Throughout Lent, a strong and courageous group of the young adults at my church engaged in a project I piloted called "Profess & Confess." For six weeks, they studied, prayed and asked themselves difficult questions like, "What do I believe?" "What do I know to be true?" and "Can I truly call myself a Christian?" Some of their realizations were freeing as these young adults resolved suspicions and misgivings around concepts like sin, judgment and predestination. Others were less than comforting as individuals were forced to acknowledge the limits of their knowledge around issues like free will, redemption and the existence of evil. At the end of the six weeks, all of the participants concluded the journey by writing their very own confessions of faith. As I expected, each person’s experience was unique and distinctive, ranging from feeling empowered and enlightened to terrified and even devastated. But as the texts began to pour in, the unexpected happened as one common … [Read more...]
3 things pastors wish their congregations knew
We asked our bloggers what 3 things they thoughts pastors wish their congregations knew. This is how they responded. 1. We struggle with our faith too. If anything, we might struggle with our faith more than you do. After all, we are tasked with the challenge of answering the unanswerable questions, dealing with the undealable theological issues and explaining the unexplainables of life. Having to venture to these dark places has an effect on us, sometimes good but often times bad. The hardest part of being a pastor is being privy to the highest highs and the lowest lows of the congregations we love so much. Most of things you want to share with us are either answered prayers or the sources of new ones. Throughout the course of a day, we witness the undeniable faithfulness of God in your lives as well as the terrifying silence of the One we worship and love. All this being said, we want to continue to journey with you to the peaks of the mountains and the depths of the … [Read more...]
5 things I wish I’d learned in seminary
This month, we asked our bloggers to name a few things that they wish they had learned in seminary. Visit the Outlook Outpost blog for other perspectives on the question and join the discussion. I am a proud graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. I had some amazing professors, took some phenomenal classes and engaged in some life-changing academic discourse. That being said, I do not feel I was adequately prepared for ministry, and to be fair, not a single graduate I have spoken to from any seminary in the country has said differently. Seminary helped me think theologically, expanded the way I look at and read the Bible and made me somewhat aware of my pastoral identity, but was I ready to run a church after receiving my diploma? No. Way. So here is my list of things I wish I’d learned in seminary. Some are practical and some are less so. 1) How to say “I don’t know” The dangerous thing about the academic … [Read more...]
A prayer for the fickle at heart
Ever constant and ever present Lord, It is amazing how within the course of just one day we, your children, can go from praising your name to cursing it. How we can see the sun can shine so perfectly one minute, and then fixate on the storm clouds the next. How we can glorify your power and might with such vigor, and just us as passionately question your care for our lives. Sadly, our relationships with one another are not so different. While beginnings afford us the purest of intentions, it seems that the end comes into sight the second we feel slighted or disappointed. We vacillate constantly between feeling like we are too good for other people and worrying that we aren’t good enough. Our human hearts house so many contradicting emotions. Joy and pain. Gratitude and callousness. Hope and cynicism. Love and hate. Lord, you know so intimately our fickle hearts and hear so clearly our fickle prayers. And amidst it all, you stay the same. You are never less … [Read more...]
The sacred adventure
I love “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. I can’t say that I am a hardcore fan because I haven’t actually read any of the books (blasphemy, I know), but I have watched the movies more times than I can count. They get me every time. Gandalf in all his awesomeness. Aragorn’s quest to reclaim the throne of Gondor. Golum’s innocence and darkness. But most importantly, the power of the simpletons, the Hobbits. Each character, each theme, each story line is so rich with theological meaning that every time I watch it, I learn something new about God and myself. Sadly I didn’t have that immediate connection with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Sure it was entertaining, but I didn’t get the same spiritual rush of the LOTR trilogy. Until I watched it again this past weekend. Bilbo: Good morning! We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The … [Read more...]
Get a life…. YOUR own life
Something has been bothering me lately. Over the summer, I read an article in The Economist about a study published by the Public Library of Science that shows that the more someone uses Facebook, the less happy he or she is. How can this possibly be? Everyone on Facebook looks so excited, beautiful, active and alive. All of my “close” friends’ albums are brimming with photos of amazing vacations, rocking parties and adorable babies. These “dear” companions of mine keep me constantly updated with the unbelievable meal they just consumed, the new promotion they just received and their toned physiques. As far as I can see, there isn’t a hint of unhappiness on the perfectly curated walls of this global version of show-and-tell. That’s just the thing. Facebook isn’t real. It’s fantasy. Your fantasy. My fantasy. Our fantasy. The study I mentioned earlier clearly showed that those who increased their … [Read more...]
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