Graduation Celebration

This week in church I called our seniors who had graduated up before the church. I had a short video of their parents saying how proud they were. It included pictures of them growing up. After the video I explained that their next steps may take them too far for them to continue attending our church on a weekly basis. I explained that I called them up because I wanted the congregation to see their faces, so they could reach out to them. I wanted the congregation to ensure that they knew that we loved them, and that they would always have a home here, no matter where they go, or how long they are away. We celebrated with them. We showed them love. As I received feedback this week it seems this was one of the most powerful things we did in church this week. It built the church up, it built the kids up, it built their families up. Don't miss the chance to do that this summer!

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Divine | Shame | Humans

Shame is often the only thing between our creator and us. Our reading this week is from Job 14:5-6: A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer. Job is struggling with shame and judgement. He is wondering why God is spending time paying attention to him, a tiny speck in the great universe, a blink of an eye in all eternity. Why would God waste time casting a glance at us, let alone fostering us, raising us, and disciplining us? He cries out "Why won't God just let us be, to live out our miserable existence?" A friend shared a post with me on Facebook this week. It was a video of her dog who had stolen her donut. The dog had been under the bed for two hours before she started the video. The video begins with a clear view of the dog and the uneaten donut under the bed. The dog casts glances from s

Justice & Privilege

The narrative lectionary reading for this week begins a 5 week series on the book of Job. We focus on Job 1:1-12. This first section sets the background for the parable. It is important to note that this is clearly a parable, not a historical text. This means we must look beyond the described events and towards a deeper meaning within the text. The story goes like this: ___ There was once a man who thought he was good, an upright citizen, a religiously devout man. He made good choices and avoided all forms of evil. He was so pious that he made sacrifices in the name of his family members in case they had unknowingly sinned. He had great wealth and privilege, and so this was evidence of his goodness. God was so pleased with this great man, named Job, that he bragged about him to the accuser. The accuser objected "Of course Job is good, you have provided him with wealth, power, and protection. He would curse you if he was not so privileged." At this, God takes the

Fool for Christ

Our reading from the Narrative Lectionary this week is 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 13 stood out to me. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. - 2 Corinthians 5:13a (NLT) John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard churches did a famous sermon called "I am a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?". Reading this week's text reminded me of this wonderful sermon. Wimber's sermon reminds us that, as christians, we are called to something truly radical. The christian walk is strange and counter cultural. Jesus once explained this to his disciples in John 15 "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. You don't belong to this world, I have chosen you out of it. That is why the world hates you." Peter, in a letter to the church, later referred to all of us as strangers just passing through this world. Do you feel like a stranger? Do you feel like the world hates you? Are you a fool for Christ? Here is the thing, you are going t

Monastic Pastor

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