Going on a Cruise

I have never been on a cruise but I sent off my money a couple of days ago to join my sisters in Christ on a cruise in January. I am pretty stoked about it. I have not been good about taking any time off and haven't went on a vacation in years but this looked too good to pass up. I finally finished my doctorate and it just seemed to come at the perfect time. So I will be cruising the high sea's in a few months.....whoo hooo!!!!

Bad Press versus Good Press

Part of the problem is that the normal Christians...and yes there are some out there....get overshadowed by all the nuts that the media loves to make such a fuss about. For instance, the nut jobs from Westboro, which I would argue are not Christian and have just hijacked the term. Or that idiot from Florida, who thought that burning the Koran was a good idea. Normal Christians go around trying their best to help people or if not that, at least do their best not to cause any harm.

Do we succeed? You might say no, but I think that for the majority of us we are doing just as good as anyone else is and maybe just a little better. I am not trying to convert you but ask you not to group all of us together when you hear (another idiot) Pat Robertson saying America is going to fall because of gay marriage. I am a Christian who believes that two people of any gender have the right to live their lives out together with all the privileges and pitfalls that come from being married.

Now I am not holier than thou either, I like to have a glass of wine and I have been known to say a few choice words (especially if I stub my toe). I, also, help hand out food to the hungry and visit those who are sick and dying in the hospital because of my religion. I am not uneducated or naive. I am not a Republican or a hater. And I'm not trying to convert you. This is my path and I came to it later in life than many but it is working for me. I just ask that you don't make blanket generalizations about Christianity. We are not all bad.....or all good.

P.S.

I sent my dissertation off to be bound into book form yesterday with the expensive paper and all that. I truly pray that I don't see that thing again until they send it back with my diploma. I do like that I am official a doctor now though. :)

Last Day

Today is my last day at Trinity. It has been a good three years and I will miss almost all of the people there but I am excited about the two churches that I will be pastoring. It will be the first time that either church has had to share a pastor, so it will not be without challenges but I'm hoping that it will all work out. I do have faith that God will be in the mix and I know that makes things so much better.

I do have to move into the parsonage back into the part of town that I left last year. I won't lie, I really didn't want to move back to that part of town but I will survive and thrive. The cool thing is that my new garden is really thriving there, so that will be neat. What many people don't know is that I actually chose to move back into the neighborhood because I know the people that are working so hard to make it a better place to live.

I won't actually move into the parsonage until next Saturday. I have my current house until the end of the month and that will give them five days to put some new carpet in and paint.

Wish me luck.

Ordained i.e. Miracles Do Happen

Well, I have finally finished one leg of my journey into full-time ministry (I am not naive enough to believe that there won't be other challenges ahead). I was ordained a full-elder, Tuesday June 7th. It was a pretty cool worship service, but I was exhausted by the end of the day. The important thing is to say thank you to all of you who started with me during some pretty bleak times. There were times I didn't believe that I would ever be ordained. Giving me an outlet to vent about the stuff going on in my life was a real life-saver. This was especially true because for the first years I was serving out in the middle of the boondocks and it made me feel less alone and more connected. Therefore, I believe that you all share in the credit for me making it to this stage. Plus, I'm sure that I will be depending on that support in the future. Ministry is hard enough but it is good knowing that there are other people who have already gone through similar things and can give good advice. It is, also, nice to have a place to vent about some of the people we work with in ministry. Thanks for everything you have done.

Garden

I signed up for a new project from my local university to help people start backyard gardens. They provided a raised bed, soil, and plants plus a class to teach us all about growing stuff. It was delivered to my next parsonage today. Thank goodness that I live pretty close by and the outgoing pastor is a close friend of mine, so I am able to tend the garden until moving day. I am excited about the garden and the prospect of the project itself. It is to help fight obesity in the University District. We will see but I hope to share the veggies with some of my new neighbors.

Praying for Joplin

Missouri just broke the record for people killed in a tornado and it is heartbreaking. Just like the same record broken in Alabama. I get offended though when people blame God for these things happening. It is a natural occurrence when hot, moist air hits dry, cold air. The difference is that the population of many of these places are growing so it IS affecting more and more people.

God isn't punishing people but He is giving us (humans) a chance to show that we love our neighbors as ourselves. So get off your butt and find a way to help, write a check to UMCOR or put together a mission team to help with the clean-up. Send supplies, send prayers, do SOMETHING, we have a chance to be the Good Samaritans of this story.

Something New

This will be a short blog. I am trying to blog from my phone. I don't see this being a daily occurrence but it is nice to have options. I have done some good today though. Worked at the dental Mission of Mercy providing free dental care to those who can't afford it. We helped over one thousand people today and doing it again tomorrow.

Secrets, Secrets and More Secrets

I find the way that the church handles appointments extremely interesting. It is like the cabinet doesn't want anything to come out until it all happens at one time. This sets up an interesting dynamic between the hierarchy and the clergy (and laity). The cabinet is making all the appointments and the clergy are all calling each other and trying to figure out who is going and who is staying. It becomes the only time of the year (or so it seems) when clergy become like stalkers from TMZ

Very Thought It Would Happen

Well Dear Friends,

I never thought this day would come but I am now a Doctor of Ministry. This has been a long, hard road and I really thought about giving up (several times). Still not sure what I think about the entire process but I never like to entertain the idea of quitting at anything, so I am glad that this part of my journey is finished. I don't know if I would have made any of this without the love and support of people that follow me on this blog. This has been my "safe" outlet, a place to vent my fears and frustrations and for that I thank you all.

Now I'm still in the process of waiting on my new appointment and I am not the only one. The process is moving at a snail's pace this year. It is frustrating several of the 'elder' elder's..... who are also still waiting to hear about their appointments, so I am not alone. I am sure there are several very reasonable explanations for the delay, but it is of no comfort to those of us who are sitting in the dark.

Still excited about my upcoming Ordination though. I really would never recommend working on a doctorate while working towards ordination at the same time to ANYONE. It worked out for me but it has not been the easiest course that I could have travelled on.

Now, as I sit watching the potential for yet another tornado hit my state, I ask that you pray for everyone in the path of these storms. And thank you for following my blog over these years. It has made a difference in the life of this pastor.