am choosing to do a unit on parables. The younger ones will only have a few parables while the adults can cover more. I am thinking of the parable of the sower from Matthew 13 as the focus for what I will "train the trainers" with. I am reworking a sermon on the same text, but I don't preach this go round.

My only concern with this position is that I would preach only 1 every 6 weeks. Otherwise, I like the information on the CIF and I think it would be a good match. I also have to consider whether for a first call it is more important for me to preach weekly or to gain experience in a larger church. Often times the shifts in position happen laterally in the church, so in that regard starting in a multi-staff church may set me up better for being the head of staff of a larger church down the road. There are oh, so many things to think about in this process.

I am tired of waiting, but this is a chance to work on my ability to wait on God. I hate waiting.

Feeling out of Rhythm

I went for a walk this evening and felt like I was just out of sync. Then it dawned on me that for the last 3 years, the Tuesday after Labor Day marked the beginning of a new school year. Before that there was the rhythm of teaching in public schools. This year, I don't have a rhythm. There isn't a normal pace to my days. There are days that I accomplish nothing, which isn't always a bad thing, but there are also days that I feel positively aimless.

The call process is partially about learning to wait on God. The next step is not on my time, but as one who likes to be in control of things, particularly my own life, this creates a feeling that life is out of sync. Oh well.

To all my friends beginning another year in their seminary career, blessings to you. To the seniors, enjoy time with your fellow seniors. To echo Tim, a realization after graduation is that the path of the pastor is a lonely one indeed. Cultivate relationships and bask in the glorious time that is graduate school. Learn all you can and live life to the fullest. Blessings!

Back into Teaching

I decided to do some substitute teaching while I await a call to a church. My first job was for 3 days in a severely emotionally disturbed class with 7 boys 3rd through 5th grades. It was a little odd to be in the classroom again, but after a little bit it felt very normal. It helped that I was at one of the schools where I taught so there were several familiar teacher faces around.

I had this kind of kid in my PE classes, so I knew that there were reasons that they were in this class. I also reminded myself that every child can learn. My 3 days with these boys served to remind me that every child can indeed learn, but you have to find the "hook" that will get them started. That is truly the art of teaching. The aides in the classroom remarked that a couple of the boys had done more work for me than they had been doing previously.

Every child truly can learn, but it takes time and patience to get to the place where they can learn. These boys, once you got past all the junk that has been placed upon them with medical issues, family life, labels from parents, teachers and kids, and self and can get underneath all that, I found that these boys was each a bright child with untapped potential. It is a matter of trying to help them tap into that resource within themselves.

A Privilege and an Honor

I had the privilege of participating in the ordination service of my friend Paul Burns today as a member of his ordination commission. It was truly an honor to be a part of this momentous occasion for a friend whom I have known since high school and with whom I spent many hours studying and singing with in seminary. It was nice to see Paul's family and celebrate alongside them as well.

Back from Austin

Okay, so Tim is right, my brain probably won't ever be straightened out, but it was nice to see people in Austin. Once again when I went seeking answers I came back with more questions. The questions I came back with will however serve to sort out where I might be called.

To the Seniors facing ords: Relax and take them for what they are. They are tests. If you don't pass, you can take them again, they are no the end all, you will still graduate. Review information so it is more easily accessible, read the question and answer all the parts of the question, and know that there are people praying for you.

To the Middlers: Enjoy your middler year. This is the year when you know the ropes and you aren't having to look forward quite so much. Junior year is a long haul with lots of new experiences. Take this year to grow in your relationships and prepare for what you will encounter in SPM and CPE.

To everyone else: It is always good to see friends and to have a chance to catch up a little.

Blessings!!

Quick Trip

I decided on a change of scenery from Norman, OK so I drove to Austin, TX. I knew it would be different. I realized as I drove in that this place was no longer home. Part of what made it home was my classmates, part of it was the routine of life as a student. Those have both changed. It still however is a place of refuge and comfort. I have enjoyed seeing friends so far and worshipping with 2 congregations that welcomed me during my time here. A nice chance to get away and hopefully get my brain a bit straightened out.

Top 5 Interview Questions I have been asked.

Here is my list of top 5 interview questions that have been posed to me in phone interviews so far in my search...

5. What are the 5 essential elements of a Christian Education program?
This was a question from the Sr. Pastor of a church as I interviewed for a CE associate pastor position. But there are 5 no more, no less.

4. Why do you think you would be a good fit?
This has been asked by every church to date. It is hard not to get a little defensive, but I have to remind myself that they are wanting to know what my strengths are and what I can bring to the church.

3. The gay ordination question.
Asked when I interviewed with Boise, ID. Knew it had to happen at some point.

2. What is your philosophy of Christian Education?
I felt like I was in the public schools interviewing for a job with this one. In fact, I think I modified my philosophy of education to fit and included the 5 essential elements, no more, no less.

1. Would you ordain someone as an elder if they said they didn't believe in the virgin birth?
Welcome to the world of not quite so black and white answers. Yes, the virgin birth is part of the creed, but is it the literal virgin birth or the understanding of what it means?

Bottom line - you never know what kind of question you will get.

What a Day!

Today marked the end of CPE! I passed. Some good evaluation comments and some challenges for continued growth as well.
I also had an interview tonight with Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, ID. This church caught my attention as they are interested in worship and are willing to have fun and enjoy worship. They are a church with a sense of humor and a church who want to have an impact locally.

I thought the interview went well, but they asked some tough questions. This is a church that is looking for a pastor with 2 years of experience or more and so several questions focused on what experience I had in administration and in pastoral care that would meet that expectation. I talked about my view of ordination and I brought up the fact that in someone is homosexual and celibate, they can still be ordained according to G6.0106b. They also asked me if I would ordain someone as an elder who didn't believe in the virgin birth.

It is still a bit of a stretch as to whether I will progress past this interview or not, but I felt good about the interview and that theologically it would be a match. It would represent a HUGE learning curve for me, but I think it would also present lots of opportunities for growth as well. We shall see.

Peace Out Yo!

Woo Hoo!!!!! I finished my last day on the floor...

Today was my last day of visiting folks for CPE. All that is left is Tuesday final evaluations, but I figure if I weren't going to pass my supervisor would have already said something about it. One more hurdle almost cleared.