Reflections on my Second Year as a pastor

A year ago I wrote about five things I had learned in my first year as a pastor. You can read the list here. This year I am not feeling quite as articulate. Many of those first year lessons have become just a part of life. Alyssa and I were initially shocked at the desire of people that we be intimately involved in their lives. We have not been surprised by it this year, but we continue to be humbled and grateful that we get to walk through both the happy and sad times with those we love.

I think more than anything, this year has grown my faith in God. I am no longer surprised to see God do the impossible.  Looking back on a year that was punctuated by lows and highs, I truly believe the hand of God was at work in all of it. I don’t think God was necessarily happy that we had to go through some of the lows, but I think He was happy to guide and support us through it. I am excited that the Lord has given us the opportunity to be a part of the good things He is doing here in Connell. I see a new passion for the mission coming from our congregation, I know this is the work of the Lord, and it comes as an answer to prayer.

This year has also been really exciting as we have begun to reach  out to Spanish speaking people in our community. It is a major blessing to build relationships with people who have never before seen our church as a place that they might find hope. I believe it reflects the Kingdom of Heaven to our community, and enriches the life of our local body.

It’s been a great year, and I’m looking forward to another year of growth and learning. I still have so far to go, but I’ll probably figure it all out in my third year!

My Merry Christmas

I haven’t blogged in quite some time, so I want to make a quick Christmas reflection. Alyssa and I have had a great Christmas season so far. We have been busy getting ready for our trip to Honduras, while also decorating the house, having a super fun open house for the church, and of course shopping. Christmas has seemed easy this year, maybe because we still have some shopping to do, or maybe because Alyssa just makes it easy for me, but I haven’t felt those familiar Christmas uncertainties on gifts, or struggled to get the Christmas duties done this year. I think in part because this has just been a busy year, especially a busy fall, so we are just used to constant activity.

One thing has seemed a little different this year. I have a lot of Christmas memories of giving to people in need. We have done that this year, the church is helping several families, we bought gifts for the “Adopt a Family” thing in Connell, and we had an awesome night with our small group wrapping presents and taking them to a family. This year that sort of giving has been fun, but it has felt different for some reason. I guess this year it’s been less about me and more about helping people we really love. That probably makes me happier to give, and I shop for these occasions more like I do for members of my own family. It’s been a good different.

My reflection in Proverbs

I have been reading a chapter in the book of Proverbs a day lately. I have spent quite a bit of time in Proverbs, but today I found something that struck me as new and fresh, perhaps because I read it in the NLT for the first time. I read from Proverbs 27:21: “Fire tests the purity of gold and silver, but a person is tested by being praised.”

The trite: THAT IS SO TRUE!!!, immediately came to mind. The overplayed: “The opposite is true too,” also came to mind. Maybe this is a passage that just can’t be expanded on to much. Maybe the simple truth of the proverb sinks in without exposition, but it seems like there ought to be a sermon (or at least a sermonette) here.

After looking at it for a few more minutes, I guess I have to end it with that. “Fire tests the purity of gold and silver, but a person is tested by being praised.” Thanks for that nugget Solomon.

My Holiness: Rules and Regulations

I just watched this awesome video on the Asbury website, it’s a bonus feature from their chapels. It’s pretty funny to me that they have bonus features from their chapels.

The video is several of my favorite professors from Asbury discussing the holiness movement. They talk about the history of the movement and the future of the Wesleyan holiness tradition. I have been thinking a lot about holiness lately. I am taking a class called “Becoming A Holy People” which is forcing me to reread two Nazarene favorites on the subject of holiness. I have also been thinking about Nazarene holiness as I am preparing to teach a membership class in a few weeks, and as I am trying to be faithful to our denominational distinctive as a pastor.

In the video Dr. James Thobaben says that he believes the holiness movement needs some codification in order to remain true to its roots, and distinct as a movement from the rest of evangelical Christianity. He believes that our “rules” should be in the areas of pure sexual ethics, and simplicity in relating to the environment. He thinks we should be environmentally minded, not willing to exploit natural resources and willing to live simply with regard to possessions.

Dr. Joe Dongell comes in to correct Dr. Thobaben by saying that any specificities should be tied to love. I think that is really helpful, except that it’s not very specific. He doesn’t elaborate any from there. It would be helpful if Dr. Dongell was allowed to list some rules that would be tied to love.

Dr. Thobaben goes on to say that there will be false positives to a holiness test based on love. Which means there will be people who help the poor, are pure sexually, and recycle, who also harbor bitterness in their hearts, and do not love the Lord with all their hearts. However, there will be very few false negatives. In other words, there will be very few people who will truly seek to be transformed by the Holy Spirit who don’t remain pure sexually, and who don’t care for the marginalized in society.

Even with ethical codes based on love, it is tempting to fall to legalism on one side. On the other side, when love is the rule, it is tempting to fall to antinomianism (which says there is no law by which Christians must abide). Dr. Larry Wood is careful to point out that love tends toward antinomianism.

I don’t have a set of rules yet, it would be interesting to hear what kinds of rule people could make that are tied to love.

The Stuff I’ve Forgotten

Alyssa and I were rollin’ in my pickup yesterday, on our way home from a Chinese restaurant we were trying out in Othello, when I started listing the folks in 6th grade with me at Whitman Elementary. I had a stunning realization, I remember people from 6th grade better than I do from high school, college, and seminary combined. It’s no surprise that I can’t remember anyone from high school, I had a few close friends that I keep in touch with, and I haven’t seen or heard of the rest for ten years (with the exception of a few who have shown up on Facebook). College is another story…I forgot at least 90% of people I went to NNU with the second I took off my cap and gown. I don’t know what happened, but when I get together with the friends I do remember from college they often tell me what people are up to, people we hung out with a lot, and I can’t put a face with the name.

So I can’t remember the name of my suite mate from my first year of seminary (I shared a bathroom with him 5 years ago), but for whatever reason I can remember with crystal clarity Jason Alenice, Shea Austin, and Levi Holley (all of whom I’m pretty sure fell off the face of the earth in 1994). Why is my memory clogged with the antics of Mrs. Moore when I could remember another Spanish verb, or more history behind the Christus Victor theory of the atonement? It seems like kind of a waste. All of this has made me think about the value of learning things at an early age. Imagine if I had memorized scripture when I was young, or studied calculus, or learned Hebrew…I’d be unstoppable.

February 23rd is coming

In case you don’t have any ideas for my birthday yet:

I dig stools!

Reflection on my first year as a pastor

Connell Church of the Nazarene

I have learned a lot in my first year as the pastor of Connell Church of the Nazarene. I know that I have grown in more ways than just as a pastor, but at this time it is easiest to focus on church stuff. Here are five things I have learned, or that have been confirmed to me in my first year.

1. Alyssa and I have both been honored by the access that people grant us to their lives. It’s humbling to be accepted into intimate family moments, simply because we are in the role of pastor. We consider the moments that we have been able to share grief, weigh options, and celebrate with families in our church to be pure joy. These blessed moments were not in our set of expectations, but have proven to be some of our favorite times this year.

2. I have learned the value of considering my role to be that of steward. God has given me this time and place to minister, and His expectation of me is faithfulness. When I forget that I am steward, and not God, I get stressed out. It’s God’s church, He’ll protect it, and accomplish His will in it. I hope He’ll use me as He does, but I’d rather see God do cool stuff in Connell than get  credit for His work.

3. Related to #2 I have learned the importance of self-care. I started enjoying my job a lot more when I started working out regularly this Fall.

4. I’ve confirmed that I really enjoy studying God’s word. It’s so cool to me that I get to study the Bible every week and share what I have learned with an audience that genuinely wants to hear what God is teaching me. I am so blessed to be in a church that is so gracious as they encourage my growth as a preacher.

5. I am learning the need for a powerful display of God’s love through His people. I need this in all of my relationships and attitudes. As a church we need to become more comfortable speaking the language of God’s love to one another and to the world around us.

Those are five things, in no particular order, that I have been learning this year. I know there is a lot more I need to learn, I’ll probably catch it all in my second year.