September has come... and the boy's fun...

Well,

I'm back from Paternity Leave, and glad to be getting back into a routine with the folks at my two churches.

My son is well, and my wife is doing alright. She's had a hard transition back to her church, with a number of roadblocks beyond her control in the process. It's been tough at times, but we're getting through this and focusing on the task of planning a major revival/music festival/day of intentional outreach and evangelism in its first (and hopefully not final) iteration.

Our son learned to roll over some time ago, but just over a week ago he decided that after he first stirred at night, he'd prefer to sleep on his front. I must say, he is cuteness personified! He's starting to play with things he can grab (and to grab anything that comes close to him), but he's just as happy to manipulate his world with his feet (I recognize "manipulate" is a rather ironic word choice, coming from the Latin mano for "hand").

Well, I have a Bible Study to lead in an hour, and I need to get ready. Off we go!

Long time coming...

It's been a long time coming. The past year has been complicated and often challenging. My wife has been pregnant, struggling with her church to deal with dangerous lead levels in the parsonage, and finally, we've ended up moving (temporarily) and then our son was born!

He's doing well and my Paternity Leave has started (with a 2 week overlap with Kate's Maternity Leave). We're trying to figure out how to return to our charges, to be effective pastors, and to be good parents too.

Anyway... I should post. This space has helped me think since I started the process. And here's a post. At least one.

I'm not making any promises today. We'll see what tomorrow might bring, but my hope is that I'll keep with it this time.

Yeah.

Saturday Night Musings

I've been thinking about the fact that I haven't consistently posted on this blog in months. Last time I saw Adrienne, she shamed me into considering my failure to keep up. Today, I discovered Bill Chaney's blog, Making Disciples in an Emerging Church. I found this post, which argued that blogging was a valuable tool for church growth. Once again...it got me thinking.

I find myself keeping very busy 'doing' church, maintaining and repairing church structures, and trying to get to know my congregations after spending last fall when I tried to be a full-time pastor and also finish my last two seminary classes. I can't seem to find time to do a number of things I believe could begin to reach the world around me with the Gospel, because I spend a great deal of time trying to solve structural problems in church life that keep us from effectively ministering to the world around us.

We haven't made much progress, but I believe revitalization is possible. Both churches I serve can grow and can become dynamic centers of disciple-making in their communities, and I think that at least some folks in both places want their church to grow and serve their communities in new ways. I think that there are impediments to overcome, but increasingly, my personal prayer-time, my conversation with trusted colleagues, and my conversation with folks at both churches have led me to believe that any impediments that might exist to disciple-making, growth, and service can be overcome by God's grace and work in the community.

I think I'll do my part by trying to find time to blog a bit more often, and by helping envision what both of these churches might look like as we continue to grow into Christian communities that can minister in the name of Jesus to a 21st century world.

Why I wonder about American culture

The world is a confusing place! According to this article in Slate, even the venerable phrase "my baby-daddy" is subject to linguistic drift. Apparently, this term that has carried the last vestiges of western culture's disapproval of extra-marital procreation no longer does in much of the tabloid media!

What has Western culture come to!

Disturbing Results

In an increasingly pluralistic America, where we value diversity and individual rights above all else, or at least that is our rhetoric, some ideas are less acceptable than others.

After logging-off a popular free email service, I found a link to this story about healthcare providers who both come from and cater to a particular audience whose faith commitments prevent them from using contraceptives. I was impressed. The truth is, I think having medical practices, colleges, and financial institutions that cater to the moral needs of people of faith is a great thing. Fine, I'm a pastor, but I'm also a person of faith who would prefer to invest his money in a way that would support enterprizes I find desirable, not just whatever an investment firm finds profitable, whether it's selling Christian books, gambling, pyotechnics, organic coffee, prostitution or pornography.

Generally, Americans support the right of others to make choices. Not only is it important to our Capitalist system, it is also the primary way we exercize our personal freedom. However, in contemporary America, there is a growing sense that choices motivated by religion, especially traditional Christianity, shouldn't be acceptable.

At the time I read the article and took the poll, only 26% of people who responded to the question answered "I support them and hope they take off," to the question "What do you think of medical practices that blend health and faith?" What was worse, out of 21987 responses, 38% responded "I do not support them at all." Amazingly, a plurality of respondents would prefer to prevent individuals from having the choice to seek religiously informed health-care.

I guess this shouldn't surprise me. Catholic hospitals have been on the receiving end of attacks for years for refusing to provide abortions, and Massachusetts required Wal-Mart to sell morning-after pill earlier this year (in a reading of state law that would seem to require all pharmacies to dispense the drug, regardless of their religious objections).

I guess many Americans believe that free practice of religion should end when we enter the public sphere, whether that is in our own medical practice, while looking for a doctor, or choosing a pharmacy. I wonder if these folks think Christians should have a right to choose what books to sell in Christian bookstores, or if Christian counsellors and psychologists should be allowed to practice their trades in light of their faith?

Some of us seem to have confused living according to particular values with imposing them on others. This is truly a sad day.