Mentally Gearing up For Worship

This is me....getting ready for worship. I want you to notice the careful color coordination between the pajama's and the socks, the go-get-'em energy and the careful posture. I did go on to preach a sermon that seemed to resonate with the people, Reaffirmed our Baptismal Covenant, had a good crowd and our monthly luncheon was cordial.

I am kind of bummed that the Dallas Cowboy's lost but I quickly put that behind me as I took the rest of the day to celebrate the birthday of my 7 year old great-niece and read a novel totally for its entertainment value.

Tomorrow night is the big meeting with the District Superintendent. It should be interesting (and not the good kind of interesting). I am tempted to take today off because of tomorrow but I have my nose to the grindstone.....but the purple slipper socks are still on my feet.

Ryss getting ready to snowboard! Isn't she cute?

Friday Five

1. When is your birthday? Does anyone else (famous and/or in your own life) share it?
My birthday is July 26th and I share the same birthday with Sandra Bullock. She was even born the same year I was. Kate Beckinsale is another celebrity that shares my birthday.

2. Do you prefer a big party or an intimate celebration for the chosen few?
I prefer an intimate celebration of a chosen few. Friends that I can just be myself with.

3. Describe your most memorable birthday(s)--good, bad, or both.
My 18th birthday was spend at the US Army Induction Center. The very next day I was on an airplane to Fort McClellan Alabama to begin my basic training.

4. What is your favorite cake and ice cream? (Bonus points if you share the cake recipe). Or would you rather have a different treat altogether?
I love cheesecake covered with caramel.

5. Surprise parties: love 'em or hate 'em?
Only someone who really didn't know me would think that a surprise party was a good idea or someone who really didn't like me. Thank God that no one has been so cruel.

Bonus: Describe your ideal birthday--the sky's the limit.
My ideal birthday would happen on a Greek Island as part of my world/year-long cruise.

Admin Council

Last night was our regularly scheduled Administrative Council meeting and it was flowing along fine. We were moving forward in a constructive manner as we dealt with the issues of our non-merger.

One of the items discussed was keeping up the high attention to detail in regards to our facility. It is so easy to become accustomed to things that you don't even notice that they need repaired, restored or replaced....you just get used to it. I mentioned that the chair in the nursery smelled bad (mildew/mold) and that I had a rocker/recliner that I would bring to the church to replace this chair. THAT WOMAN, whom I am beginning to find it really hard to love, literally called me a liar...OVER A CHAIR. I immediately just dropped the subject but OMG, even prior to becoming a pastor, even before converting to Christianity, I would never have called someone a liar over something so insignificant. It wasn't like I said it was her fault that the darn chair smells horrible.

This person and her daughter drive a significant distance to church. The daughter announced that they were looking for a church in their hometown not too long ago and I am praying that they find one soon. The daughter actually got up from the meeting and walked into the nursery, and in full view of the entire council smelled the chair. She didn't say anything so I'm hoping that she got a nose full. We just replaced the carpet in the nursery and have really made it a nice place for parents to drop their children off and this woman has resisted every single change.

I'm beginning to believe that it is me she is really resisting. If I had said the chair smelled wonderful, she would have claimed to smelled to high heaven. I believe that she is upset that when they announced their plans to find a church in their hometown, no one jumped up and tried to talk them into staying. Ah, you reap what you sow.

Other than that, the rest of the meeting went well and they are even sending a repairman to the parsonage tomorrow to fix my dryer and the oven. The oven hasn't worked right for the past four years and the dryer is a fire hazard.

They did vote to drop out of the Transformation Project. Not because the church doesn't want to transform but because the cost is $1,000 and they don't feel that the consultant has really done more than come in for 20 minutes and tell them what was wrong with the physical plant. There wasn't any constructive ideas and/or support for reaching our community. It didn't help that he was a total jerk and didn't try to connect with the people.

"Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations"

I'm currently reading Bishop Robert Schnase's book "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations". In my conference, we have been trying to enact all five of his recommendations for a few years now. It should be easy but it's not. I think that anyone trying to lead a congregation should read this book and so should everyone else.

I loved his statement on page 29. "Members blame the scapegoat and find fault for why things don't work better, and they deny and ignore and avoid their own complicity in the stagnation of their churches." "This won't change until each person takes responsibility for practicing Radical Hospitality as obedience to the ministry of Christ. Church members have to mature from "they ought" to "I will".

Imagine my delight in reading that particular statement, especially after hearing about my dog situation yesterday. Not that I am going to even acknowledge that particular piece of idiocy from those particular members of my church. All of this was churning around in my brain as I took my dogs for a walk today (see they even help me prepare my sermons), I came back and wrote my sermon for week after next. I don't say this too often, but it is pretty darn good. I'll let you know how they receive it after the 20th. I may be running for the nearest exit, but it speaks to the truth. (But I don't mention the dogs, no reason to poke the bear :)

I am back on my regular work-out schedule after being gone for the holidays. I did a pretty intense work-out last night and I can't move my right shoulder today. Thank the Good Lord that I can type without moving my shoulder. All those push-ups did something and it hurts. Why oh why couldn't it have been my left shoulder?!? Your ankle or knee or wrist, you can bind it up but your shoulder.....down into your chest muscles.

Now I know that some churches kind of take a deep breath after the Christmas holiday's but my January is looking as busy as December was with marriages, dedication services, District events, training events, Reaffirmation of Baptismal Covenant Service. You name it and I seem to be doing it right now. Plus a special meeting between the church and the District Superintendent (that they asked for). It seems that they believe that the "Church" is trying to get rid of small churches. Does it ever end??

BTW

My new and revised sermon on Sunday went extremely well. So well that one of the parishioner's asked me to revamp it a little and preach it at her wedding. Hmmm...it is amazing what people get out of a sermon because I said absolutely nothing that could be misconstrued as relating to a wedding but it was a sermon filled with hope and new beginning's.

For those of you interested, my liturgist was visiting her mother at the rehab center. The pianist totally and completely forgot about the church service even after being reminded about it at 4 p.m. that same day. Oh well, why should we think about Christ at Christmas??? (Yes, I am a smart ass.)

As for the other stuff I'm dealing with, I have done everything within my power and the rest is up to God. I'm not even worrying about it with the top of my brain...it is still simmering away underneath everything but I don't think that I'm letting it consume me.

I have other stuff to do that. Apparently, a couple of my church members believe that part of the church's problems are related to the fact that I have pet's. How that could even begin to affect church membership is beyond me so I think it is merely a target for their frustration. Of course, I would "go to the mats" over my dogs so they better not trip down that lane too far. It is very hard on a family to be itinerant and the one constant in my daughter's life is her pets.

Drowning

Do any of you feel like you are drowning....drowning in paper? I dread going to the mail box because I know that 96% is going to be junk mail, newpapers, magazines and the rest is probably bills.

I went to a District meeting today and left carrying enough paper to cover every square inch of my parsonage floor. And what is worse most of it has already been handed out previously or sent to us via email.

ARGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phone Message

Listen up!!

http://www.ship-of-fools.com/Signs/movies/hello_pastor.html

Those of us who are pastor's have had phone calls like this and, if not, you will.

I Am Legend

We went to the movies yesterday and saw the new Will Smith movie "I Am Legend". I enjoyed it but I'm not going to tell what happened in case you still haven't seen it.

Today, we both got new haircuts. Of course, I didn't change the basic style, just had four inches cut off. You might think that I'm boring (and you're probably right). I, however, like to think that I've found a style that works for me and it doesn't make any sense to change it.

I decided at the last minute that my sermon for tomorrow totally sucked and wasn't what needed to be said.....don't you just hate when this happens?? So I have changed everything, even the scripture passage, which meant that I had to re-do the bulletin. Hopefully, I will sleep better tonight. I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so I watched a show about Carmelite Spirituality. It was the perfect thing......I fell into a deep sleep. No, no, I'm just kidding. The Bishop of Stockholm Sweden was arguing that morning prayers are even more important than evening prayers, since evening prayers are more a recounting of the day's events while morning prayers are an invitation for God to accompany us are our daily journey. So I prayed. I don't think I accomplished very much today except for the sermon.

I am having problems with motivation. My desk is covered with mail...junk, junk, and more junk. I feel like I am drowning. I know that it is this whole psych eval thing that is messing me up but somehow knowing the cause and moving beyond it are two totally different things. My D.S. has reassured me that no matter what happens with my commissioning he has a place for me. That was a huge relief. I have done everything that I can and as MoreCows said in her blog, I'm not in control. So I'm just going to trust in God.....

Back Home

George Eliot said:“Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away.”

I'm back from vacation. It's always good to come home but vacation was wonderful. I have missed reading all your blogs but hope to get caught up soon.

Two quick updates: The conference psychologist has not bothered to return my phone calls as of yet, so no word from that quarter.

The merger for the two churches was voted on and the merger motion failed. The DS is coming on January 15th to lay out the options for the church.