the church geek

The following is a bit of personal news for my “Meaty Monday” post:

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:15-16

Did you ever stop to think that adoption is one of the primary images in the scriptures for those who come to faith in Christ? The apostle Paul uses this metaphor to help us understand that when we come to faith, we are invited to become part of a much larger family of faith. We are made part of the family of God.

I’ve been thinking a lot about adoption lately. At the end of last year, Lori and I began giving serious thought and prayer to pursuing adopting a child internationally, as a way of raising our own family. For a variety of reasons we eventually settled on pursuing adoption from Ethiopia, a country located in East Africa.

Adoption is both a lengthy and expensive process. In May, we took part in a two day long pre-adoption seminar to learn more about the various issues and concerns related to adoption and just what exactly the process entails. Over the summer months we have been working with a social worker from our adoption agency to complete a home study.

The good news is that we have been “home study approved.” Part of our home study process, for us, entailed making a decision as to the age and number of children we would be willing to adopt. After a lot of thought and study, we finally settled on being open to adopt a young sibling group, with the possibility of perhaps adopting twins.

We are now beginning to prepare all the necessary documents that need to be submitted to Ethiopia. Following that comes a period of waiting for a referral that may last anywhere from 6 to 9 months, perhaps a bit longer. Once we receive a referral from the country, Lori and I will travel to Ethiopia to accept our new child(ren) into our family.

We are both excited and a little apprehensive about this very big step in our lives. While it is daunting to consider the prospect of parenting as a trans-cultural, trans-racial family, we also anticipate the various challenges, joys, and rewards that come as part of raising any family.

As I think about the process of adoption, I am encouraged by the words Actress Isabella Rosellini, who adopted a son who was part African-American, wrote in her autobiography:

In comparison to having a biological child…adoption carries the added dimension of connection not only to your own tribe but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties, and family. It is a larger embrace.

I think that’s partly what the Apostle Paul was trying to say to us as well. When we are adopted by God into the community of faith our connection and identity moves beyond the family we grew up in. The circle of our family is widened to include connections beyond our own tribe, to include the embrace of the much larger and greater family of faith.

Drew, who blogs at Notes from Off-Center, has tagged me on this meme called 6 uninteresting things about me:

1.) I did my undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt in Biomedical Engineering…great preparation for becoming a pastor.

2.) I owned a copy of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet when I was in high school.

3.) On the Myers-Briggs personality scale, I am an ISFJ (Introvert, Sensate, Feeling, Judging). I have bordered on and switched between the F and T, but the other scales are consistent.

4.) I was president of my school’s philatelic club in the 2nd grade, but I don’t think there were any other active members.

5.) My first computer was a TI-994a. I recorded the programs I wrote for it on an old cassette tape recorder.

6.) I played alto saxophone in the marching and pep bands all through high school and college, I later sold my saxophone when I was in need of some money.

I tag the following folks to play along: Leslie, Kim, Adam, Mark, Jake, and Maria.

Meme Terms and Conditions
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. List six unspectacular things about you.
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.

Finally got my camera out yesterday, even if it was only for a few minutes before the camera batteries died! I took this one by the side of the road along Ellis Rd.

1.) Jan once again offers some good thoughts on the changing church. The reorganization she has done at her congregation sounds quite remarkable.

2.) Whether you happen to be for or against her, this spoof ad for Hockey Moms against Sarah Palin was pretty funny.

3.) Pastors, here’s why you should be blogging.

4.) Here are two pictures for today: One from one of my favorite photoblogs. One from a flickr group of Iowa photos.

4.)

This sermon was preached on September 21st, 2008. The sermon text was Matt. 20:1-16.

So far, this season of presidential campaigning has been quite fascinating to watch. And I’m willing to bet that its only going to get more interesting as things get revved up for election day in early November.

There has been a lot of intrigue, especially given the roles of two totally and completely different female political candidates.

First we saw Hillary Clinton lose her bid to become the first ever female nominee for President. And now, little known, Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, has been thrust into the national spotlight as McCain’s nominee for Vice President.

These two female candidates have focused the spotlight on the role that sexism can still play in our country. In her first speech to America following her selection, Palin urged voters to help her shatter the glass ceiling that Hillary cracked.

Since Palin’s selection, Obama has increasingly talked about equality between the sexes as well. In a speech given in Ohio, he said when he is president, he will fight to support equal pay for equal work.

The National Organization for Women, has been on this crusade for a long time. According to their figures, full-time, year-round female workers are paid on average about 77% of what men are paid. For African American women the figure is 71% and for Latinas it’s 58%.

Since I’ve been in my current congregation, the deacon board has been a pretty weak spot in our organization and ministry. If you ask what the deacons do here, the answer you will typically get is focused on two things 1.) kitchen duty for fellowship hour and 2.) counting the weekly offering.

To be fair, there are a few regular mission projects that are part of the deacon’s purview but for the most part those two maintenance functions are the sum of the deacon’s current ministry. This is of course a far cry from what our book of order describes as the duties of the deacon:

It is the duty of the deacons, first of all, to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith. They shall assume other duties as may be delegated to them from time to time by the session, such as leading people in worship through prayers of intercession, reading the scriptures, presenting the gifts of the people, and assisting with the Lord’s Supper.

Since late spring, we’ve been actively working to change the culture of the deacon board. With the renewed attention and focus, they’ve been very responsive to reviewing and expanding their current ministry in order to better fulfill their calling.

Yesterday the deacon board decided to organize itself and assign specific people to look at four areas of ministry:

1.) Church function - this entails the various duties that deacons have around the church to help it operate like fellowship hour, money counting, and preparing for the Lord’s Supper.

2.) Congregational Care - this includes the care and nurture of church members; shut-in visits, funeral receptions, care for grieving members, etc.

3.) Outreach - this includes ministries for welcoming our visitors, inviting new or potential members into church life, and finding ways to establish relationships with our neighbors.

4.) Mission - this includes the various mission projects of the church, as well as finding ways to help our neighbors who are in need.

This is great and exciting stuff! For too long the deacon board has been focused on church function…meaning that the deacons were primarily concerned about the maintenance of the church…and there was little excitement or enthusiasm for that work among the deacon board.

Now, we are beginning to move our focus and attention in an outward direction. I sense that a fresh wind of the Spirit has begun and will begin to continue to blow in and through us.

Here are a few items for my Wednesday Roundup:

1.) A “broken blessing”

2.) Michael Kruse explains Intrade and tells us how it is forecasting this year’s election. I checked Intrade the day before John McCain made his VP announcement and noticed that Sarah Palin was the projected nominee.

3.) Missional Order looks like a promising new website, to help faith communities form a new missional identity. (ht: missional church network)

4.) This past week, I added some new photoblogs to my google reader, so today’s photos, Honey Wheat and Blade of Light, come from two of those new blogs.

On Sunday October 5th, I will be participating in the Cedar Rapids/Marion Iowa CROP Walk to help stop hunger. You too can be a part of this effort by simply supporting me financially as I walk. Click here if you’d like to provide an on-line donation. Thanks for your help!!

Recently I wrote a review of the book Countdown to Sunday by Chris Erdman. He provides a helpful exegetical process for pastors ‘on the run’ which I have employed to some effect over the past three weeks.

Honestly his book is the most helpful thing I’ve come across in a long time about the task of preaching. I was particularly ‘convicted’ by the following, which comes from his chapter called Illustration:

I began to realize that people loved the stories I told, the illustrations that populated my well-crafted sermons, but showed little evidence they were growing in their love for the Story. They were increasingly dependent on my words, but not on the Word.

As I read this, I find that it’s somewhat akin to what we tend to do with our children; you know the bribe that gets them to listen to what we have to say or to do what we want them to do. For instance you might give them a piece of candy if they memorize a bible verse or you give them a treat if they behave during the children’s sermon.

Such bribes communicate that there is little value in what you want them to do. The value is in the treat they get. Sermon illustrations are a little bit like that candy bribe. They cheapen the value of the biblical text. The better the illustration, the less the value is on the actual text.

Erdman goes on to argue that the best sermon illustration is a congregation that begins to live out the Story; valuing the Word for what it is and seeking to emulate the sort of church the Word calls it to be.

For my part, it is so easy to get caught in the trap of searching for just the right sermon illustration and letting that search guide the sermon preparation. I have often approached the exegetical process the wrong way…looking for an illustration to illuminate the text rather than letting the text guide me into a reflection about how it calls us as the church to illustrate, or live it out.

Sometimes you can’t help but approach things that way, especially if you think you are too busy to do good exegetical work or if you make it a habit to read preaching journals and homiletical guides on the text before you actually sit down to pray and ask, “What does this Word have to say to us today?”

Over the past three weeks I have given up searching for sermon illustrations. I have not plucked a story from a source and said, “I think this might fit here.” Instead I have simply tried to attend to the text and to how other Biblical texts might inform the primary text. I have asked the question, “How are we to live as a result of this text?” If an illustration or two comes to mind, that gives folks an entry point into the text, then great. If not, I simply preach what I have.

And I think, or at least feel, that my preaching the last three weeks has been much better off for it. Now we’ll see if the congregation eventually catches on and comes to grow in their love for the Story.

Today I offer you two briefs of movies I have seen in the past couple of weeks:

Burn After Reading
The Coen brothers always put out a pretty mean movie. This is a not-so-bad follow up to last year’s Oscar winner, “No Country for Old Men.”

“Burn After Reading” is the story of a number of over-acted characters - played by an excellent and note worthy cast - in a crazy and ridiculous plot that weaves together the lives of those both in and out of the intelligence community (the CIA.)

Somehow it all works to produce a dark, comedic movie that both makes us laugh and causes us to question just how intelligent is our need to pursue ‘intelligence.’

Just a warning, as usual, the Coen’s apply a great deal of violence as well as some rather crude language in this movie, and yet I still give it 8 out of 10 stars 7 out of 10 stars (after reviewing the list of other movies I rated an 8).

Oh yeah, and Brad Pitt, is absolutely hilarious (update: and my wife says he’s also totally unattractive). That alone makes this movie worth seeing!

Persepolis:
This is an animated film that follows the true story of a young Iranian girl during the years of Iran’s various revolutions and political struggles.

The over-arching story of Iran’s political circumstances and how personal lives were affected by them was interesting and compelling. However, I had a very difficult time connecting with the young woman whose attitudes and actions at times were way too off-putting for my taste.

That lack of personal connection to the main character lead to a film that did not engage me as much as I’m sure either its author or director hoped it would. That lack of engagement forces me to give this movie 6 out of 10 stars.

Has been quite a while since I’ve posted a picture here. With fall approaching, hopefully things will calm down a bit, I’ll be able to get out and take more photos.

This sermon was preached on September 7, 2008. The text was Matthew 18:15-22

The past two weeks have been kind of hard for me. I felt an awful lot like a rubbernecker driving past an accident on the highway. I know I wasn’t supposed to slow down to look, but I did it anyway. I just couldn’t help it.

Now, in case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, the traffic accident I have in mind was the television coverage of the Republican and the Democratic National Conventions.

No matter which party you might be for or against, it seems to me that neither side can stake much claim to any moral high ground. Especially when you consider the ways they have behaved toward each other over the past two weeks.

Come to think of it, if I’m really honest with myself I can’t claim much moral high ground either. My thoughts have been less than pure towards the party and ticket I hope doesn’t find its way to the White House.

What’s particularly disturbing to me is just how polarized we are as a nation and how mean we are towards one another.

Now, maybe it’s always been that way. I don’t know. But it seems like the right and left are throwing jabs at one another. Calling each other names. Questioning each other’s motives, their character, and their ability to lead.

My friend Bill Crawford tells a bit of the life he is living right now in Thibodaux, LA (the eye of Gustav pretty much went right through the area.) If you can, please consider helping out in one of the ways he suggests.

It’s been a while since there has been any activity here on this blog. Lori and I got away for a few days around Labor Day and in the ensuing time things have been pretty hectic! Anyway, here are a few highlights from around the Web:

1.) After listening to the rhetoric of the DNC and RNC, Todd Heistand offers some excellent reflections on preaching.

2.) While we are on the theme of politics, my friend David Pepper offers some good reflections on not putting too much hope in it all.

3.) What do you want to do before you die? (HT: Jonny Baker)

4.) Sometimes the comic, Basic Instructions, is lame and other times it’s too funny. This was one of the better ones: How to select a T-shirt.

5.) The Naked Pastor, David Hayward, almost always nails it right on the head with his comics, and he’s sure got it right with this one..

6.) And as expected, here is a photo for your pleasure.

This sermon was preached on August 31, 2008. The text was Matthew 16:21-27.

In the scripture passage we read last week, Jesus and his disciples were in the city of Ceaserea Phillip, a place of strategic significance to the Roman Empire and its interests in the land of Palestine. The city also had held connections to pagan mythology and to the worship of the Canaanite fertility god, Baal.

In that place Jesus asked his disciples. “Who do you say that I am?” It was Peter of all the disciples who dared to step up and say to Jesus “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.”

It was a daring thing for Peter to say. Within the shadow of the Roman Empire Peter said that Jesus was King and Caesar was not. And, in that place of pagan worship, Peter said that Jesus was Son of the Living God, worthy of worship in contrast to the pagan gods surrounding them.

This proclamation of faith brought praise from Jesus. Listen to what Jesus tells Peter,

Blessed are you, Simon Son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.