exploring life in a mainline church

The greatest culture ever needs the biggest churches! does it?

2011-03-15T01:14:00.000-04:00

Every nation, empire, kingdom, racial grouping that has been the most powerful in their time considers itself the best there has ever been, is and will be. As a corollary, its citizens, on top of the world, feel themselves to have relevance and rights that are above the rest of the world. More often than not it is fairly easy to keep to such assumptions as there are perks that come with being on top of the world. These perks include higher standards of living, easier traveling, quicker access to innovation, etc.

A roman citizen could cross the known world secure in the knowledge that his citizenship alone would facilitate all manner of access. An Inca king could communicate with his vast empire much faster and at a greater distance than a Roman emperor as the Inca roads infrastructure was better and more extensive than the Roman empire's. A Spaniard of means in the 1500's could travel to a brand new world the kingdom to which he was a subject ruled. A new world so vast that it's smallest province was nearly twice as big as Spain itself! A British gentleman could boast of the sun never setting on England during its heyday, etc. Each of these and many others, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Maya, Aztec, thought themselves the best there has ever been.
We too now think ourselves the best there has ever been, though we have only existed for little more than 200 years! Our entire existence, from official birth to now, is less than half as long as the Spanish empire spent as absolute ruler of most of America, huge swathes of South East Asia, and some of Africa! All of which came after the Spanish defeated a powerful Muslim empire back into Africa after nearly 800 years of fighting! The "decline" of the Roman empire alone took about 100 years longer than we have existed.
Some may say the world has not seen the advances it has through our "tenure" at any other time in History. Then again, that brings us back to the opening of this blog, all influential cultures have felt themselves to be better than anything that has ever existed. I would argue that industrial revolution England would have more than enough merit to dispute our claim as the most diverse and fastest innovators. Then again, comparing the best ever is an exercise in near futility as there will be as many varying opinions as there would be options. Were the Romans better than the Greek in their heyday? Was Egypt better than Mesopotamia? What about China and their technological advances? The Mayan were hundreds of years ahead in Mathematics and agriculture than their invaders who were hundreds of years ahead in the art of war. The Inca road network was so superior to the Roman that an Inca King could get news to his subjects 1000 miles away twice as fast as a Roman emperor could, so on and so fort.

I have given the previous thoughts as a way to provide some context for what I think is at the core of the title sentence in this blog. Many in our churches know with absolute certainty that there has never been any culture, country, as good as the United States. So it follows that our understanding of church must be the most clear and best there has been. We love anything with, best, greatest ever, biggest, most important, most influential, etc. before its name. So when we think of a good church our thoughts often follow this criteria, the biggest, best known churches must be the best, most influential, etc. churches.

At my church we get a fair amount of visitors, probably because our building is big and very visible. But, most of these visitors, who are looking for a church, never come back. The cynic in me attributes that to the fact that our church looks like a church from the inside. Our chancel/altar does not look like the stage of a concert venue. We do not have a full band with sound plastic/glass separators for the drum set so that the drummer can play as loud as he/she wants without overpowering the rest of the band or the carefully mixed sound coming from the state of the art sound system. Our lighting system does not allow us to set different "ambiances" depending on where we are in the service, it consists entirely of on/off switches. When I tell a story during my sermon there are no high definition images floating above me that drive my point with surround sound, I have to make due with words and expression. But that is just the cynic in me, though I think these things are symptoms of our bigger is better mentality. I think all these visitors do not stay because they are not worshiping with hundreds of other people and therefore there must be something wrong with this church. I suppose another difficult part of our church is that it calls us to follow Christ as though Christ was actually in the lead which makes it difficult to be business oriented enough to become "successful."

Of course not all massive, mega churches are bad but how many of them are actually church for the thousands who come? So, is bigger really better? Should we have 5 Mega churches one-upping each other close to the highway out of the city for parking ease? Or should we have 50 smaller ones throughout the neighborhoods, living in the towns, being relevant locally and just as relevant globally through their affiliations with the greater body of Christ?

Of course smaller churches have a host of problems. It is very difficult to hide in small churches. Plus the likelihood of being asked to do something for someone else is exponentially bigger in smaller churches. Whereas in the bigger, mega, kind of church we are more likely to be asked to chose between fun options to "better" ourselves. Sure you can drive to the city and hand out sandwiches, or fly to Guatemala for a week, of which at least two days will be sight seeing and "gift shopping".
Small churches also need their members to give in more substantial ways than their much bigger cousins. Sure financial offerings from individuals matter more in the small church but time, dedication, and leadership are things that matter most. In a small church someone has to volunteer to care for the children during the service. Someone has to head outreach, or discipleship, worship, etc. A small church will probably not be able to hire an extensive staff so that those attending can concentrate only on being fully involved in the feel good service.

A small church is challenging because it puts the faithful close to the needs. It places the Christian in places where Christ would be more likely to visit. Luke 14:12-14.

A small church is challenging because it lives by faith. 1 Cor. 5:1-10 Many people are not comfortable at a church that lives with the reality that it could not make it. But there is freedom in walking by faith. A church that does not have an overabundance that allows for state of the art children program stage does not spend much time looking at theater lighting bids. That church is instead more free to spend time thinking about who is visiting the shut-ins. The small church will not hire a minister of visitation, it will have to ask its members to follow Christ into yet another undesirable place.
A small church in the neighborhood is challenging because the rif-raf and the undesirables tend to knock on its doors. Luke 15:1-7. When we live out our walk with Jesus are we living that walk or are we driving in once a week with food and clothes?

Smaller neighborhood churches are tough and demanding so most people are abandoning them for greener pastures. It is in times like this that I am reminded how our "bigger is better" culture has made us forget that Jesus, in addition to defeating death in a triumphant and deserving of a fancy car way also said, pick up your cross and follow me.

how are we sharing the Gospel?

2011-02-14T23:48:00.000-05:00

There is a mission field every bit as foreign and distant from our mainline world as the one our faithful progenitors sought after in their train cars on their trips out west and to the middle of this country early on in the history of our American home missions society. The difference now is that the mission field is no longer geographically distant. Our current mission field is just as distant but in an ideological expanse as far and wide as the plains of the mid west or as endless as the sky of montana must have seemed to those who came before us.

Our call to mission and sharing the Gospel remains and the logistical needs are still there. How do we reach these distant people? They are far from where we are and we must do more than simply shout out from where we are and invite them to come. In fact, the distance is so great that often times our best efforts seem to them as little more than a few crazy people waving their arms and shouting incomprensible things from a distance.
I have dear beloved friends who cannot understand why I don't use more Scripture in my personal facebook page. They say, Doug you are a man of God, why don't you use all that is available to you to spread the Gospel? My response often includes asking them what they think the gospel is? Is quoting Scripture often the only way to share the Gospel? Sadly these discussions end the way most seem to in our current times, everyone assuming the extreme. In other words, if my update status are not at least 50% Scripture I am not sharing the Gospel. When I refuse to constantly quote Scripture I am not speaking against the power of the word of God. I know it is necessary for faith in Christ to hear, read and engage with Scripture. So the issue is not as simple as, use Scripture in Facebook and if you don't you're not sharing the Gospel. I would rather say, choose wisely before presenting the Word of God as hitting someone over the head with Scripture is just as bad as not using it at all.

Sadly, once again, since we live in extremes now, it seems that many in mainline churches are now almost afraid or apologetic about sharing Scripture with the world. I think our problem with growth in mainline denominations isn't that we have no message, or that the message is now irrelevant. The problem is more an issue of our own walk with Christ. How often do we look to culture to help us reach out to the world? How often do we follow this method, or that method, in an endless self help cycle that does little more than perpetuate itself and pay ever growing royalties to the author of the method that is "in". the result is that many of us feel we are bending over backwards for "these" people and they just don't come!

Jesus reminded us that in order to enter the kingdom we must be born again. (John 3:1-21) We now seem to have taken that to mean, we must help the unbelievers come to Christ so they repent and are born again. What I find most interesting about our understanding of being born again is that we seem to miss the fact that Jesus was not talking to an unbeliever about faith in the John passage. Nicodemus was not a "seeker" who was exploring church for the first time. Nicodemus is us, the believer, the one who is honestly doing her/his best to follow God. Some of us Christians try to explain this story as it applies to us away by saying Nicodemus was a pharisee therefore not a Christian, so an unbeliever. I wish I had more time to discuss how wrong that escapist perception is, the Pharisees and Sadducees were the church people, they knew God and were making sure this crazy Jesus person would not lead people astray!
So, Jesus was talking to a knowledgeable faithful person about the way in which he was receiving the Gospel (the Good News). Paul helped us to understand this encounter in a deeper way when he reminded us that we must die so that we may find life and life abundantly. (Galatians 2:20)
Are you willing to let the old you die? Jesus is not talking here about the old, non-christian you, some of us don't even have an old non Christian self if we've been in church all our life! What JESUS is asking is whether we have the willingness to let the christian self we know and love, die for the sake of the gospel! I saw a protest sigh some time ago that has illustrated this very thing for me; "I have contemplated the fact that I may be wrong, have you?" Are you willing to explore your own faith in an honest way to separate the you from the Gospel? As I said before, our problem as mainline churches isn't that our message is no longer life Transforming or relevant. I Think a big part of our problem is that we are often unwilling to consider that the way we know how to share the gospel may just now be wrong. The Gospel has not changed, it has not become irrelevant or obsolete. But the way we share the Good News may have become irrelevant and/or obsolete. This distinction is fundamental as we tend to confuse the questioning of the methods with the questioning of the truth that is so evident in the word of God. It would do us all good to spend time re-encountering that which is life Transforming, and life giving in the Gospel for ourselves. So get back into Scripture, read it, engage with it! After all, the words of your message will be much more effective if the other person can "hear" your love for what you are sharing.

So the mission field is just as distant now as it was one hundred years ago. The difference is that now, in order to share the Gospel with the world our journey needs to begin with a trip deep within so we may fall in love all over again. Only then will we be able to help the world discover the relevance and life giving power of the Gospel once again.

the church we want to be

2010-11-02T00:40:00.003-04:00

We are living in stressful times that leave us all with very unsettled feelings. The church in our country seems to be lost. It no longer has the certainties of Modernism nor the wealth and power of the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. so it's grabbing at anything it can to give it a sense of direction. The old modes of worship aren't working as effectively as they used to and some new ones, that ignore the wealth of the history of the body of Christ, are taking off like wild fires. So the place that would normally be a refuge is just as confused and anxious as the society in which we struggle.

As Orlando Costas says in "Christ Outside the Gate"; "the dominant symptoms of this situation of alienation are fear, anxiety and distrust at the personal level, and racism, classism, and sexism at the social level." How is a church to survive in an environment such as this? It seems to me like the churches who are surviving and even thriving in this world are the ones offering extremes.

The first set reminds me of the tall, thick impenetrable walls of the castles of the middle ages. These churches are bastions of a particular class of faith and nothing can shake them! They are guarded by well armed and skilled soldiers who are ever ready for the fight and rarely ever are without their "sword". It should not be very difficult to surmise the appeal of a place such as this in the midst of an uncertain world full of threats and insecurities. So people flock to these places and are willing to agree to tough and clear cut rules in order to live in the shelter provided by these castles. Independent thought is actively discouraged in favor of tried and true strategies that are handled and held by a few leaders who guard their authority jealously. Authority is placed in few individuals and like the aristocracy of the middle ages it is only handed down through familial relations or to those who have shown unflinching loyalty over time. That small group of aristocrats are jealously guarded by their knights who obey without question and keep the status quo.

The second set of churches who are thriving in the midst of all this uncertainty are the ones more akin to city states, these are places where the new takes precedent over the old and "obsolete". These city states are flushed with funds as a result of shrewd business practices and more often than not the charisma of its leader. Like the city states of old they are dominated by a few names that command authority based on their charisma as well as access to seemingly unending funds. They do all in a big way and their "homes" are glittering examples of all that is new and state of the art. They draw people not as a safe refuge with restricting walls but rather they do so as glittery places that offer comfort, entertainment, and an overall sense of escape from the gloomy world outside. Unlike the stern castles these places do not require much beyond regular contributions, which fund the leadership as well as the grandeur of the city.

I may have taken my analogies a bit too far but bear with me, these are the places where people are flocking. It seems like "thriving" church options are either conservative movements unwilling to yield and with very narrow definitions/understanding of the Gospel message, who offer certainty at the price of thought and freedom. Or glittery, fancy, state of the art mega churches that have a feel good message, packaged in unparalleled quality entertainment that require very little from its audience beyond funds.

Both of those sides look at small, local congregations as failures at best or opportunities for additional funds or space at worst. I as a new pastor with the pressures of a struggling church sit facing those two options. I know people from both those sides and they are gracious enough to offer to help me "succeed". Should we take choice away but offer certainty and security in an uncertain world? Should we take away commitment and the tough work of inner transformation but offer feel good experiences and entertainment possibilities such as "missions tourism"?

So far we have resisted both and have decided to steer through the middle. We look for the Shelter God is, in active ways (2 Samuel 22:3). While at the same time we seek to call those who come, to explore their faith in deep,transforming ways by challenging assumptions and exploring Scripture in deeper ways. (Matthew 19:16-26 who is the young ruler?) Our "growth" is not as numerically heavy as "success" would tell us it should be. But I feel we follow the leading of the Spirit best by seeking transformation (Romans 12:2) so that in due time we may become a church that is perhaps not important by current success standards, but certainly one that is relevant to those within its walls, the community that surrounds it and the world at large.

Interesting quote

2010-05-20T16:58:00.004-04:00

I was spending time in google reader recently and came across the review of a British book, "The Progressive Patriot: a search for belonging" by Billy Bragg. Below is the quote that grabbed my attention:

Now, more than ever, "we need to challenge the Right's monopoly on patriotism - not by proclaiming our blind loyalty to our country, right or wrong, but by developing a narrative which explains how we all came to be here together in this place".

I too have wondered why it is that it seems like only one side of the immigration argument seems to have taken a near monopoly of the definition of a Patriot. (capitalized intentionally) We've all heard things like, "the real Americans" and other catch phrases that do nothing but create discord and a very small, homogeneous definition of American and especially a "patriotic American". To be in favor of a just, comprehensive immigration legislation is, absolutely, not evidence or proof of one's hate for our country. The vicious attacks from these so called patriots need to to have a reasonable, respectful and loving answer. We must not engage in the same type of vitriolic attacks that are hateful and violent. The cycle of accusations hurled at people who's only wrong doing has been to have an opinion different than yours is counter productive in this conversation. Violence will only create more violence.

So why don't we try conversing with each other? Heated, sure! As long as you are willing to listen, respectfully, to someone state their opposing case as passionately as you have done yourself! Even further than that, perhaps be willing to concede that your interlocutor may be making a reasonable argument that can contribute to the discourse and maybe even the answer to the problem!

response to a question

2010-05-12T16:01:00.004-04:00

Anonymous said...
Wouldn't they use the same criteria that the Federal government uses since this just adds more people to enforce the existing law?

Interesting question though It does not acknowledge the "federal/State" jurisdiction question. Some anti-immigration groups try to get around this and the Constitutionality question by claiming the current situation to be an invasion. Someone like Alan Keyes (http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=147457) needs to call our current situation an actual invasion as he is citing article I Section 10 of the constitution to defend his position. The problem is that we are not being invaded. There is no intentionally belligerent action against Americans by an invading army. No soldiers have crossed our borders with intent to capture territory and/or overthrow a rightful American government. So, in the absence of Constitutional support for this position it becomes necessary to call what is happening an invasion. Enough of that red herring...

The problem I see as an American Citizen is that this law endangers the basic freedoms of some Americans, which as the Constitution clearly states it is some too many. Article 1 of the 14th amendment states those basic freedoms. So the question revolves around the issue of local enforcement officials being able to tell who is and who is not an illegal immigrant. Even more concerning is the issue of being guilty until proven innocent. Someone who looks like I do in our current society would begin with being guilty! I do not want to live in a country where I could go to jail for forgetting my wallet at home. I've gone out and left my wallet at restaurants, then the next day I have driven back to get it. If I were to be pulled over during my ride back I would be detained, and have my car impounded. Would the town in which this happens be responsible for refunding to me the money I would have to pay the towing company to get my car back? How about the time lost for me and someone I know to come to what ever detention center I am held at with my ID?

First they came for the Jews...

2010-05-04T22:28:00.004-04:00

The following is a first draft reaction to news I read about today....

Pastor Martin Niemoller said the following,

In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

I am not comparing the current attempts at dealing with our immigration issue in places like Arizona with Nazism. However, I do want to stress the importance of speaking out at the beginning of what can be the initial step of rampant profiling that can and will legitimize abuse. How does one identify an "illegal" person? Can a human being be illegal? What makes a person suspect of being in this country illegally?

I am very curious to see what Arizona develops as their criteria for identifying these people. I for one know that I will not be travelling to Arizona if this law takes effect. Would being lost and trying to find your way around in a strange place be considered suspicious? I would def. not go hiking anywhere in that state! unless a "hispanic" looking guy with water and a backpack is not suspicious enough for authorities to approach and detain.

Of course people may say that I will be fine as long as I have my documentation with me, and they will be correct. Then again, am I free if I have to make sure I have my "papers" with me on pain of detention and Jail! who brings a wallet when running? I love mountain biking, usually I leave my wallet in my car, etc. I cringe at the thought of driving through several different towns and counties in a state with such draconian laws! How long would my journey be if every time I get to a new area there will be a police officer, under pain of a suit if he does not, who could easily find a reason to pull me over (26 on a 25 anyone?)? I will then have to sit there, wait for the second patrol car to get there, hand my license over, have it checked, returned. Never mind if there are other people in my car with me!

friend: hey! haven't seen you in a while. You should come visit, oh! Bring Jose he lives by you, I want to her about your trip to Europe, I wish I'd gone with you guys.

ME: No I can't bring Jose with me and be back the same day! you live 5 towns and two counties away! One of us may get through some of those towns w/out being pulled over, two of us, never!

the previous imaginary situation may seem ridiculous to you but think of it this way; Anyone who looks like me (hispanic/latino) would have to avoid anything that would give any officer a reason to pull one over if one wants to get anywhere within a reasonable amount of time. That means obeying all laws, yeah 25 on a 25, can you remember the last time you did the speed limit for an entire drive anywhere?

I cannot stay silent about this especially since a representative from my state (PA) just introduced legislation like the Arizona one.

Single sided opinions are more often than not disingenuous and deceiving. Rep. Metcalfe rattles off a series of numbers about how much "they" cost our wonderfully free state. However, he does not cite anything about how much they contribute to our economy, where's the balance? by only speaking of the expenses this person places the blame on our immigrant population for the state deficit! As if these people just come here and sit around, taking "OUR" hard earned money! They work, buy stuff (sales taxes) pay for a place to live (property taxes), have payment plans at the hospital paying premium prices for the antibiotics they had to get from the ER because they can't have health insurance, etc.

these totalitarian measures are nothing short of racial profiling and unconstitutional. What is reasonable suspicion of being in this country illegally? Speaking another language? wearing flip flops? looking foreign? looking lost? We have a problem in this country with immigration, totalitarianism is not the answer!

I had a conversation recently,
Me: hey, haven't seen you in a while

friend: I was on vacation. Arizona, it's beautiful there, you should go there!

m: eh, not sure I want to

F: oh right! But wait, you're legal right? so it's cool...

NO WAY IT IS NOT COOL!

It was then than Pastor Martin Niemoller's quote, with which I started this post, came to mind. Freedom is a gift for which we have paid dearly. That freedom has always been for everyone and these laws do not affect just the undocumented, we will all see our freedoms limited by an over reaching state. Interesting how the people proposing these laws are the same ones crying out against an over-reaching state! I guess over-reaching is good as long as it goes along with their opinion. so no I CANNOT STAY SILENT!

One last thing, a while back I was in South Africa. one day I was chatting with one of our hosts who is Indian. He told me a story about his life prior to the end of apartheid. he says that one day he finished work late so he left in a hurry as he couldn't be in town after sundown. In that hurry he left his id card in his jacket in the office. As he was rushing to the bus he was stopped by the police, they had reasonable suspicion since he was in a hurry to get somewhere and not white. as he reached for his papers he realized he had left them in the office. SO, they detained him and he had to spend the night in jail. His family couldn't come get him as it was in town and after dark. He couldn't leave there until his wife could go to his office, retrieve the documents and go to the police station to get him.

I remember thinking how CRAZY that sounded to me and how glad I was to be a US citizen. If this law passes in PA I may find myself with a similar story in 20FREAKIN10, in the land of the free!

Welcoming a a changed friend...

2010-04-20T14:33:00.003-04:00

We here at Calvary are in the midst of Regeneration and Reconciliation. We have gone through more changes in the past few years than a lot of other places experience in years, especially churches. I do not need to enumerate for you the feelings that come with living through these times of change here. In some ways our life now makes me think of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Most of the time we are preached the prodigal son passage from the perspective of the son returning home. Or perhaps a limited view of the father who welcomes him with love. I say limited because it seems like those times all we hear is the scene where the father sees the child from far away and runs to embrace him, and leave it there. But what about the feelings the father is feeling inside, the brother we often portray as mean even though he is asking reasonable questions?

So, let us look at the prodigal son story from the receiving end. What about that son who remained faithful the whole time, who worked hard, suffered, gave it all for that place? What about those servants who saw the young man take a fortune they will probably never see in their life time and waste it all away, and now they have to serve him!? They are being ordered to give him the best clothes, the biggest rings, the fattest calf! It is in those receiving the estranged son that regeneration and reconciliation become something more than just words. How do those who have remained faithful and worked hard, receive those who have not? How do those who’ve stayed, worked hard, and continue to work hard, simply hand over the fruits of their labors to someone who has not earned it? Reconciliation is tough.
Let’s bring this story bits closer, we here have a kind of returning child with which to contend. There was a time we were deeply involved in this community, people would walk to church. We knew what was going on in the neighborhood, we lived Norristown. We were part of the fourth of July parades, business owners were members here, we had concerts on our porch, children from the community lived here! Then gradually all of that seemed to have trickled away.

How well do we know our surrounding community now? Is Calvary still living and breathing the west end of Norristown? Or do we have a distanced relationship to mend? Some of that community is coming here and we have welcomed it with open arms, amazingly so. But how has it changed? This new west end is still the west end but it has changed in many ways since we knew it. I wonder if the father of the prodigal son experienced something similar. It would be very difficult for someone to live through what the prodigal son lived through and not be changed. I wonder how the father dealt with his changed son? It was probably easy the day of the embrace, or the party etc. But what about later, in the ordinary events of life, when all have started to settle into their new life? Scripture does not take us there, but could it be that the father knew he had chosen reconciliation so the “problems” that I'm sure came were "just part of life", not obstacles that make him doubt his choice?
Where do you see yourself in the process of reconciliation and regeneration? As we, as Calvary, receive the neighborhood again where do you see yourself in the process of reconciliation with this returning, and different child?

problem solving

2010-02-10T15:46:00.003-05:00

This past Monday I found myself with the problem of a car still stuck in snow. I hadn't moved my car since the weekend snow storm so I knew it was time to get to work on getting it out. I hadn't gone by my car since Sunday but I was sure it was still stuck so I came out of my building with the shovel ready for the task. Sure enough as I approached the front of my car it was clear that it was still surrounded by snow. Some snow had melted but overall it still looked the same from the front so I set to work right away.
I felt a small bit of relief to see that some snow had melted as it meant I had less work ahead of me. Unfortunately my hopes were crushed as soon as I started to shovel and realized that some of that snow was now ice. However, I kept on shoveling and as there was less snow/ice it wasn't long until I had done enough to be satisfied that I was going to be able to drive my car out of its ice enclosure.
Once my work was done I walked to the side of my car with the intention of putting the shovel in the back seat, drive out of the spot and around the back to return the shovel. However, for some reason I thought better of it and kept walking to the back of my car towards the entrance of the building in which I live.

Up until now there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary in my story. However, as I gaze moved from my car door to the back of my car I realized something that changed this whole everyday experience. Standing there, with shovel in hand, I noticed that the whole back side of my car, and the two parking spots behind it, had been cleared of snow completely! If I had only bothered to walk around my car once I would have realized that all I needed to do to get my car out was put it in reverse.

So, I spent about half an hour shoveling snow and ice because I was prepared for the problem and was able to deal with it efficiently! See, I knew what the problem was and once I knew that I did not bother to look back, I gathered the tools I needed and went at it. As I sit at home now I wonder if this is the way I approach problem solving in my life? that is to say, once I feel I have a grasp of the problem I gather the tools I need and, without looking back, get to it. am I wasting time by skipping a step?

A Rockwellesk community

2009-02-18T01:44:00.006-05:00

We speak longingly of a time when the business streets were filled with stores selling all kinds of goods that were generally owned by those who were working in it, the mom and pop stores. We remember with hopeful eyes the time when people used to walk to church and the neighbors would know each other and care for all of the kids in the neighborhood, or at least their own block. It is obvious to me that when we speak in these terms we also seem to confine those things to a long lost past that will never happen again! We speak of it as a in memoriam, like a long gone loved one.

I am constantly surprised when I hear these things as though they are long gone because this is the world I live in as a Norristown resident. Our business street no longer has boarded up store fronts, well there is an empty space now but that is because the owners of it decided to move to a newer space created on the same street a block away! in the mornings the "moms" half of these store ownerships come out and sweep the sidewalk directly in front of their store, while they greet each other and shoo away kids on their way to school, who are spreading the leaves they just finished sweeping into a pile. I have come to know may of the business owners in our part of town because they are in their store most of the time. I did not meet them at chamber of commerce gathering where business men/women who live outside the town argue for less taxes and other favorable "breaks" for their business. These people live and work in Norristown, their children go to school here. Evening times on good evenings at around 5:30 or so the cries go out from mothers on their porches calling kids in for dinner. The other day, a gorgeous 69 and sunny day, I overheard a mom call her child in and tell her daughter's friend to go home for dinner because he mom was waiting for her, not in the general sense but by name and pointing to the house where she lives.

It is in the midst of living out life in Norristown that I ask myself how it is that the people who remember a Norman Rockwell world lovingly miss out on that very goodness of community happening in their very own backyard!? sure some would complain that there is much crime in Norristown and it is a dangerous neighborhood, that it is dirty, etc. However, I find it that more often than not these people do not live in town any longer, rarely visit it and would not come anywhere near it after dark.

Of course there is crime in Norristown, it is a densely populated, low income town with a higher than average percentage of young people who are unsupervised. We are sent the "undesirables" from the "nice" neighborhoods where all the good people have moved. Yet in the midst of all that against us we seem to find ourselves with Mom and Pop stores, a diverse neighborhood where the people next door actually have names, and as a parent you know more than your own children's names and address, etc. We have big problems in Norristown just as every other "golden age" has had, but I think that if Norman Rockwell were to visit us today he would still draw, paint what he did, only perhaps the subjects in his amazing picture stories would have been a bit more tanned.

Creating together

2009-01-08T20:38:00.003-05:00

We have now had two services since November. The first service is what we've always had, know and are used to having. The second is an experiment that forces multiculturalism from being an idea into a lived reality.

Here's a bit about our Living In Faith Everyday service. We regularly have nearly all cultural groups in our town represented. The service places more emphasis on seeking to increase contact and interaction between those attending than a traditional one does. We do not have the traditional front end of a "contemporary" service. There is no praise band, no flashy video presentations or specific lighting. We do have power point projected onto a wall for worship song lyrics and Scripture. At the same time we do not have the rigidity of structure that a traditional service does. I will not call this rigidity a "liturgy" in the high church sense of understanding, because as Baptist we claim not to have a liturgical worship tradition. We do not have a big sound system. We don't even have big numbers!
I'm very glad the church has decided to engage in this experiment to bring an idea that many churches simply consider into a lived reality that exists and informs the lives of those who attend. Multiculturalism only comes to be when it is experienced personally. We can create awareness within ourselves but cannot truly understand it unless we live it.

Politics and faith

2008-10-07T18:07:00.002-04:00

Being a Baptist pastor places me on interesting footing with regards to speaking publicly about politics. To begin with, I believe firmly in the separation of Church and State that our Baptist ancestors fought so hard for. As such then I am not speaking here for my church or any other Baptist group in an official way. However, I do want to speak from the inside looking out as it were, I want to speak on the subject as a person of faith who is interested in more than a few talking points meant to herd us in a specific direction. So, I will NOT be writing about abortion or Homosexuality. What I do want to say about these two very important issues that have been so effectively used to manipulate us is that I do NOT want to live in a theocracy and true democracy demands we respect the rights of others. The freedom we have here requires us to respect the opinion of others, even if it makes our blood boil, as long as it does not infringe in our or others freedom. Imposing our beliefs on others through legislation or government action, whichever side one is in, goes against the principles of freedom we profess to believe so firmly. It also goes against Christ's relationship with humanity as I understand it.

Closer to God

2008-09-25T19:07:00.002-04:00

Philippians 2:1-13
This sunday my theme is Coming closer to God. I think my sermon will be based on the text above and use those admonitions as tangible steps towards closeness with God.

"be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." God's relationship with us all is communal. There is something very special about coming to the worship experience as a community. If we add coming together with a similar goal to that experience we are already well on our way towards a very special experience.

I just found this, wrote it a while back

2008-05-07T17:01:00.002-04:00

I thought this an interesting bit of thinking. So, I am posting it in the knowledge that I can very well be the only person who reads this blog as it is so rarely updated...

What does your accent say about you?

I attended one of the nights of the Justice preaching series. The preacher for that night was Hector Cortez. I cannot do justice to the sermon here but I'll just paraphrase the beginnning of the sermon, which I then quoted during one of mine. I should also add that this could be one of my own conversations when meeting new people.

When I meet people the conversation often moves to, so where are you from?
when I answer, Chicago there's a puzzled face and they then say, where are you REALLY from?
my accent, in spite of my best efforts, betrays my Latino origin.

This particular sermon has tremendous relevance to what our country is going through with regards to the immigration issue. This past Sat. I was at an immigration information session. It was supposed to be an informational session but in the back there were two women who always go to any immigration forum around this area and heckle panelists with gross generalizations about the "illegal immigrants" who are ruining our country. I mention this here because it is related to the issue of one's accent. To these women the majority of the evils in our society are because of these illegal immigrants. Now, these people do not have the means to check on the indentification of those they are accusing. So, how do they know who these "illegal immigrants" are then? "my accent, in spite of my best efforts, betrays my Latino origin".

Living it

2008-05-06T19:01:00.002-04:00

So, my previous blog pointed towards the importance of living multiculturalism. I believe that a living experience is the most effective way of experience multiculturalism in a truer form. Of course this does not mean a short trip during which we simply adjust to the current condition and perhaps even enjoy it, safe in the knowledge that it is not permanent. I would count most experiences abroad in this category, missions trips, NGO years or things of that nature. I should add that we should not let the brush get too broad as within experiences abroad there does exist an actual experience of my intended result. However, it seems to be that there is a difference between agreeing to a situation for a limited span of time in a place that is not home and having a similar situation happen at home without end in sight. My church is engaged in the latter, we are seeking to live multiculturalism at home and with no end in sight.

In my process of thinking of ways to explain this to my church I found myself looking inwards. I live different worlds within me as a by-cultural person with parents from different countries and cultures. My world flows easily between universes that seem so very foreign to each side. To many people I encounter my world seems to be exciting, broad, full of interesting adventures. The essence of the positive aspects of a multicultural world right? However, in my life at my church I have found that my experience in encountering and living with different cultures is such a part of who I am that I too have a lot to learn with regards to encountering the other. It takes effort for me to get close enough to the "new world" to live it in the way that I may be asking my church to do, and I have been living it all my life!

The beginning of the answer

2008-03-11T11:24:00.003-04:00

A good beginning to the process of exploring the answer to what is multiculturalism would be to say that it is much more than being aware and respectful of other cultures around us. Being culturally aware/sensitive is a great way to broaden one's world views and opinions. As humans we owe ourselves at least the minimum of learning how to approach different cultures with interest and curiosity. Approaching those different than use with interest and hopeful curiosity would help us moderate a common problem of dominant cultures throughout history, a sense of superiority that can easily denigrate to uncontrolled arrogance. Unchecked arrogance has been an influential and contributing factor on the demise of nearly all great cultures in the history of humanity. The influence arrogance has had in hurting great cultures is partly due to the problem that it tends to foster complacency, apathy towards those different than "us". The resulting problem is that the more we believe in our superiority the easier it becomes to dismiss the "other" and their culture. It is in this state that the practice of "awareness" becomes very appealing, it is a great way to feel like one is contributing while avoiding all the pesky stuff such as actually living with a different culture. However, awareness is not all bad, it can be the beginning of an amazing journey that can enrich anyone's life in more ways than can be imagined.

A new beginning

2008-03-07T11:22:00.004-05:00

It has certainly been a while since I've written anything here. I did make one attempt to make myself blog by asking my friends to send me questions which would require a response from me. Unfortunately I was not able to make myself blog on a regular basis. So, here I am now giving this blogging things one more shot. I am now assuming nobody reads this other than me and if you've stumbled onto this rambling, I apologize if it is boring.

What is multiculturalism?
My church is dealing with the reality of seeking to become multicultural. Of course, as we get deeper into it I realize how little the members of the church really know about the subject. This makes me wonder how prevalent this problem is in the "church world". My assumption is that very few churches know what multiculturalism is much less what it means to live with it.

I think the first major misunderstanding I have come across is the thought that awareness is the same as action. This is something our American society is very well versed in and something we see as the appropriate way to respond to problematic issues. We are very good at bringing awareness to our worlds. Please click on awareness to see a very good explanation of what I mean by that word as something we love. Awareness has become the best way we have to feel as though we are "doing something" without having our lifestyles suffer in the least. Awareness as action is the reason we buy bracelets or ribbons, etc. Of course, many would say that they do the "cancer walks" and various other activities related to that. However, these are things that are very rarely inconvenient and for the most part benefit us much more than the people actually suffering.

So, we are still left with the question of what IS multiculturalism.

First Issue (tough one!)

2007-04-18T20:35:00.000-04:00

So, I am now giving you all a heads up on what I'll be writing about shortly. Someone asked about the creation account in Genesis. So, Creation then. More specifically I'll be writing about the differences between males and females. Your thoughts? This may upset some but I do not think Genesis is a scientific text. At the same time, I do think it speaks about God and God's creation.

I'll be posting in TWO days. So, between now and then feel free to contribute to the subject and I will be glad to work them into my post. If anyone has a better way to moderate this as a discussion I'm all ears.

Responses so far

2007-04-17T23:53:00.000-04:00

So, I've received all favorable responses to this idea! I even received one question already. I'd like you all to know that I will not publish who asked the question, unless you want me to or your response is not anonymous. In any case, thank you to the few who have replied and yes I am encouraged easily hahaha. So, send in your questions, I'll write and publish my thoughts here and you can then go ahead and tell me your thoughts on it.

Does anyone read this?

2007-04-17T13:21:00.000-04:00

Several days ago a friend of mine suggested an idea to me concerning blogging. I, of course, was eager to hear what he had to say since I am having trouble mustering the motivation to update this blog. My main reason is that I really don't just want to blog about my day. The problem I have with posting other things is that I just can't pick a specific theme to blog about. Anyhow, his idea was for me to have a blog that tries to answer questions my friends, innitially, send to me concerning theology, church life, etc. I love the idea because it'd give me something to frame my thoughts as well as a fantastic learning experience! I don't think I have most of the answers, if any, and I am hoping the responses to my answers create new questions as well as interesting discussions. So, I'd like YOU to let me know that you have read this and what you think about the idea.

Should I blog about questions my friends, and people, ask here in response to what I write or as a question?

Let me know!
Respond to this and if you already have questions send them!

Thoughts on Jeremiah through Lent

2007-03-20T13:20:00.000-04:00

The primary work of the book of Jeremiah is to speak Israel into exile.

Up to this point we have been seeing a great deal of the first half of V. 1:10 “to pluck up and tear down”. It is difficult to move away from the fact that there is a negative theme that is much more prevalent in the book of Jeremiah. He really is, as the quote above says, trying to speak Israel into exile. As we’ve been talking in our previous meetings Jeremiah is trying very hard to move Israel to look at itself in a completely different way. The book indeed seeks to move Israel to see itself in a radically different way. The main thrust of this effort is directed towards an honest self assessment, personal and communal, with regards to how their relationship with God has deteriorated. It seems very important for Jeremiah to show the consequences of a broken relationship. At the same time the book also deals with the issue of who God is in the relationship with his people, through the events that have come to pass and resulted in the exile.

Now, leaving the previous paragraph as a review of the book and our interaction with it to this point, let us move to a smaller undercurrent that, though somewhat hidden, does still hold a powerful place in the conversation Jeremiah is. This small stream leaks on to the surface of Jeremiah in the second half of 1:10 “to build and to plant”. This is a seemingly weak counter theme to all the negativity and death that permeates most of the book. It does not function in the same sense as the strong negative theme that overwhelms us in the reading. This positive stream simply lingers there, not as a point to be made or a lesson to be learned, rather as a truth that cannot be eliminated from life. It speaks to the fullness of God’s relationship with his people. The covenant has been violated by Israel and there must be consequences! But at the same time, the reason for the covenant and the relationship as a whole is not a transaction of goods to be paid back by the right sacrifice, it is a relationship grounded in love. So, as we delve deeper into Jeremiah let us move to consider the promissory content of the book through the “book of comfort” and 3 main themes that inform it; Historical considerations, Pastoral voice, and the character of God.

Historical consideration- The exile was not the end of the Jewish community or even Jewishness. Jerusalem was not emptied by Babylon, many Jews remained in Jerusalem. At the same time the exiled community in Babylon developed “an intense self-consciousness as a faithful community in exile.” This exiled community understood itself to be the remnant of Israel and lived an intense Jewishness in the midst of all that was foreign. Turns out not all was plucked up and torn down! There was still a community relating with God, active, living, a community in waiting if you will, eagerly awaiting the time to return.

Pastoral Voice-There is also a sense of this small vein of hope running through the book serving as a pastoral voice in terrible times. It is very understandable that the community in exile as well as those left behind in Jerusalem would feel abandoned by God, their whole world was turned upside down. The hope expressed by these verses serves as that pastoral voice of comfort and consolation even assurance so desperately needed during those terribly hard times.

Character of God- The two previous groupings do not contain within their scope the reality of Jeremiah. In the end the main thrust concerns itself with the issue of promises made and how or if in fact they have been or can be kept by God. The main concern then is theological, that is, deeply related to and concerned with the character of God. How could the catastrophic events that have taken place be explained in the context of the covenantal relationship between God and Israel? The theological claim made by the book and highlighted in this section is that “the ground for assurance is not found in needy circumstances but in the character and resolve of God and in nothing other and in nothing less.” Once again we are driven towards a relationship based in love and true care for the other rather than nothing more than a business transaction, the right sacrifice to appease the wrath of the gods.

Much credit due to Brueggemann's "A Commentary on Jeremiah" all quotes in this posting are from there as well as the framework for the weekly studies.

Log in my eye

2007-02-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

There are many great teachings from Jesus in the New Testament. The series that includes Matt 7 is an outline of Jesus' teachings in a pastoral way. There are many great things in this series, though most of them are overshadowed by the sermon on the mount, which comes a bit before chapter 7. The whole series is a very though pill to swallow. The bar set up by Jesus for Christian living is so high that it feels impossible to follow it all. Of course that is the point as we cannot do it all on our own. This past week I learned a very important lesson that can be summed up by the following verse found in these pastoral teachings; "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" Mat. 7:3 I often want to believe myself to be someone called to ministry who is very self aware, always willing and open to give a fair hearing to different points of view. A couple of days ago I had a very good conversation that forced me to face how wrong I have been in my self assesment.
Here is the best way I can explain this revelation that came to me through someone I hope to become good friends with;
One of my favorite forms of entertainment is to watch as people try to show the person they think they are through external means without actually changing at all inside. The type of person I'm refering to is the guy who drives a jeep with oversized tires, the metal gas canister in the back, a big outdoor type of dog, a husky perhaps, he is an outdorsman! He is someone who may just as likely be rafting class V rapids as spelunking somewhere in the yucatan, in his mind. In reality he works in an office and rarely ventures beyond the wilderness of the suburbs. So, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary this person is indeed an outdorsman ready and able to spend a week hiking with no problem. Those who know enough of this guy sometimes wonder how he could not see that to be able to manouver through Fairmount park in Philly, or Central Park in NY without getting lost does not make him a true nature man.
Now I'd like to point out two interesting things about this little snippet of how I entertain myself sometimes. The first is how quick I often am at judging others I see when I am out and about. For all I know the guy driving that jeep is indeed a white water rafting instructor or an ice climbing expert, etc. I have offered here an exagerated example of the type of constant prejudgement I make of people, but I trust you will be able to translate it to more mundane everyday sort of judgement we all make. The second is how creative my assessment of this person is. I point this out because another thing I realized from the conversation I mentioned at the beginning is how great I am at creating justifications for my assumptions.
All of this to say that, this past weekend I realized how proud I was at being able to see the specks in the eyes of some of my fellow Christians while at the same time completely unable to see the big log in my eye that was narrowing how much of the world I could actually see.
I was humbled this weekend and it made me very angry at first, yet the more I explore that experience the more liberating it becomes.

Unexpected cold

2007-02-03T17:08:00.000-05:00

today I went bike riding with my friend Kim. We both knew it was a cold day but had no idea how bad it was going to be. Today was a sunny day and though it was in the 20's F. the sun was out and when layered up it isn't a terrible thing. So, we met at my parking lot and as we were getting our bikes ready for the ride we started doubting the wisdom of the choice we'd just made. 5 minutes into the ride we were well beyond doubt in our assessment of how bad of an idea this was. The major problem was the wind. It was bitterly cold and a wall against which we were trying to ride. Each cycle of the pedals was worst that the previous one and we had just gotten started! However, there were two of us and neither was willing to be the one to quit, so we pressed on. We then arrived on the trail and started riding with the wind on our backs. It was still bitterly cold but we no longer had to fight for ever inch, so we pressed on.
When the cold got to be too much we decided to turn around. The choice alone lifted my spirits and I began looking foward to the return trip, the end was near. So, we turned around to begin our way back and two things happened immediately. The first was the wind was now hitting our faces and pushing back hard. The second was that I could see how our way back was going to be up hill for most of the ride! So, there we were, two miles left, suddenly facing two stubborn, strong, challenges that were making everything about the journey difficult. The worst part about it was that the only way to get through it was to fight on! I tried thinking about a hot cup of coffee or my warm house, a hot shower, etc...but none of that worked! In the end, what worked the best was simply pedaling one more full cycle at a time.

My life at church often times feels very much like this ride today. I've always known ministry is a difficult thing to do, but I never really knew just what that was going to feel like. Today, a lesson that I have been learning was illustrated very well for me. I've encountered very difficult problems in ministry so far, (my one year!) my initial method of dealing with them was to try to focus on the outcome to help me through. Today I realized, more fully than ever before, how I've been right and so very wrong at the same time. I was right in doing the work of seeing the end result, the vision, that I was working on. I was wrong in trying to make that the focus of my every step. The vision is where I am going, but what makes it come to be is my giving each pedaling cycle my full attention. I need to keep them both present but the only real one is the pedaling I'm doing at the moment. If I keep on pedaling, each of these small tough fights will eventually add up to bringing my vision to reality. So I will simply press on.

What does your accent say about you?

2007-01-22T22:54:00.001-05:00

I attended one of the nights of the Justice preaching series. The preacher for that night was Hector Cortez. I cannot do justice to the sermon here but I'll just paraphrase the beginnning of the sermon, which I then quoted during one of mine.

When I meet people the conversation often moves to, so where are you from?
when I answer, Chicago there's a puzzled face and they then say, where are you REALLY from?
my accent, in spite of my best efforts, betrays my Latino origin.

This particular sermon has tremendous relevance to what our country is going through with regards to the immigration issue. This past Sat. I was at an immigration information session. It was supposed to be an informational session but in the back there were two women who always go to any immigration forum around this area and heckle panelists with gross generalizations about the "illegal immigrants" who are ruining our country. I mention this here because it is related to the issue of one's accent. To these women the majority of the evils in our society are because of these illegal immigrants. Now, these people do not have the means to check on the indentification of those they are accusing. So, how do they know who these "illegal immigrants" are then? "my accent, in spite of my best efforts, betrays my Latino origin".
An accent is something that speaks to the person's origin. It may not be race specific but it does say something about where that person learned to communicate. It denotes a certain cultural, environmental grounding. An accent is also something that is readily evident when encountering someone. It does not take long for anyone to hear the difference and begin to formulate an opinion about that person. A distinct accent allows a person to be identified even before said person makes any effort to mention his/her origin.
We all have an accent. If you are from philly and find yourself chatting with someone in Alabama that person will know you, "have an accent". So, an accent, in a way, speaks for you. I wonder if it is possible to have a "Christian" accent. Do you live your life in a way that speaks to your Christianity even before you get to say, I am a Christian, I attend this or that church etc...

A fantastic Summer

2006-09-01T12:29:00.000-04:00

Well, it certainly has been a very long time since I updated and for that I apologize. Anyhow, this summer has been great. The church is beginning to take steps into inhabiting the community again and for that I am very glad. We decided to have a summer program called SNAP (thanks to Susan Z.) The attendance for it was great but the best thing about it, in my opinion, was the fun the kids had and an afternoon just prior to that week. On that afternoon Suzan and I spent a couple of hours simply walking and talking around the neighborhood. We would converse, then stop and chat with any children and/or their parents whenever we would see any. The majority of the children that came were not the ones we contacted on this walk and that is fine. What I liked was the fact that for the first time in a long time there was a calvary member walking the neighborhood with no other agenda than to talk with people who live there! Surely we wanted to spread the word about our program but what I liked the best was that we were actively looking for people who live in our immediate neighborhood.
We want to become a neighborhood church again and the best way to do that is doing exactly what we were doing on that day, we need to "live" in norristown again. I'll be looking to do much more of that this fall.

Joseph Vento, a sad story

2006-05-31T10:18:00.000-04:00

Please read this article
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/14697552.htm

Mr. Vento has joined a long list of 2nd generation immigrant, "native", xenophobics who reject the very principles that have allowed them the priviledge of being born here. It makes me sad to see the child of a hard working immigrant family refuse to serve memebers of families very much like his own, with the only difference that they are not Italian. Perhaps Mr. Vento should have asked his grandparents how hard it is to learn a new language. Most of these "immigrants" have just arrived, nearly all are trying to learn English but it takes time, especially since a great many of "these people" work 6-7 days a week! I guess Mr. Vento wouldn't have served his grandparents for their first 5-20 years here. I wonder how he would feeel on hearing that his grandparents were refused service for being Italians who don't speak English. After all, how does he know these people aren't trying hard to learn the language? What if they've just arrived within a year or two? Surely there are some who are not trying to learn to speak English, but that is not unique to the Latino culture. Growing up in Jersey half of my Italian friend's grandparents did not speak English, eventhough they'd been here for 50 plus years!

Just one more thing, does Mr. Vento not serve tourist who don't speak English either? Or is it that he does not want to serve Latinos who don't speak English? A german, a Venezuelan, Italian legally visiting for 3 weeks needs to have studied English just so he could have a cheesesteak at Mr. Vento's store? Or, is he somehow able to discern who is a tourist and who is one of those "immigrants"?

A march for immigrants

2006-04-20T17:53:00.000-04:00

There has been much said about the immigration debate in our country this past couple of months. The issues around the current immigration debate are way to complex for this particular vehicle. However, within all that is going on I wanted to highlight the march sponsored by our ministerium here in Norristown. I personally think this is an issue the churches cannot afford to stay on the sidelines. We are dealing with issues of injustice, so we as Christians cannot stay on the sidelines and quietly watch the debate go on. We, as followers of Christ are called by our faith to stand with those who are being abused and speak for them especially when it is most inconvenient. This is exactly what the Ministerium chose to do on this day as we gathered on the
steps beind the courthouse to make our call for justice heard. Our protest was not in favor of those who break the law or for weaker border security. We took a stand in protest of a measure that would have us, amongst other things, require proof of legal residence from those we are helping. We are Christians are required, by our faith, to stand in the face of injustice and seek to rectify matters. I was proud to be part of that march as a concerned citizen yes. But I was especially proud of being there as a Christian speaking out for justice.

Wednesdays at CBCCLC

2006-03-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

Every Sunday we pray for a classroom in our children's learning center. Praying for those children is one of my favorite times on Sunday mornings. The problem though is that sometimes
it feels like a routine. Not only that, many times the names we recite end up being little more than names. I am sure no one in church simply recites the names without giving a thought to the children those names represent. I know that because the church created that space for these children. So, as a way to rekindle our relationship with those children, the pastors have decided to be available to host any members wanting to come over and spend time with the children and meet their parents on Wednesday afternoons as part of our three year ministry plan. I invite you to come join us on wednesday afternoons and meet some of these children. Come visit with us and get the benefit of receiving some of the "life" that just exudes from these kids, plus they are incredibly loving and funny. It's actually a great deal for your time, you give us an hour and you get, fellowship, fun, life, joy, etc.
Come discover yet another way we're using calvary's resources to enable church in Norristown.

Adoption

2006-03-12T23:31:00.000-05:00

Greetings all, a very interesting thing has happened in my building. Some time ago, probably around December or so, a man began hanging out in the small vestibule of my building. The space is very small but carpeted and heated. This man did not "move in" per se. He'd use the space irregularly, mainly when it was very cold or wet outside. Then an amazing thing began to happen, somehow my building adopted the man! Things began to appear exactly on the spot he'd sleep on when he'd be over. One day there was a thick flannel shirt, obviously just washed and neatly folded. Another day, a couple of shirts in a plastic bag. My building, full of suit wearing people who only sleep here in Norristown, was actually embracing a homeless man! What an amazing example of the good in God's creation. Not everyone agreed with that of course. three weeks ago or so I received a phone call from an officer asking me to let his officers into the building. After asking him how I would know if he was a cop, he decided to go downstairs to see if these were real cops. They were and as I opened the door they asked me if I'd seen a homeless man around. Apparently someone had called them saying there was a homeless man somewhere in the hallways of my building. Never mind that the man never even entered the building itself, all he did was use the small heated space at the entrance of our building. So the cops came in and walked the entire building. The very next morning there was a bag full of clothes on "Bob's" spot in the vestibule. My building has a relationship with a man most of us have never spoken with. He doesn't abuse the relationship and we reach out to help him. I have enjoyed very much watching this relationship unfold, I don't know where it will go but as for now it's been great to see Goodness in a tangible way. Perhaps St. Augustine wasn't all that far off when he said, All that is, is good", after all, God made it.

snow riding

2006-02-13T14:57:00.000-05:00

Greetings all.
I am writing this on a beautiful Monday after noon, right after my bike ride. This is the Monday after our "record" snow fall weekend. It feels a bit strange to have missed Sunday morning and it's even thrown off my inner schedule. I woke up this morning at 8am worried that my alarm hadn't gone off and I was going to be late for bells with Neil and the crew. That short moment of panic was rewarded with one of my favorite pleasures in life, going back to sleep.
Later on in the day I decided to go riding as I hadn't in about 3 days or so. I was a bit worried about the trail being convered in snow still but though I'd go check it out anyway. As I got to it I realized how indeed it was still convered but also filled with tire marks so I decided to make some of my own.
The idea of riding on snow/ice was fun and challenging. The actual riding was a completely different story. I had to work three times as hard to go half as far and fast as without the snow. I think one of the best ways to know ourselves is to pay attention to our reactions and comments when exercising. In this particular day, in the midst of my frustrations, working hard, etc. I found myself saying many things. One of them went sort of like this, why do I always do this to myself! I ride on snow in the middle of winter, I work at a church, etc...It wasn't a comment on Calvary itself, rather it was a release of frustration at what's been going on at our church. Lately it seems like everything's going south at Calvary. I don't know how much longer our "crisis" time will last, but I do know we are moving and will get to our goal. I just pray we all support each other as we fight on and on and on.

HARVEY CEDARS TIME

2006-01-29T15:13:00.000-05:00

HARVEY CEDARS TIME!!!!!!!!!

Greetings all! I know it’s been a while since there was a new posting here but I am back and ready to visit with you through the blog again. I will write an update on my life a bit later on but now I’d like to tell you about our youth winter retreat. It was fantastic! We had 4 boys come, Sam, Ben, Kyle, Mikey. We joined up with two other Baptist churches, 1st Baptist Lansdale and Colingswood. I was a bit nervous about taking our 4 kids to a retreat with two already established youth groups. I was mainly wondering about how they would relate to the other two groups. I am so very glad to say that we had no problems of that kind at all. We (the leaders) were amazed at how well the kinds came together. We had no problems with them relating and making friends with each other.

On the first night there they invented a game they called, “table ball”; basically it’s seeing who can hit the ball at someone else the hardest. As long as it bounces once on the table. (parents, they were supervised the entire time ;-)

on the first night they were all very willing to spend time with each other. Normally they are all willing to spend time with each other at first then it splits into groups. But, not this weekend, they all hung out together the whole time. We always moved as a group and all our 35 kinds hung out togeeeether.

It was a wonderful time filled with the Holy Spirit. The theme of it was evangelism, sharing your faith. We shared a couple of sessions on what Salvation is, What makes a Christian, and how to share your faith with others based on the first two. On Saturday afternoon we had testimony time and the Spirit moved through that worship time in incredible ways. It was amazing seeing those kids speak about their faith and then to see the support from the rest of them as they all listened to each other.
There’s just one more incredible thing that happened this weekend, the worship was amazing. We had a great band with us and the kids were all just incredible about joining in on worship time and singing along. I am glad I was there to worship in such a special, Spirit filled time. We even had a first class sound system! That’s Tom our sound guy for the weekend, you rock Tom!!!

I will just close with some quotes from this memorable weekend,

“I serve society by rocking”; “when I’m rolling in the benjamins I’ll throw you and your dog a bone”; “Hey, is there a French fry between my pants?”;
“you have 92 mosquito fish?”, after some thought; “ what are mosquito fish?”

Funny conversations:

Shower time Sunday morning
Kid 1 ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the water is freezing! ( last one in the shower)
Kid 2 Just suck it up and deal J, I had to yesterday!
Kid 1 yea but my head is even hurting now!!!
Kid 2 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Last kid out of the pool.

Kid is it still raining outside?
Leader yeah, it is.
Kid oh man! I’m going to have to put my towel over my head, I don’t want my
Hair to get wet!

At the Gym

Leader this is the rock, paper, scissors game
Kid wait, what does scissor look like?

It was an amazing time and we even got to indulge in a life long tradition at Harvey Cedars, beach day! Parent disclaimer THIS WAS ON THE STILL WARM SATURDAY ;-)
(image placeholder)

tuba weekend

2005-12-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

As many of you know I play tuba and enjoy doing it very much. Well, this past weekend was simply fantastic with regards to music and performing. I was fortunate enough to perform every day of the weekend! On Friday I had the Christmas concert with Eastern's wind ensemble. Then Saturday was great day full of art. To begin with, I spent my morning at the Kimmel Center rehearsing for the Tuba Christmas concert we played at noon there. Oh what an amazing experience it was to perform a concert with 70 different kinds of tubas! Then we went to the Annenberg center to watch London's Globe Theater company perform Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." This group is the premere Sakespeare performing company in the world. My wonderful weekend concluded with me performing a mozart aria for my church family at Calvary. I had a fantastic weekend and was very glad that it concluded with my sharing one of the things I enjoy doing the most with my Calvary family. I am really looking forward to sharing much more with you all as we begin spending time together outside of church in small groups and just socially.
Just one more thing, thank you all who have hosted the meet Pastor Doug groups! Dot, Susan, Wilma, VanBroekhovens, it's been great! I'm still waiting for the rest. Remember, all you need to do is be gracious enough to offer your home. I'll take care of what we will do during that time. God bless.

small groups

2005-12-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

During this and the upcoming months, I will be spreading the word around about our upcoming small groups. I thought I may also use this space to speak about them a bit more. To begin with, the premise for beginning our small groups is that we need more fellowship time with each other. As such then this small groups will be as part of our desire to have Calvary offer a fuller picture of the Christian walk. Most of what we do now is during Sunday morning and at administrative meetings. These small groups will be aimed to help us be family, and walk together in much more relaxed settings.
How will we organize the groups? Well, that will be mainly up to you, the family. I will be where all the information about the small groups will be held, things such as groups, meeting times, events, etc. But, you get to decide what types of activities will form the basis for the small groups. We would love for you to be glad to offer to lead one yourself. Now, before the thoughts of how busy you are and don't need more work from church let me tell you this; these groups will be formed around something you enjoy doing. So, your job as a group leader then, would be to come up with something you think would be fun to do. Then, let me know about it and we'd both work on finding others than would enjoy that same or similar activity. Of course we will have worship elements, Bible study, prayer, etc. as part of the groups, I will help you with that.
My reasoning for organizing these groups in this way is based on the wonderful gifts our Lord has given each of us. Each and everyone of us is gifted in one way or another. I think the problem with many churches is that we limit the range of these gifts. Leading worship, teaching Bible study well, singing, are all great gifts but they are only part of the many that can serve the church. God has given you something to work with, findind that gift may require you to look outside the church. Keep in mind that it is very likely something you enjoy doing very much. Why would God "gift" you with a talent you don't enjoy or are not comfortable with!? So, how about it? Think of something you love doing (Studying the Bible, cooking, listening to music, eating, etc.), tell me about it and we will find a way for you to enjoy it with other members of our church family!

Defending reason

2005-11-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

I came across this article just recently and I think it speaks a great deal to the way I feel we as a church can speak to this world. We are not all naive, unquestioning people willing to make full use of our "religious crutch" to help us deal with the tough realities of this world.
Here is Cardinal Shoenborn speaking on his concern with the current view of neo-Darwinists"If this is a scientific theory, it must be open to scientific criticism, he said. What I'm criticizing is a kind of strategy to immunize it, as if it were an offence to Darwin's dignity to say there are some issues this theory can't explain." Vienna Cardinal Christoph Shoenborn

For the full article please click here, Vienna cardinal draws lines in Intelligent design

Fronteras

2005-11-20T18:56:00.000-05:00

This past weekend a group of us explored our fronteras (borders) on several different levels. It was an amazing experience for me to walk with a fantastic set of members from the congregation as we explored our feelings as we become more proactive about reaching out to our neighborhood. We enjoyed breakfast and lunch at one of the fine restaurants just blocks from the church.
One of the many interesting experiences from that weekend was the concluding time spent at worship with one of the Latino congregations here in Norristown. The worship time was great and we even had Calvary's own coming up to the front with some of those worshipping there and singing, in Spanish! One interesting thing about that worship service was that it was in a small room but it had a sound system for a large room and the volume for it was on that level. For some of us, that experience was unnerving and it may have even bothered our ears. Though I think Neil did not have any trouble hearing everything that happened while we were there. I am very glad our first Fronteras group went through unscathed and the better for it, at least I think so. Thank you for being willing to explore your limits and borders with me.

Small groups

2005-11-02T11:58:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend two more small group gatherings. It was a great time for me. I have felt very welcomed and loved here since my arrival in July. However, it has been difficult for me to meet many of you in a more personal level. Saying hi on sunday morning or in passing at the office isn't really the best way to get to know a bit more about anyone really. So, the small groups have been a blessing for me as I've gotten to hear more about some of you and your life in Calvary as well as outside of church. In fact, I was even able to learn a bit more about the history of Calvary,social security, and retirement prescription plans. I am looking forward to meeting more of you in these groups.
We have Christianity because of Jesus. However, I wonder how different Christianity would have been if it hadn't started with a small group that spend time inside and outside of synagogue together?

On the edge

2005-10-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

This past friday I went to my Seminary roomate's house warming party. It was cool catching up with him and just enjoy spending time with friends. A very interesting thing came out of that experience for me. The first is that this is their first house.
So, a first home. My friends have been married for a bit over a year by now. They just got their house a couple of months ago. When I came in I congratulated him on being a home owner now. His reply was; "I won't be a home owner until 2030." It made me laugh and now that I have thought about it I also know it tells me a lot about him. Realism, confidence, faith, perspective, etc. A lot of it is grounded in realism. He knows he doesn't yet own the house, he knows it'll be a long way before they "truly" own the house. However, he is confident they will make it through, after all he did say he was going to be a home owner. There is also a very real sense faith as how could one possibly know where life would lead or how it will go for the next 25 years or so. Finally, he was smiling as he said that; the prospect of owning this house is daunting and long, yet not crushingly impossible. Commitments are interesting, some are easy to get into and agree with. Others are more like very heavy, even annoying endeavors. As I sit here I wonder what kind of commmitment is Calvary to each one of us. It is obvious to me that many of you are deeply committed to Calvary. In fact, I can say that I now count myself amongst that group.
The reason I am wondering what kind of commitment Calvary is to you is the fact that it will affect how each will deal with the problems we have now and the ones that are coming. Pastor Kim has spoken often about the Chinese character for crisis ( I think that is the word) and the two meanings it has. I believe very strongly that if we see our commitment to Calvary the way my roomate and his wife see theirs with that house we will have a much easier time with the problems. It doesn't mean the problems won't be hard or we won't be scared, upset, annoyed, etc. But it does mean that we have little something inside us that pulls us through. In their case they're starting a life together, it's a house they like very much, etc. In my case, it is the love I see in the church, the family that makes Calvary what it is. The vision to do its best to adjust to this new world and work to live in it, etc. What's that little something that helps you know you love Calvary?
Just one more thing, that "little something" isn't so little. Have you ever notice how many of the most important things in Christianity are little somethings? A little baby changing the world. A man from a little unknow part of Galilee redeemed all of us. A faith system that started in a little, far away part of the Roman empire eventually conquered that empire.

It all starts with a little something. In the case of Christianity all those little somethings have been cared for by God! We are yet another "little something" in a long line that is deeply cared for and loved by God.

Oct. 2nd Fall Festival

2005-10-09T22:22:00.000-04:00

On Oct. 2 there was a street festival on West Marshall st. It was an amazing experience. The people and all that stuff. What I enjoyed the most was walking down from church with 7 people from church! Not only that, we hung out for a while and then had lunch at a place that already had Russ, Becky and their children taking up two tables!
I've been talking a lot about us walking down the street. So, when I saw 15 people related to Calvary eating in, and interacting with the people in one of the restaurants down the street I was very proud. What I did not expect was that the one reason I was most happy about was not the fact that we were all "taking up space" on West Marshall. It was the fact that I was spending time with Calvary people with no agenda other than being together. Since that day I've been thinking about how much I was fed by that time.
I'm writing this on Sunday night right after coming home from yet another empowered task force meeting. What was different about this night was that we refocused and changed our process. I haven't left one of these meetings as hopeful and fulfilled as I did today. Up to this point we had been greatly stressed and worried by the process in addition to the issues that precipitated our undertaking it. I trust we will now be able to come back to our reason for the work we're putting in, the church.

a flooded home

2005-09-21T13:50:00.000-04:00

Well, this past week we had very heavy rains early in the morning. I couldn't tell it was raining that bad but the fire alarm went off. So, I promtly left my apt. and went out into the hallway. As I came out I could hear the water very well and it was then that I got worried there may actually be a fire. At that moment I simply assumed I was hearing the sprinkler system's water. As I got down to the first floor I saw water just pouring out of the ceiling directly in front of one of the apts. so I thought the fire had been there. However, when the fire dept. got here they investigated and told us that it was rain water. I was amazed at how much water was coming down. Soon half of the 1st floor hallway was full of water. Fortunately the rain did not last too long and the building mangers could get to work by removing the carpet and search for the source of the leak. The next day they brought in big loud fans to dry the floors. They've been on since that day and it isn't until today that they're taking them down. Anyhow, I thought a bit about my everyday life would be a nice break from my questions to you.
An interesting thing came out of this whole event. There was a person downstairs from me who loved to play music really loud. So loud that it made my floors vibrate. Now, I wouldn't mind it if it weren't for the fact that this person did it at 6am! So the game was me asking her to turn it down and she listening for almost a week then doing it again. But, since the "flooding" I haven't heard any music. So, now I have a dilema, I'm happy because I don't have a vibrating bed at 6am. While at the same time I'm feeling bad at the thought that the reason for it may be that the water coming in ruined her sound system. And if the sound system's ruined what about the rest of her furniture?

Sweet music

2005-09-08T17:48:00.000-04:00

Well, a new school year has begun and even the stubborn heat seems to be starting to give way. I too have gone back to school but not as a student. I've just started working with Eastern's wind ensemble in their low brass section. I'm really looking forward to playing as well in the concerts that are coming up. These days it seems like my tuba is getting almost as much as a workout as it did when I was in school still. I'll be playing on Sunday morning at church too! It's good, I really have missed playing my tuba and now I don't have to force myself to practice as I actually have responsibilities that depend on my practicing. It's always great to have an exterior motivating influence.
There was a time when going to church had something that functioned just as my getting ready for a concert does to my tuba playing. I wonder what has happened that has made us lose that motivation. So, I'm curious, what motivates you to come to church? Is it to get something? To give? A combination? Please, let me know.

Do we Baptist demean Communion?

2005-09-01T20:51:00.000-04:00

Baptism and Communion have been points of contention between us Baptist and most other mainline denominations through our history. A common misconception is that we Baptist refuse value or honor the importance of this Sacramental act, mainly due to our intentionality about keeping the human aspect of church as part of the focus. Heck, we don't even call it a Sacrament!
Well, I am a Baptist and have nothing but the outmost respect and awe for this very Sacramental event. There is something very special about the act. Some friends of mine say that there is a special presence of God in the event and as such it is very Sacramental and much, much more than a simple remembrance. In other words, something happens through this communal act that elevates it above just remembering Jesus by drinking juice and bread squares. I agree with most of what I've just written down. I may even go as far as to say that one would be hard press to find a Baptist who feels that Communion does not deserve the outmost respect, reverence and humble approach. I think that what's gotten us in trouble with our Christian family is our constant reminder of the human side of the church. They are not Sacraments but ordinances for us precisely because they are so incredibly important and beyond our humanity. Yes, it was a reactionary measure by our ancestors but only out of witnessing excess. It was some in church thinking that they had the right, and authority to channel the grace of God. "The right Sacraments rightly administered". The ordinances of Baptism and Communion were and are Sacramental to me a Baptist. I/we just hesitate in saying that our church has a monopoly on how the grace of God is dispensed.
Fortunately for the whole of the Christian community we have all shifted our focus away from arguing which extreme is right. As such then this little rant of mine is not to pick an argument. This is simply me working out the importance of these Sacraments as I take part in them in my church. This isn't a worked out opinion on my part, it simply is my brainstorming here in cyberspace with you catching a small glimpse of my free thought. As always, feel free to respond through any medium you choose.

A very happy Birthday

2005-09-01T20:25:00.000-04:00

Well my birthday was this past weekend. It was great being in church and seeing my family walk in right before the start of the service! I had no idea they were coming at all! It was a fantastic time. It was also Meghan's first time at the church. All in all a great day. It was my first time doing the whole service myself and I think I was even nervous. Of course now I know most of it takes care of itself. All I had to do was make sure I helped with a shove here and there and it was all fine.
I never like my sermons and this past Sunday's was particularly hard for me. So, lots of prayer went into that sermon and I was very glad the Spirit took care of carrying the message. The only other thing I have to say about my sermons is that I pray I never lose the humbling feeling that comes to me everytime I preach. It really brings to mind how I am nothing more than a vessel and a weak one at that.
Now, the afternoon was fantastic. I went to lunch with my family and it was a great time! Then after spending time with them Meghan and I went to an outdoor concert. We got to see Norristown's Verdi band. It was a wind ensemble, I thought it was going to be a Jazz big band. However, it was still an awesome experience. There were Italian marches, arias, and all kinds of great music. I was very glad we got to go. All in all, my birthday was a great day.

I'd like to tell you a story

2005-08-24T14:13:00.000-04:00

this is the story of a traveler who encountered a most peculiar town.
Once upon a time there was a town, a beautiful town. Providence had smiled upon this town and placed it at the center of commerce for the region it was in. The people prospered, but not only because they were placed there. These people were hard working, family oriented, and truly cared for this town because they knew they'd be a round for a long time. The town then became much more than that, it became a community. This was a place where people with families wanted to come to live in. It was a place where neighbors knew each other and stopped to chat during their afternoon walks. Kids played with their friends under the watchful eyes of the caring mothers who lived next door to each other. There was even a church where many of this families met and found a second home. Life was good, the Lord had blessed this little piece of His wonderful creation.
Then something terrible happened. A new town came to existence not far from the beautiful town. Only this town was different than any other, it had no houses or streets, or churches. This town was nothing more than a really big market. But somehow, people really liked it. People liked it so much that they left the beautiful town. Slowly but surely the town began to show signs of being abandoned. Some businesses moved to the other town, others had a worst fate, they could not survive so they closed. As these stores closed many people also left the beautiful town, it wasn't at the center any more. Soon there were only boarded up store fronts and the streets became dirtier and dirtier, the town wasn't beautiful anymore. What a sad end to such a beautiful town.
But wait, an incredible thing has happened just recently to this town. Somehow, a group of people who were looking for a home has heard of it. No one really knows how that happened but they started coming to the town! Why?,Nobody can figure it out, the town isn't beautiful anymore! Yet, what's even more amazing is what type of people they are. These people are hard working, family oriented, and they really seem to truly care for this town! Yes, I know, it's incredible! Since their arrival many of the boarded up stores have been restored, the streets are looking cleaner and cleaner. Some of them even come out early in the morning and sweep the sidewalk in front of their house or store! Could it be that providence is smiling again on the beautiful town? We don't know but it sure looks like it did a bit over one hundred years ago again. Perhaps there is an happily ever after ending for this story.

What do YOU mean by change?

2005-08-24T13:56:00.000-04:00

I've been at Calvary for a bit over a month now. There is still much I need to learn as I adjust. Unfortunately I need to do this as we (the leadership) oversee radical changes in the church that need to lead it to a path it's never been on before. In the midst of that I have come to more fully realize something I hadn't thought much about this past 6 months of involvement with the church. A big part of my coming here was for the sake and awareness of the need of change. The problem is that though we are all using that word the meanings intended are vastly different at times. So, the problem isn't change itself, the whole church knows that it is paramount to our survival. The problem is the nature and result of that change. So, I ask you this then, what does change for Calvary mean to you? ( to our church members reading this) What does change mean to you? ( to the rest of you reading this in cyberspace) For this one I would really appreciate the responses and involvement from our Calvary membership.
Perhaps the most interesting question for me to ask the membership is this; what does Calvary Baptist Church of Norristown make you think of? When you see that title or think of the church what does it look like? I am new here so for me the changes coming will be part of my view of Calvary. You, however, have been here, many for generations, so you already have a view of Calvary. I'd like you to tell me what that is. What's important about that view? What do you think makes Calvary a church?

These are all very important things for me to know as I, along with the rest of the leadership, try to devise a way to shepherd the change that is inevitably coming. Please, get back to me and let me know what's important to you about Calvary!

World Missions Conference

2005-08-16T13:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I just returned from WMI conference at Green Lake. It was a fantastic experience for me. I have had the priviledge of attending many of these conferences and they never fail to impress me greatly. One of the things I always look forward to is the diversity at the conference. American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse denominations in the United States, and every time I'm at green lake I get to see and enjoy the richness that comes from that. For me the people there let me see a glimpse of what the Kingdom will be. For example, a typical breakfast was me with, Moises from the Dominican Republic, Xavi from Spain, Frank from PR, etc. Then at night there was soccer with kids from Colorado, PA, IL, Republic of Georgia. Our God is not limited to one type or race of people and American Baptist Churches is one of the denominations who embodies this best. I look forward to helping Calvary as it too aims to be more of a glimpse of the kingdom here in Norristown.

Does anyone remember what evangelism is?

2005-08-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

I've been in Norristown for a month now. I have enjoyed tremendously my interactions with the congregation and my walks to and from work. Everytime I walk I am reminded of the reason for Calvary being where it is, a place where Christ can be brought to Norristown through the power of the Spirit and the work of the body. During one of these walks I was thinking about what or how we could reach this community. There were many words and phrases in my mind, reaching out, culture imersion, social action, etc. Evangelizing never crossed my mind until I sat here to think about my next blog! Once I thought about it in the context of what Calvary and the church as a whole should be doing, all other words and phrases fit nicely into it. See, the way I see evangelism is all of the words I wrote before but with the added benefit of Christ's blessing. We are called to evangelize, together as part of the body of Christ.That is how we will reach out to our community.
It truly is fantastic that Calvary now has a pastor who lives in the community the church is in. But, did the church hire someone to do it's work for it? Is the work of the pastor to evangelize for the church? What is the responsibility of the church? These are questions I'd love for you to think about and reply to here in the little section at the end of this blog. ( the comments section)
Just one more thing, a good friend of mine just gave a sermon that really showed me a great deal about the responsibility of the church, pastor and congregation. You can hear it here www.fbcl.com/fbcl_sermons.htm

Pastors Kim & Doug visited Korea

2005-08-02T18:33:00.000-04:00

Well, just a short update on a fantastic experience. Pastor Kim was given an invitation to a dinner put on by the Norristown Korean Business Association. The whole event was run by the pastor of a Korean church in Chonshohoken. We had the chance to sit at the "pastors" table and well, a good time was had by all. It was great to see Christ through that experience as well as hearing from our Korean brothers and sisters.

I'd give u a call but I'm at a meeting

2005-07-20T00:29:00.000-04:00

Well, life as Pastor Doug goes on.
An interesting thing about my brand new life is that there are two. Well, there's the pic. I had in my head and the one that is rapidly obliterating most of said picture. This isn't to say that there are no places were my two lives overlap. Though I wish these overlapping places would happen in more of the parts of my liking. Anyhow, why don't I just mention some of these, both the ones in common and the ones I was way off on.
My original picture of being a pastor was one in which there were no administrative duties and meetings would be short, to the point and 100% productive. That would be because the meetings would be there to agree on all the great ideas and results of the creative process that all committees have already gone through. Of course, I was aware that that was my fantasy and was eager to see how reality would change it.
So, I started work and this is what happened to that picture. In order to get anything done there is much administrative work to be done. But that's just so that one is more prepared to go to the meeting to discuss what's hoped to be the end product. There's nothing wrong with the idea changing and being adjusted as more people bring their input on it. However, some ideas spend a really long time being thought of, about, and worked out. Now granted, some of these ideas deserve to be there and stay there. So, my fantasy has been and will be adjusted and brought to reality as time goes on. The first adjustment, or the one that's seem most noticeable for me has been on the creative side, this has made me look at that process in a very different way. I think now I've come to see my ideas and or possible plans for the church in very much the same way NYC looks like from across the Hudson river. It is beautiful, in some instances breathtaking. It also looks very orderly and well planned. On a clear day one can see clear across Manhattan through one of the streets that run east to west. From a distance it's great, but now as a Pastor I need to cross that bridge and deal with all the details and how people affect them. In other words, I know now my ideas will get messy, difficult, and changed. For some people that's very stressful. Just as they do not like NYC because it's loud, messy, etc. some prefer not to go through all the trouble of working an Idea through to execution. I on the other hand, like NYC so much that I'm willing to "put up" with all its messiness and its even fun for me ( at times). Well, this analogy was working up to now. I'm not sure I like the messiness of working through ideas as much as being in NYC. But what I do know is that I like the picture I have of the church from across the river so much that I am willing to get in there and work. Not as a challenge but in a thankful attitude towards the one who created all its beauty and calls us to come closer to Him through the church He created.

Graduation into a new life

2005-07-14T12:28:00.000-04:00

First thoughts on being called to be a pastor at a church

Graduating from seminary changed my life more than the time leading to my choice to go to seminary about 4-5 years ago. Everything about me was new, well everything outside of me. The Apostle Paul spoke of us (Christians) being clothed by Christ, covered all around by Him. My coming to Calvary has truly been a very palpable example of being clothed with something. The traditional "apostolic succession" churches would probably call that "something" the office of the pastor. I no longer live as an individual who happens to do a certain job for a living. I AM a pastor. Being a pastor isn't something I can only do, it is something I have to live. Of course, I have chosen to live it but even if I wanted a break I couldn't take one. My name is no longer Doug, I am Pastor Doug now.

The pastor's first official outing

This past Sat. 6/9/05 there was a festival at Elmwood park in Norristown. JAM ( Jesus and me, I think) It was my first outing as Pastor Doug representing Calvary Baptist. I was amazed by what that little word above my name in my name tag did for the way I was treated! My interactions went something like this; hey, how're you doing? ( I'd get close enough for my name tag to be read) Oh! Pastor how are you. My name is... All day long it went in similar ways. Then there was one guy who stood above all my other interactions on that day. Here's an excerpt ,
Guy: Hey, how are you?
Me: Hi, I'm alright
Guy: ( looks at my name tag) pastor Doug...PASTOR! You're a pastor!? ( guess he doesn't really have much of an inner editing sense) Come here for a second. So, you're a pastor? What, did you start right out of high school!? ( I laughed) But, seriously, aren't you too young to be a pastor?
Me: Shouldn't you think a bit before you say these....Well, that's what I wanted to say. What I did say was, well, I'm just getting started...

I guess my spiky hair and cargo shorts didn't really give out that pastoral aura, whatever that may be. I guess the question in my mind is, how do I keep my ego in check while at the same time establishing and presenting the office of the pastor in a dignified and appropriate manner. Perhaps the issue does go back to Paul. The best way may be to keep in mind the fact that the only reason I can even be here much less be a pastor is because of the fact that Christ has embraced me and clothed me with himself. So, I am a pastor called to be a servant first. While at the same time, never forgetting that the office serves to humbly represent the one and only God, creator of all that is seen and unseen... ( little nicene creed quote there) But above all, a God who loves all of creation much more than we can comprehend.

2005-07-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

a Pastor?