"Never Alone" Trinity Sunday 2013

"Never Alone." Sermon preached at St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill (Brenham, TX) on May 26, 2013 - Trinity Sunday. Text: Genesis 1:26-28.



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Prayer Book for the Armed Services

I am so excited about this new resource offered by Augsburg Fortress: Prayer Book for the Armed Services. It has been quite some time since the Lutheran church has offered a similar resource, and this is a welcome addition to my library.

This book was really well thought out for use by men and women in military. It is small. The pages are thick and sturdy. The cover is tough - I spilled water on it and it just rolled right off. And at $8 each, this is easily one of the most affordable books on my worship resources shelf!

There are prayers for individual use, and an arrangement of the daily prayer services for individual use as well. Many of the prayers are specifically about life in the military, and the experiences that are unique to that vocation. There are also some great corporate worship prayers and services included.

The video below gives a quick peek inside. Click on the video to pause it and peruse the table of contents. Thanks Augsburg Fortress for this! (Order from Augsburg Fortress)

"Do We Mean It?" Pentecost 2013

"Do We Mean It?" A sermon for the Pentecost Sunday, preached at St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill on May 19, 2013. Text: Acts 2:1-21.

Thank you to Pastor Rafael Malpica Padilla for his call at the 2013 Gulf Coast Synod Assembly to be a church that is disturbed by the Holy Spirit.\

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What Does A Pastor Do? (Preschooler Edition)

Every Sunday, I stand in front of my congregation and preach the Gospel. I have overcome any fear of speaking in public that I may have once had. I have spoken to very large groups and very small groups. I have spoken to people I know and respect, and I have spoken to absolute strangers. Very little unnerves me. But this morning, I got a request that made me shake in my boots.

On the way to school daughter asked me to tell her preschool class about my job. <shiver>

Doesn't seem like a big deal to you? Here are the factors to think about.

The attention span and comprehension of 5 year olds. A mix of backgrounds - some may be religious, but statistically most would not be. The concept of "God" may be a meaningless word to them. A desire to be respectful of teachers and parents who may come from different faith backgrounds - I am a guest, after all. And then, the thought that a child may feel left out or excluded or different by their families religious practices (or lack thereof) - and the last thing you want to do is make a 5 year old feel bad; it sure isn't their fault!

So in I went, and here is what I said.

Because I was wearing clericals (a shock, I know) I talked some about uniforms, and how this is my uniform so that people who need a pastor can find one. Then I moved on to what I do.

I explained the job of a pastor as consisting of three primary things.

1. As a a pastor, I get to tell people about and teach about what I believe is the most important and exciting thing in the world. Every day, I get to share the things that make me happier than anything else in the world. What makes you happy?
2. As a pastor, I get to spend time with people when life is hard and help them to feel better. So when people are sad, or hurt, or sick, or upset they ask me to come be with them and help them feel better. Has anyone ever helped you to feel better? 
3. As a pastor, I get to spend time with people during the happiest times of their lives and help them to celebrate. So, when I baby is born, and at weddings, and at birthdays - all of the best and happiest times of life - pastors get to help people to celebrate. What have been some of the times you have had fun celebrating?

Preaching. Comforting. Celebrating.

So, ok, there is more to pastoring than that. But it's not a bad summary for a preschool audience. In fact, it's not a bad summary of the Christian life of discipleship. 

Proclaim - Comfort - Celebrate. Repeat as needed. 

Pentecost

Sometimes, it is hard to find just the right hymn for the day. Other times, the choice is obvious. Tomorrow is the day of Pentecost, and as I listened to a preacher this weekend talk about "God's mighty wind," all I could think about was this song.

"And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting." ~ Acts 2:2 

So, if you are still looking for a hymn for Pentecost, I give you "A Mighty Wind is Blowin'" as sung by the New Main Street Singers, The Folksmen and Mitch & Mickey.

You're welcome :-)

2013 Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod Assembly

What does a Synod Assembly look like on Twitter? 

The 2013 Assembly of the TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod met May 16-18 at Camp Allen. The assembly was focused on Global Mission, welcoming Pastor Rafael Malpica Padilla and Pastor Sunitha Mortha as speakers. This is an archive of the tweetstream from the weekend

The Best Advice Ever

What do you say to someone who is thinking about seminary?

How can you encourage someone who might be called to ordained ministry? 

Very often - for all the right reasons - those of us who love the church respond like vampires. Fresh blood! Quick, don't let it get away! 

And so we encourage. "You really should go to seminary." "Parish ministry is awesome." We talk up the best parts of parish ministry (and there are lots of them) and we talk up the gifts of the person we are trying to encourage (which also may be many). 

This is an important role to play. If you talk to anyone who is in ministry, chances are that countless people along the way encouraged them to consider seminary. With most clergy (although certainly not all), we experienced lots of affirmation of our gifts on the road to parish ministry. To be clear: For these encouragers and affirmers, I am deeply grateful. I would not be where I am without them. 

But while listening to a recent Freakonomics podcast, I was reminded of the greatest advice I received on my road to ordination. It came from my Grandfather, in the last months of his life. 

Grandpa Hansen was a pastor. 57 years of ordained ministry. He had served in the ULCA, the LCA, and the ELCA; he was a mission developer, a regularly called parish pastor, and an intentional interim. He was also a preacher's kid, growing up in parsonages as a child of the church. He was also the father of a pastor. Gramps knew the church. 

Toward the very end of his life, Gramps had some short-term memory loss. He remembered my parents, but as we gathered for Sunday dinner I had to be re-introduced to him. 

"This your grandson, David," said my Mom. "He's in seminary, preparing to be a pastor like you and Chris. Do you have any advice for him?"

Gramps looked up and thought for a moment, said, "Consider another line of work," then when back to eating his Sunday lunch. 

The best advice I ever got in my preparation for ministry: "Consider another line of work."

Here is the truth:

If you are called to ordination, nothing else will make you feel as fulfilled as ordained ministry.
And if you are not called to ordination, nothing else will make you feel as miserable as ordained ministry. 

Consider another line of work.

Is there another way to live out your calling? Are there aspects of parish ministry that appeal to you, but others that you hate to think about? Consider another line of work.

Are you pursuing ordination to make someone else happy - parents, pastor, or others? Are you considering ordination because you "should"? Consider another line of work.

Often, our first reaction when someone pushes back against a feeling of being called to ministry is to get defensive. But the truth is, the pushback is necessary. Sit with the idea of doing something else. Give it serious consideration. 

There are lots of important vocations (lived out to the glory of God, there are only important vocations). There are lots of ways to serve God. There are lots of ways to minister to God's people. Ordained parish ministry is just one. 

I'm not saying you aren't called to ordained ministry. Maybe you are - truth is, I hope you are. But give thought to where your mission in the world is. What would you do if not ordained ministry? What would you pursue if not this? And if you did those things, would you be just as fulfilled as you would in parish ministry?

Are you thinking about seminary? Listen to the wisdom of Rodney Hansen: Consider another line of work. Rule out all other possibilities. 

And if, having considered all other lines of work -- having ruled out all other options -- you discover that the call to ordained parish ministry still rings loudest in your heart, then jump in. 

What about you? What is the best vocational / career advice you have ever received? 

(Freakonomics Podcast, The Upside of Quitting, transcript and audio)

(Considering seminary? Here are some tools to begin the conversation. Talk with your pastor to explore your options.) 

Wrestling with Mothers Day

As a preacher and worship planner, Mothers Day can be difficult for lots of reasons. In brief:

• There are those for whom the day is extremely important, because it is a day of celebration. 
• There are those for whom the day is extremely important, because it is a day of grief and sadness.
• There are those for whom the day has very little meaning, for a variety of reasons. 

This post doesn't really engage  the debate as to whether to celebrate the day in the liturgy or not. Instead, it is a story that illustrates both the beauty and profound sadness of the day.

On facebook we were discussing times that we had been shown unexpected kindness, and this experience was shared with me by Mary Miller:

I hate mother's day. I really do.  

Before my Mom came to live with us, I would go camping and eat a whole cake, hiding in the woods on that day. So it is a tough day for me. But for the sake of my Mom, I have to tolerate it.  

A few years ago, I was at church on Mother's Day with my Mom and my husband. We went to the service which is entirely in Spanish, because it is our favorite service.  

At some point, the pastor asked the Mothers to stand up. My Mother stood up. I never had children (I'm in my 50's), so of course I didn't stand up when all the other women did.  

In front of us was sat a Hispanic woman probably in her mid to late 30's with a baby less than a year old. It was obviously her first Mother's Day. I had never seen her in church before. She noticed that I didn't stand up.  

After the stand-up and applause for Moms, this stranger turned around and handed me her baby. She let me hold the baby until after Communion. I can still smell his little head.  

The woman did not speak English. I have no idea if she was a documented immigrant or not. We had nothing in common (except that it took her a while (into her 30's) to have a child).
This was the single kindest act anyone has ever done for me. I will never forget it.

(Image:Madonna von der Straße, Roberto Feruzzi. Public Domain. Source)