Each year as I plan my continuing education, I look for diverse opportunities to learn and grow as a pastor. I have spent time at national events, on seminary campuses and in remote camps. I love to learn, so it is tempting to pack two weeks full of content that will stretch me. I learned early on that this is not always the best use of my time. I am an introvert — so as much as I love structured events, they wear me out quickly. I try to take a couple days each year to go on a retreat to reenergize and renew my own faith. I have done loosely structured pastor’s retreats, silent retreats and low-key larger events. I struggled those first few years to internally justify a weekend spent in silence, or some time midweek to be fed. However, experience has now shown me that these are some of the most valuable uses of my time. I need to take time to reset, to be fed, to reconnect with God, whose people I am called to serve. I cannot lead well if my tank is running on empty. Ministry is … [Read more...]
Church leaders and alcohol consumption
This week we asked our bloggers to consider their experience of alcohol and church. Here are their reflections. Beer is not my favorite beverage. Generally I do not reveal such divisive information on such a broad platform. However, I want to share a story and you’ll need that gem of information in order to appreciate it. My husband, on the other hand, enjoys craft beer (he has been known to grab a make-your-own six pack in order to try as many different flavors as he can). My first call was in an area where alcohol consumption by Christians can be a bit of a hot-button issue. When we first moved into the manse, we had the hardest time getting the recycling truck to pick up our recycling. We kept leaving it in the alley with the trash — not knowing we had to set it out in front for the recycling truck. Several weeks and phone calls later, we had the recycling set out the night before it was due to be picked up. We had piles of boxes from moving and a bin full of plastic, cans … [Read more...]
Transition and grief
We are living in a time of constant transition in the church. I see this at the denominational level and the local level. For better or worse, we are having to reimagine what it means to be the church. Yet even Calvin nodded to a church that would be forever reforming. There is something about church that is forever in motion: always growing, stretching, changing. It was never meant to be stationary. All this sounds lovely doesn’t it? However, when we are living in this fluidity, there are huge challenges. Growing pains are real and we are so often forced to face these challenges without our consent. We rarely say, “OK — let’s move the church into this challenging time so we can bear new fruit.” Transition comes at us most often with an element of surprise. Surprise! You need all new plumbing. Surprise! Your long-time pastor is retiring. Surprise! You must make steeper budget cuts than you anticipated. On rare occasions, we are prepared for these surprises or we … [Read more...]
A dream for the church: Let go and serve
We asked our bloggers to share their biggest dreams for the church. Here's what they imagine. Dreaming big has always come easily to me. As I think about my big dreams for the church, two come to mind. The first is to let go of the past. In so many ways our grasping at the past holds us back from living into the future. We remember how great it was fondly, but forget those times were imperfect. We lose sight of how amazing it is going to be when we let go, and really let God lead us into the future. Now, I don’t mean just throwing away our past. We can honor it and celebrate the good times! More often than not, our relationship with the past is trying to get back to it. We cannot go back to our past, to the glory days when more people came to church. I believe there is a future where more people will be in worship, but it will look entirely different than it did when attendance peaked for us as a denomination or individual congregations. It is good to be deeply rooted, but if we … [Read more...]
Ministry hack: The visit edition
This week we asked the Outlook bloggers to share a “ministry hack” they’ve learned. Here’s what they shared. Pop your collar. When I was working in a rural context people didn’t always believe that I am a pastor. Sometimes it was because I looked too young, but often it was because I am female. So, when I go on a visit to the intensive care unit I wear my collar. Visitors are limited in the ICU, and no one questions who I am, why I am there, my gender or my age when I wear the collar. The name game. I make it a point to learn people’s given names because it is tough to find Scooter Smith unless you are in a small-town hospital. It helps if I know Scooter’s given name is William. I learn these names by praying my way through the church directory, which in my case has given names and nicknames. I also keep a directory in my car, my home, my bag and at the office. This way I can doublecheck names before I go in to the hospital or find an address for a home visit. I’ll just … [Read more...]
A love letter to the Presbyterian Church
This month, we invited our bloggers to write a "love letter" to the church. Here are their letters. Dear church, I love you because you have empowered me to lead. You did not squelch my voice when I finally spoke up and said I felt called to ministry. You helped me answer the call to serve your people, even when I was frustratingly stubborn. You have opened a world of opportunities I would have never known outside your beloved community. I am grateful that this has been my experience because I know it has not been the experience of some of my sisters (and brothers). I pray that soon we will empower all the voices of our people and learn to really hear them. I love you church because even amidst your human imperfection you are trying to love all the people of God. For many it seems like that loves starts in our polity when we make official statements on the full inclusion of all people or when we walk the streets of St. Louis to bring about bail reform. Yet, I know your … [Read more...]
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