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Posts from the ‘Pastoral Ministry’ Category

Apr 28

Writing: We Claim What We Have Lived

During my first year as a pastor, a wise friend told me to make a habit of journaling through and about the many and varied experiences and people that I encountered in my daily work.  I’ve not been as regular with this as I should, but I have found that when I do make a practice of writing about experiences and how they affect me, it invariably brings a measure of clarity and, often, newfound resolve to whatever situation happens to be looming large, whether positive or negative. Read more

Mar 17

34 Comments

Doubt

A feature ran by The Washington Post yesterday has generated a bit of discussion around a study called Preachers Who Are Not Believers by prominent atheist Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola from the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University (those familiar with “The Four Horsemen” of the new atheism will know Dennett well). The study outlines interviews with six “courageous” clergy who maintain their jobs in the pulpit while privately nursing unbelief. It is a classic modern tale of the triumph of reason and the inconsistencies and dissonances that come with the slow, inevitable drift away from faith in the modern world. Read more

Jan 22

22 Comments

Prayer: You Place a Reservoir Within My Heart

Perhaps surprisingly, given my occupation and the fact that one of my main (and most rewarding) tasks on any given Sunday is leading our congregation in prayer, I often find prayer difficult. The reasons for this vary. Sometimes I am paralyzed by the relative insignificance of my own needs when compared by the suffering others are facing (this week has been an especially difficult one for prayer, given the situation in Haiti). Sometimes I don’t know what to pray for. Sometimes I don’t know what prayer accomplishes—in my own life and character and for those I pray for. Sometimes I am simply lazy and undisciplined. Sometimes the silence of heaven wearies me. Read more

Dec 15

12 Comments

On Empathy and Exclusivity

I couldn’t help but be curious when I saw the title of Vancouver Sun spirituality and ethics columnist Douglas Todd’s latest article come through my reader this afternoon: “Embattled Clergy Could Use Christmas Empathy.” Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I read on to discover why I might be the appropriate destination for someone’s Christmas empathy. Read more

Nov 19

17 Comments

All Together

Around here, Thursdays are the day where a good deal of the work of preparing the Sunday morning service begins. I am always amazed to see the sheer diversity of the people who come through our doors on any given Sunday. I am equally amazed to discover the potpourri of needs, hopes, joys, fears, longings, frustrations, and anxieties that accompany them. Of course it is impossible to craft a service with the specific intention of meeting every perceived or real individual need that might show up on a Sunday morning. Yet one of the mysteries of the church is that when we gather together somehow our individual stories can find their place within the broader story of God and the story of his church—that by simply being together to pray, to sing, to hear from Scripture, and to share our lives, our needs just might end up getting met (however oddly or unexpectedly) along the way. Read more

Nov 13

47 Comments

Man of God

From a recent journal entry.

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

John 1:3-5

The call comes—someone’s looking for a priest. Of course, you’re not a priest but you’re close enough. There’s been some trouble and someone wants to talk to a “holy man.” They want a man of God to come. Read more

Aug 26

15 Comments

“I Know What God Does With Pain”

From the “sobering quotes” file, comes this morning’s offering from Richard Rohr: Read more

Jun 29

Some Welcome Counsel

My brother just sent me the link to a series of posts by William Willimon where he offers advice for those starting out in pastoral ministry. I’m approaching the end of my first year of pastoral work, and frequently found myself nodding and mm-hmm-ing throughout this very helpful set of posts. They are very balanced and wise reflections from someone who has been down the road and knows what he’s talking about. There is much worth thinking about (and implementing) in this post, but two quotes stood out. Read more

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