Monthly Archives: November 2010

Post-Thanksgiving Pre-Christmas Week

                My life seems to be a constant series of coming and going. We went to Kansas City to visit our families for Thanksgiving. Leaving was hard- as it always is. My sister began chemotherapy last Friday. I worry how she will respond. She won’t be travelling for Christmas- she usually makes it to Tucson to spend Christmas with our parents. My brother has a two-year old son who was a joy to be with. But Nevan’s mom and dad never married and they are no longer together.  My in-law’s continue to grieve in the absence of my father-in-law who died over 2 years ago. He was larger than life and literally he was the glue that held the family together.

But coming home was a joy. After travelling the better part of three weeks in November it was nice to finally unpack everything. So far as I can see there are no more trips in my future! Staying home will be nice. This week will be quiet-  a nice prelude to the Christmas rush!

Our church observes Advent. We have done this for several years now for a couple of reasons. First, by focusing on the colors and sights of Advent we are not blinded by the Christmas lights. Rather we are able to see what the season is all about. By focusing on a different aspect of the biblical promises each Sunday we also are able to develop (hopefully) a deeper sense of the promise of Christ- at His first coming and the promise of God regarding Christ’s second coming. We celebrate Advent because it gives me a platform to help the children in our congregation a deeper appreciation for the season.

Advent reminds me that life is about coming and going, about leaving and returning. As we celebrate Christ’s coming we are reminded that He died, was raised again, and that He is coming again!

Didn’t get up to go shopping with the girls (my wife, daughter, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law). Decided to hang back at mom’s house and just chill. Did get some planning done for when I get home…need to do some more planning for my sabbatical in January and for some writing projects I want to do in 2011. I want to do some writing for the local chamber of commerce newsletter on building capacity in organizations. I want to do some writing of a personal theology- what I believe and why I believe it. I also want to think and pray through some difficult choices that will need to be made in the spring of next year. So, no really Black Friday for me…just a day of sunshine and almost 35 degrees outside…makes me ready to get back to Oregon!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Today is PREPARATION DAY. I am at my mother-in-laws with my wife and my daughter. You’d think we were inviting all of the neighborhood for dinner tomorrow with all the preparations being made. That is part of the holiday experience. I have seen my brother’s little boy- Nevan. He is two years old and this is the first time I’ve been in the Kansas City area to see him. My sister is scheduled to begin her chemotherapy treatments on the day after Thanksgiving- after two false starts.

Trying to get some ‘quiet time’ to work on Sunday and preparation for next week has been a little difficult. But, again, that is part of the family experience.

A couple of observations:

When I am away from my job I struggle with anxiety issues. My identity is so tied to my job that I wonder sometimes how I will stand four weeks away from my job for my sabbatical. Perhaps one of the issues I can work on during that time is renewing my identity in Christ seperate from my identity as a pastor and member of the community.

Family is a complex and complicated group of individuals. The dynamics of family systems continues to baffle and bewilder me. I’ve said before, every family is dysfunctional in it’s own way. And as someone else has observed, Normal is only a setting on your dryer! The word normal really doesn’t describe any family I’ve ever met- and it certainly doesn’t sedcribe my family of origin or even the family my wife and I have created. I would guess I will be learning the rest of my life to communicate with my family!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am sitting in the Portland Airport waiting for a flight to Kansas City where Cindy, Meg and I will spend Thanksgiving with Cindy’s step-mom and the family. I will get to see my sister (who is scheduled to begin chemo treatments today), my brother and his 2 year old little bor as well. It should be a wonderful week of family, food, and fun!
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of travel- Pasco WA, Lincoln City, OR and now Kansas City. When we get home late next week the holiday whirlwind begins in earnest.
A couple of thoughts:
1. After attending the education conference Monday and Tuesday of this past week I have been challenged to take the time and think through what I am trying to teach and accomplish when I preach. I have become lazy about specific application. I need to give more thought and more time to this critical aspect.
2. After spending time with unchurched people- I am reminded of the significant work of trying to connect with people so that we can share the gospel. Building relationships is extremely difficult and time consuming…but learning to listen and pay attention is well worth our time and energy in this process.
3. Finding time for prayer- not just the hurried morning devotion time- is more critical than ever. Building that time into my schedule demands that I discipline myself to day NO more than I say YES!

So, more later when we arrive in Kansas City!

Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It’s about 45 minutes till worship here at Community Baptist Church in Winston. As a group met for prayer I was reminded of the sheer volume of pain that exists in the families and to whom God has given me the privilege of serving. Then I look at the words I have prepared and wonder…how do we truly allow God to use us to bring healing and restoration to those who are in such desperate need?

In a few minutes I will have the privilege of opening God’s Word to those gathered in the name of Jesus Christ in our public worship experience. More than anything I want to be found faithful in serving, in teaching, in loving. I read earlier this morning in Nicholas Wolsterstorff’s Reason Within The Bounds of Religion, (2nd Ed) that our following of Christ “ought to be actualized by taking up in decisively ultimate fashion God’s call to share in the task of being witness, agent, and evidence of his coming kingdom” (73). I realize I am coming to Wolstertorff late – never read him in college or seminary (either MDIV or DMIN). I am astounded by the clarity with which he writes…and the challenge of being a witness, agent, and evidence of the presence of the kingdom of God.

Then I survey the congregation I’ve been called to serve and the community I’ve been privileged to minister in for the past 20 years and wonder…where is the evidence of God’s kingdom? Where are the agents of His kingdom? Where are the witnesses of God’s wonders and mighty acts?

Too often, from my limited observation post, we witness to how God is at work in my life, dealing with my problems, solving my dilemma’s. If we are agents of a kingdom it seems to be more about our comfort, our preferences, our rights, and our privileges. If we are evidence of a kingdom it would seem that the kingdom is one that meets our criteria, one that offers us maximum comfort and convenience.

Well, I’ve got to prepare…and allow God to make His kingdom known, to seek to be an agent of His kingdom, and to live as an evidence of His kingdom and His priority.