Here is a fantastic live piece, set on a stage, showing how the creative process works: the demands, the challenges, and the exhilaration.
It’s what pastors go through every week as they prepare their sermon…
http://www.blainehogan.com/post/159908062/b
Let me know what you think of this.
I haven’t wiped out on a bike since I was about 11-years-old, and was doing something stupid. As of today, I can’t say that anymore. I went for a ride with my friend, Marc, an expert mountain biker. I learned something about Marc. And I learned something about myself.
The trail we rode today was what Marc calls a “technical” trail. That means there are lots of twists and turns through very narrow passages in the woods. It means that tires can get caught in crevasses, handlebars can get hooked on trees, and bodies can fall off of bikes. Let’s just say this is the first time in my life I really needed a helmet. I fell off of my bike three times, one of which was a “header” into roots and stones.
As I write this, I’ve got a cut and two bad scrapes on one leg; a bruise on the other leg; a cut on my finger; a sore shoulder; a small headache; a scrape on my neck; and a sore sternum (which is a recurrence of an “old football injury”…no lie!). And that’s just my body.
That wipeout wasn’t too kind to my bike, either. It seems I may have bent the front fork. Marc said, “That’s pretty impressive.” I was proud. Then we finished the rest of the loop, which concluded with an uphill climb so steep that I felt every last one of my 47 years. But because my fork was bent, I couldn’t go on anymore. So Marc went and rode with a friend of his we had passed on the trail. I went home to nurse my wounds.
Here’s what I learned about Marc: Marc models the kind of leader, the kind of pastor, the kind of friend I would like to be. As we started, Marc said, “If at anytime you need me to slow down, just let me know. I have no problem doing so.” He put me, the amateur, at ease, and made me feel comfortable. I don’t know how much he was keeping it slow for me, but I seemed to be able to stay with him pretty well.
Not only that, but Marc was out ahead of me, vocally warning me about muddy spots, sharp turns, and narrow passages. I found out how nice it is having someone out in front leading and guiding the way. He even taught me things I had never known about being a good mountain biker. They are skills I hope to use again soon to improve my rides.
Marc was also able to temporarily fix my bike well enough so that I could finish the trail. A leader that has knowledge and technical skill is a true blessing. When things go wrong and broken stuff gets easily fixed (temporary or not), it keeps everything moving toward the goal of the finish line.
A good leader, a good pastor, a good friend, puts people at ease; goes out ahead to guide the way, warn of danger, and improve skill; and, to the best of his ability, keeps things moving toward the goal. That’s the kind of person I want to be. It’s the kind of person Marc is.
Here’s what I learned about myself: After Marc left to ride with his friend, I sat in the car and took stock of all of my injuries, my broken bike, and my wounded ego. I deduced that everything was OK. Then, before I even left the parking lot, I decided that I wanted to ride the trail again. Soon.
That trail will not conquer me. I want to improve my skill. I have the deep desire to improve. I want to one day lead someone else through those trails. I want to be able to feel the accomplishment of successfully finishing without falling. And I’d like, one day, to help someone else accomplish that, as well. Something deep inside of me is screaming: “Never say die!”
I want to adopt that attitude for my personal life, my professional life, and in my vocation as a pastor.
What have you experienced lately that has shaped the way you work, or lead, or live? Please let me know. I’d love to learn from it, too.
Now…excuse me while I go take my bike into the shop.
Here is an article I wrote for the Lutheran Educators Association on “Living Green” as a Christian. Enjoy!
The other day our third grade teacher asked me to spend some time with her class, because they had some questions about heaven. I don’t consider myself an expert on “heaven,” but I suppose in third grade eyes, I’m about as close as one can get to knowing at least a little about the topic. So they submitted some very thought-provoking questions to me before I walked into the classroom.
Today’s third graders want to know some interesting things about heaven. They want to know who they’ll see there. They want to know how old they’ll be and what their body will be like. They want to know what the place will look like. They want to know if there will be toys, video games, and time to play. They even want to know if you’ll be able to have lions for pets in heaven!
Here are some of the questions to which I answered “yes.”
Here are some of the questions to which I answered “no.”
Here are some of the questions to which I answered “I don’t know.”
And one more, just for good measure:
What insights did you learn from these 3rd grade questions? What questions about heaven do you have? What do you think it will be like?
A hilarious (and, might I add, very insightful) list of new church names, with proper explanations…
I’ve been thinking a great deal lately about community. It started when Dr. John Oberdeck was a guest preacher for me a couple of weeks ago. After the service, we both walked down the aisle, stood at the back, and greeted those who were filing out of church. Suddenly there was a gap in the line. We both looked back into the church and John said to me, “Now that’s community!”
We had to wait a while before we were able to greet the rest of the congregation. There they were, spread out all around the church in delightful small groups (not cliques!), talking to each other, hugging, laughing, listening, greeting, caring, and catching up. We were happy to wait.
As I looked at that beautiful scene, I was proud of the way Mt. Calvary cares. I was thankful for the way Mt. Calvary welcomes. I was awed by the way Mt. Calvary embraces diversity. People have told me they feel welcome at our church. I’m glad, because it’s something we intentionally build into our culture, and is something that no church ought to be without.
We’ve got a great start, but there’s still plenty of room to grow.
St. Paul compares the church with a body. In Latin, as you know, the word for body is corpus. We would love more people to enjoy the corpus at Mt. Calvary, so we are encouraging current members to use new and different ways to share the Word and draw people in. I’m calling it Corpus Electronici.
I have been amazed at the way in which Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and other electronic media have brought me back into community with some, into new community with others, and make me encouraged that the corpus of Christ will be built up by these tools that are literally changing the world.
Here’s how Electronci has helped me:
The best thing about all of this is that, contrary to popular belief, this isn’t only relating to people in front of a screen. All of these tools have led to face to face, in the flesh, connecting, re-connecting, lunches, dinners, and conferences that have shown me personally the way in which electronici often leads to true corpus.
Now…to encourage the people of Mt. Calvary, and other churches, that these really are incredible tools in which God’s Word and relationships with others lead to community in Christ.
Have you discovered ways in which the Corpus Electronici has brought you into new or better relationships with others? Please let me know how. I’d love to share your ideas.
Check out this fascinating description of “hipsters”…and remember…they are loved by Christ and ought to feel welcome in His church, too.
Here is a very good blog post by an “artist in residence” at Ecclesia Church in Houston. My opinion? Excellent!
http://createvisualculture.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/i-make-stuff/
Somebody found my blog today by searching Google with this phrase: “need ideas to make pastor wife feel appreciated.” I don’t know how they got to my blog…but it’s a good request!
Now I’m not a pastor’s wife. But I know a pastor’s wife pretty well, and I think I can tell you some ways to make a pastor’s wife feel appreciated.
Do you have any other ideas? Let me know by way of “comment,” and I will pass them on.
Me, Pastor Kuhn, and my wife, Tammy
Please believe me when I say that this is not going to be a “death” blog. I’m not going to keep posting about those in my life who have entered the next life. However, it would be wrong for me to miss putting up a post about one of the greatest influences of my life, who died last Friday:
The way the education of a pastor in the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod works is to get a B.A. degree, and then move on to seminary for four years. The first two years are spent on campus, in class. The third year is a “real world” internship as “vicar” serving with an established pastor at a congregation somewhere in the United States. Then the student goes back to the seminary for one final year of class work before graduating and becoming a “full-fledged” pastor.
My vicarage was done near our nation’s capitol in Falls Church, Virginia, under The Rev. Gerald Kuhn, who had been the pastor of that congregation from about the time it was approximately a year old. Pastor Kuhn had risen to the rank of Rear Admiral as a Navy Chaplain. He was the best you could ask for in a vicarage supervisor: laid back; ready to allow you to “test your wings”; providing plenty of freedom; and making sure you learned and had fun for a year in our nation’s capitol.
Pastor Kuhn died last Friday. He was a great man of God, a unique character, and a precious friend. I got to see him last fall, and I am so glad that I did. With this post, I “salute” the Admiral for the things he taught me.
One more thing: while I was there that year, Pastor Kuhn made me take a “quiz” on the history of Virginia, and he gave me some Confederate money that I still have to this day. He made sure that every vicar who went through St. Paul’s in Falls Church, Virginia, would learn something about the place in which they served. It was a lot of fun…and I did pretty well on the quiz. But I learned more than Virginia history. I learned what it meant to be a great pastor.
Pastor Kuhn will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on July 21st. Salute the Admiral!
