the church geek

Well, the season of Advent has officially started. I didn’t intend to do it, but today during the worship service in sort of a last minute switch-a-roo, I pulled the plug on one of the Advent hymns and inserted “O Little Town of Bethlehem” in its place.

Which leads me to ponder the perennial question related to the use of Advent and Christmas hymns during the season of Advent - when is it appropriate to begin using Christmas hymns during the season of Advent?

I have created a poll to gather your opinions and have made it so that both worship planners and the average-joe-in-the-pew can provide your two cents worth. Also, feel free to leave a comment or two so that we may discuss amongst ourselves.

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This sermon was preached on the first Sunday of Advent on November 30, 2008. The sermon texts were Isaiah 64:1-9 and Mark 13: 24-37.

Well there is snow on the ground, so maybe its fitting that today is the first Sunday of Advent. During this season, we are going to look at four different words associated with it.

Now, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, the word for this week is “waiting.” The themes for the next three weeks, also start with a W. They are, “the Way”, Witness, and Welcome.

Did anyone brave the crowds on Friday?

This year, we observed what seems now to be an almost annual event, in which people just could not wait to get into a store. You may have heard that a Wal-mart employee in Long Island was trampled to death trying to hold back the crowds rushing in. He was knocked down to the floor and while gasping for air, shoppers stampeded right past him, rushing to get at the best deals in the store.

It’s unbelievable that people couldn’t wait just a few minutes to get into the store. And even worse that a man was desperately fighting for his life, while the crowds rushed over him because they couldn’t wait for that great deal.

1.) This was interesting. What Myers-Briggs Type is your blog? The personality type for my blog came out as an ISTP - which is somewhat accurate as I am an ISTJ in real life. (HT: Bob Carlton)

2.) Here is an interview of one of my personal favorite bloggers, David Hayward (the naked pastor), by the Internet Monk.

3.) I read a lot of blogs, but I’m not always very good about leaving comments (yes, I am a ‘lurker’ just like many of you…) So, let’s all be sure to do something about that by celebrating blog comment day on Dec 3rd with gusto! (HT: Heather)

4.) It’s good to have Kairos back in the blogosphere again, he’s been out of commission for too long. Last week he pointed me to this list of 10 fascinating last pictures taken.

5.) Today, I am pleased to announce that I’ve become a “CC Blogger.”

6.) Some of my favorite shots are reflections in the water.

This sermon was preached on Oct. 26, 2008. The text was Matthew 22: 34-46

When my wife Lori was about 5 or 6 years old, the Youngs moved into the house right behind hers. In spite of their name, they were an older couple, well-past retirement age. She recalls that they never smiled at anyone, not even at each other.

Not too long after the Youngs moved in they put up a 5 foot chain link fence along their property line. Not only that, they installed the fence upside down, so that the sharp twisted ends of the metal were on top. Anyone who tried to climb that fence was sure to tear their skin or clothing.

Now, there were lots of families in that neighborhood and Lori’s house had one of the biggest backyards. It was a great place for her older brothers’ friends to come and play games of soccer, baseball, and football.

Lori was too young to play but she remembers watching some of their games from the back porch - and seeing Mr. Young also watching the games from his own backdoor.

The first time a ball went over the fence, Mr. Young walked over to it. Without saying a word, without making eye contact, he picked up the ball up and carried it into his garage.

After a few weeks the Youngs had quite a collection of neighborhood footballs, soccer balls, and baseballs. They wouldn’t give them back even when the parents went over to reason with them, adult to adult.

This sermon was preached on Oct 19, 2008. It is a stewardship sermon on Matthew 22:15-22

There are two sayings that seem to be universally true:

* The first is that there are only two things in life that are constant; death and taxes, and

* The second is if a pastor wants to get in trouble he should preach on either money or politics.

Well, today we’re going to touch at least a little bit on all four of those topics…death, taxes, money and politics. Speaking of death and taxes have you heard the joke:

About a businessman on his deathbed who called his friend and said, “Bill, I want you to promise me that when I die, you will have my remains cremated.” His friend asked, “And what do you want me to do with your ashes?”

The businessman said, “Just put them in an envelope. Mail them to the IRS, and include a note that says, “Now, you have everything.”

In today’s passage, Jesus is in Jerusalem in the days before his arrest and crucifixion. He not only deals with a trap from his enemies who ask him a tricky question about taxes, he also deals with the very real prospect of his death.

Preaching on this passage presents a bit of a trap for me as well. You see, I could preach on money or politics or both, and I can only hope that no matter what I decide, I will not have to face my own death…so please be gracious with me, today, will you?

This sermon was preached on November 23, 2008. It was “Christ the King” Sunday. The text was Ephesians 1:15-23.

In the end, this year’s election primarily ended up being about the economy - especially as stocks on Wall Street plummeted. But there was at least one other important issue out there.

There was the issue of power.

On one side Sarah Palin was wiping up crowds with cries of “Drill Baby Drill.” She and the Republicans were arguing that while drilling would not solve our energy problems, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t use that as an excuse to not take advantage of our untapped oil reserves.

On the other side, we had Barak Obama encouraging us to do all we can to reduce our dependency on oil. He offered that the best thing to do is to provide economic incentives to companies for developing fuel efficient cars and alternative power sources.

It seems to me that we really do have to do something about our dependency on non-renewable energy resources. And, I think it should be fairly obvious that we simply cannot continue to guzzle oil like we’ve been doing for the last hundred years or so.

There is no doubt in my mind that we’ve got to find some new sources of power….at least that is what I thought when gas was $4.00 a gallon.

This morning, I read an article in the recent Congregations magazine about a church that decided to do a blog together. The pastor and the congregation converse together on this blog, that is open and available for anyone with an internet connection to read.

There were a lot of questions at the start about whether this sort of conversation needed to be done out in the open. Lots of people asked why the church shouldn’t just use the church list serve or e-mail list to get the congregation’s input when it was needed.

The pastor pushed the issue and now that conversation is out in the open, on a church blog, for all the world to see. The pastor did indicate that some conversations remain private, but a majority happen right in the open on this blog.

The hesitation described in this article is indicative of the attitude of many congregations. The issues vary:

* Why should we be involved in our neighborhood and community? Won’t people who need a church just come to our door?

* Why should we start a new service on a different date and a different time? Sunday morning has worked for so long.

* Why do we need to change things to be more hospitable? Our church is really a friendly place that welcomes anyone?

But they all express one thing: the church is a place for me.

We have forgotten that we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, not members of a church. We have forgotten that the church is most fully the church when it exists for the sake of the world.

We have a lot of work to change those attitudes and to change the thinking of the church. It sounds to me like the blogging church described in that article has taken an important step in the right direction. What do you think?

After reading this interview in Sojourner’s Magazine, I decided to read a few of Mary Doria Russell’s books. I came home today and noticed that our recent Christian Century also features an article on her as well. Here are my reviews of her two books:

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why do people of faith give God all the credit for the good stuff and none of the blame for the bad stuff?

Mary Doria Russell struggles with that question in this space, sci-fi thriller in which a band of folks led by a group of Jesuit priests travel through space to encounter living creatures on another planet.

I’ll admit I’ve never been a huge fan of the sci-fi genre and this book is not without its flaws, but I give it a good grade for being a fascinating and gripping look at some pretty deep theological issues. Russell doesn’t provide all the answers but she certainly helps us to enter into and struggle with the questions.

View all my reviews.

Dreamers of the Day: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Set in the 1920s at the end of the first World War, this book follows the surprising adventures of its heroine on her trip to visit Egypt.

There she encounters various movers and shakers, such as Winston Churchill and Lawrence of Arabia, in the midst of forming the history and geography of the modern middle east.

While dealing with those times, this book has great relevance to our own times, as we face today’s issues and the legacy of those decisions that were made so many decades ago.

What makes this book especially interesting is the author’s point that all those in power have some sort of eschatological vision (a picture of how the world really should be) from which they operate. She poses the question, without offering a definite answer, about how we can know which visions are good and which are bad.

View all my reviews.

1.) Michael Kruse reposts a comment from a post on Scot McKnight’s blog offering a grower’s perspective on Fair Trade Coffee.

2.) Adam Copeland does a good job working through a difficult issue in his post “The Case of the Fibbing Preacher.”

3.) Great discussion on Carol’s blog about blogging and ministry. Will it possibly cost you a job?

4.) Tim Keel offers an interesting perspective on couples seeking to practice spiritual disciplines together.

5.) This photo has been my desktop background the last several days.

Yesterday, I did what I’ve done occasionally over the last year of preaching. I got out of the pulpit, I put a music stand on the floor in front of the sanctuary, and I preached from there. It provides me with a bit of freedom and flexibility that I simply don’t have when I’m in the pulpit. I also feel like I am better able to connect with the congregation in this way.

I’ve told my session this - I don’t like the pulpit in our sanctuary. First off I’m 6′4″ and the pulpit is a little too short for me. I’m constantly bobbing my head up and down from my notes in order to establish eye contact with my congregation. Also, the pulpit is very narrow and I feel like I’m boxed in. I’ve got no good place to put my arms or hands when I preach (I don’t either when I use a music stand on the floor, but at least I don’t feel hemmed in.)

The issue with my pulpit leads me to reflect on the fact that our worship space is not set up in a way that provides us with a whole lot of flexibility. In its current configuration, it’s simply not a space that is easily adaptable to modern ways of communicating.

The deficiencies are all around:

1.) I’m not a huge powerpoint person, but I do like to show an occasional video during church or the sermon especially if it accentuates I’m making. But to do so, I have to drag out a portable screen and find a place to put it. The 4 foot one is too small, but the 8 foot one we bought last year is way to big. I also have to drag out a table, a projector; but then we have cords and a table in the way. Not only is it a pain in the b***, it just looks sloppy.

2.) I’d like to occasionally engage in some dialog while preaching. For instance, I’d like to be able to ask a question during a sermon and have people feel like they can answer, but more importantly I’d like people to be able to hear how others have responded to the question. Pews in straight rows do not invite any sense of community or dialog during the worship service.

3.) In a similar vein, I’d like to mix things up. It would be great to have a communion service or a foot washing service in the round, with a table in the middle and chairs in circles around a central table, but once again with pews in a straight row there is no ability to modify the space. Other ideas may come forth if the space could be more easily modified.

These are just a few of the issues with our worship space. We actually are talking about putting together a worship space task force to look at some of these issues. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to tackle the issue of the pews or not, but we’re certainly thinking about things like installing an A/V system, getting rid of our organ (which we’ve moved away from using anyway), and hopefully looking at alternatives to our current pulpit.

What have you done to address limitations in your worship space?

I’ve been curious as to how the economy is affecting or will affect pastors and their compensation in the coming year. Part of my curiosity is knowing that Iowa, as of yet, as not been that hard hit by the economic slowdown, but I know that’s not true in other areas of the country.

Yesterday, I did an informal poll on twitter asking pastors to respond as to whether or not they were receiving and or accepting raises in light of the news on the economy. The majority responded that they were either getting a cost of living increase (to keep with presbytery minimums) or no increase at all.

I thought I’d create a little more elaborate of a poll and so I offer it up here. I’m happy to entertain comments below not only from pastors, but from non-pastoral types as well about the budgetary decisions being made in these tough economic times.

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1.) Carol shares an inspiring story from last tuesday’s momentous day.

2.) I’ve enjoyed some of the prayers that Christine Sine has put together, here she provides an advent meditation and some other advent resources.

3.) JR Woodward provides a primer on the missional church.

4.) In this season of stewardship in the church, Andrew Sullivan points to a book review by Ron Sider about Christians and giving.

5.) Here is this week’s featured photo.

It was my hope that Obama would become our 44th President. And while I didn’t make that hope public from the pulpit, I did not hide it from those who asked or in public comments that I left in various places around the internet.

So of course, I am happy that last Tuesday evening my hope became reality.

Now, there are lots and lots of reasons why I hoped this would come true, and one of them was very selfish and personal. As many of you know, my wife and I are currently in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. It is our hope to adopt 2 children, either twins or a sibling group, who are under the age of 4.

While in many ways it seems like the right thing for us to do, it was never an easy decision. We are well aware of the history of racism in our country. So one of our primary concerns in adopting children from Africa, is taking them from a place where racism (as we know it in our country) is not an issue and bringing them to a country where it is.

As we learned in our ‘pre-adoption’ classes, adopting can be difficult, adopting cross-culturally is even harder, and adopting children who will no-doubt experience racism, in ways we as white parents will never be able to comprehend, is still more difficult.

So for me, the election of Barak Obama as our 44th President is a glimmer of hope that our country is prepared to move passed its racist history, and that it will somehow become just a little bit easier for us to raise our two children who will come from Africa.

Plus, I love the fact that we now have such a prominent role model to point our children too, and that we will be able to say to them, “You can become President too.”

Well, except for that minor thing about our children not being natural born citizens of the US…but we have 40 years or so to work with congress on changing that one…

I have written a blog post called “Transformation” over on the Eastern Iowa Emergent Cohort blog.

Today, I’m away from home as well as from any contact with the on-line world while I’m attending a spiritual renewal retreat in the Chicago area. This is how I am spending the first part of my week of continuing education leave.

For the second part of my week, I am planning to hole myself up in the library at the University of Dubuque, where I went to seminary. I intend to spend my time doing some planning for the season of advent as well as some initial prep work for a couple months of sermons.

As a part of my compensation package, I am fortunate to be provided with both the time and the funds to get away from the office for events and purposes like these.

Even though I am allowed the leave, it can be difficult to find the time. I remember in September staring at the calendar and thinking there was no way I could work my two weeks of vacation and one week of continuing education into my schedule. But, I kept at it and eventually found the space and time to work in one week of each type of leave.

Sometimes it feels like a luxury. I don’t know of any other job where people get to be away from the office for four weeks of vacation and two weeks of continuing education. I sometimes feel a twinge of guilt and/or concern (”He’s going to be gone again?”) whenever I ask the session to approve my time away from the office.