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Ever since posting my “busy pastor” rant a few weeks ago I’ve been trying to slow down. I’m failing.  Miserably.

I’m preaching this Sunday morning. The theme is the church’s role in nurturing faith at home. I’ll be talking about next generation faith. The church can stunt the faith of the emerging generation if young people are not encouraged to leave “home” one day. Jesus did it to the disciples when he sent out the…

I got some bad news on Tuesday. Our Pontiac–the Cadillac of mini-vans–is dying Rotten frame.  That was my mechanic’s diagnosis after trying to attach the hoist to something solid. He figures it’ll last the summer. It’s funny.  The outside is fiberglass so it looks great.  It’s underneath–the part you can’t see–that’s showing evidence of decay….

I tucked my 2 favorite little people into bed tonight. I read Shawna the story about Abram telling the Egyptians that Sarai wasn’t his wife.  We talked about lying; and about how God takes care of us, even when we’re afraid to do the right thing; and about not marrying your sibling. I told Elijah…

My annual staff review/evaluation is coming up on Tuesday. In past years, I’ve answered a questionnaire about how well I was doing according to my ministry (job) description. Things are different this year.  Since we’re in a transition as a church, our interim lead pastor has asked us to answer questions like, “What’s your primary…

I wonder what would happen if I treated my family like a congregation? 1.  We’d align our couch and chairs in rows whenever we watched T.V. 2.  If my kids wanted to talk to me, they’d have to make an appointment. 3.  I’d make special ‘visits’ to my wife.  She’d make tea and we would…

Currently, I’ve got a couple of Eugene Peterson books on my reading list.  The other day, while reading, The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the art of spiritual direction, I was convicted. He writes: “But the word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal.  It is not devotion but defection.  The adjective busy set as…

I got a phone call at the church on Wednesday.   An unfamiliar woman was looking for our congregational care pastor and was accidently redirected to my extension. She had an urgent prayer request for her daughter who was on her way to the hospital.  She needed a miracle. The woman called me back at home…

Okay. I admit it. I’m obsessed with Dallas Willard. I read this tonight in his book, The Spirit of the Disciplines. “The secret of the easy yoke, then, is to learn from Christ how to live our total lives, how to invest all our time and our energies of mind and body as he did….

I want to empower people. Not delegate my unwanted tasks to them. In other news, click here for a great article on what the term ‘missional’ means