Yesterday I was back in church. For weeks, I have been traveling here and there doing what I do, so it was good to be back. I don’t believe that, in the comings and goings required of my position, I could sustain the energy and vision it takes to be a seminary president if I weren’t grounded in the life of one particular congregation where my soul is fed. And so I was back in church. I experienced a wonderful anthem by our choir, and a magnificent sermon from our pastor, and the sweet mystery and fellowship of Eucharist (where my regular walk to the front to receive the elements of bread and wine reminds me of who and whose I am). In addition to all of that, we ordained and installed a new class of elders and deacons. Most of them I know well; some are new to me. But all of them – standing up there in front of the Table and saying “I do” and “I will” to that daunting series of larger-than-life questions – seemed transformed by that moment of commitment. When those vows were over, … [Read more...]
Thoughts and prayers
A lot of how we express ourselves as people of faith can be summed up in that simple phrase “thoughts and prayers.” Lord knows how many times in my pastoral life have I said those words. In the hospital room before surgery, after a visit and a prayer, I’ve paused in the doorway before leaving and said, “You will be in our thoughts and prayers tomorrow.” At the grave, after all has been said and the loved one has been buried, there with my car door open I have said one last farewell to the grieving family: “Y’all are in our thoughts and prayers in these days ahead.” And those words have often been spoken to me, in some moment of particular challenge: “Ted, I know this is a hard time, and you are in my thoughts and prayers.” I have never doubted the sincerity of such a promise. I have often depended – we all have – upon the active thoughts and prayers of others. Thoughts and prayers, after all, are much of what we do in our vocation as disciples. I keep a written list of people and … [Read more...]
What is truth?
Today, about an hour ago as I wrote these words, I confess that I hit the wall. It was the umpteen-millionth spam email I had received (I bet you receive them too) from someone marketing some unsolicited business opportunity – in this case it was unsecured working capital lines of credit. The person’s name was “Pat” and the greeting was familiar, as if Pat and I were old friends — buddies from way back. “Hey Ted!” Pat said. “I’m just getting back to you about our conversation we had on February 11th regarding Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Inc.’s new projects. We ran a D&B analysis and you scored 76 out of 80 which places you in the top tier in your industry, blah blah blah.” What Pat wants me to do is call now — NOW!!! — so I can get in on this gravy train. Lord help me, I actually wrote a reply to Pat that I will not send, as satisfying as it might be. Here is what I wrote: “Hey Pat! How’s the family? How are your yoga lessons coming along? Played any golf lately? … [Read more...]
Not forgotten
As I write these words on the second Sunday of Advent, 2016 (that annus horribilis) is winding down, and I’m thinking about the letter I received recently from the church I served in my third year in seminary in the late 1970s. That third year, in those days, was designed to be an intensive internship immersing students in a ministry situation so that we learned about ministry at the ground level. Then, in a final year, we went back to finish our requirements and take comprehensive exams. My year in this particular congregation deep in the coalfields of West Virginia turned me upside down. Without it, I might have happily settled, for the rest of my life, into places altogether too comfortable. But West Virginia was a state of profound contrasts — between stunning natural beauty and industrial disfigurement, between urban sophistication and abject poverty, between the classical Presbyterianism of the church in which I interned and the snake-handling practices in tiny hard-bitten … [Read more...]
Ecclesial humility
Professor Amy Pauw, from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, wrote a piece recently on Ephesians 2:11-22 in which she made this observation: “An honest look at church history leaves ample room for ecclesial humility, but the church is still tempted to see itself, rather than Christ, as the ‘cornerstone’ of God’s ‘plan to gather up all things in heaven and earth’” (Ephesians 1:10). I love the term “ecclesial humility” even though I see so little of it: in my church, in my ecclesiastical opponents and certainly in myself. Nonetheless, I love the term. It reminds me of how, so often, we see ourselves as the cornerstones of God’s eternal plans. At Austin Seminary, we’re musing about an event to be held next October that will mark the 500th anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Early on, I imagined we would focus on themes along the lines of “the sun never sets on Reformed Christianity” — self-congratulatory presentations on Luther … [Read more...]
Apologies
SEVEN YEARS AGO, one of Austin Seminary’s most beloved professors retired. He was a man of uncommon integrity — an ethicist, a genius at chess, a lover of good music, a brilliant conversation partner, a joy to know and be around. When the fur would start to fly in faculty meetings, he would sit quietly until the opportune moment and then clear his throat and sit up a bit in his seat. At just that moment — still a few seconds before he raised his hand to be recognized — as if by instinct, the din would subside and people would stop their talking (or yelling) because this man, we all sensed, was about to speak. This was the moral authority he possessed. Everybody knew that whatever he had to say would be worth hearing and taking seriously. So there was appreciation, and much sadness, at his retirement party. All of his colleagues, many staff persons and a slew of students and alumni were there. Speeches were made, toasts were given, cake was sliced, and then it was his turn to speak. … [Read more...]
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