“What do you do?”

This is the defining question of our age. Yet, most of our answers are not telling the whole truth. If you answer the question by telling your job title at your place of employment what are you leaving out? And if you are a Christian what Godly vocations are you denying or at least giving less favor to? On the path toward ministry in the Christian church I am often asked to describe my vocational call, but rarely am I expected to include the Godly vocations of being a dedicated spouse, a future parent, a son, brother, friend. And I am even less expected to say I am called to taking Sabbath. These are left out in favor of my calling to lead the church as a pastor…. [Read more →]

Can you believe how long it has been since we posted on the blog….I can’t.  Since we last posted on Dec. 23 we have spent time in Wisconsin with Ashley’s family and in Kansas with mine.  During that time we have only spent 3 nights at home and the busyness of it all meant the blog took a break.  We celebrated Christmas, New Years, and my 26th birthday with our loving families and were able to continue our new tradition of deep theological, political, and social conversation with both sides of our family.

On Ashley’s side of the family we had a really great conversation about feminism, the effects of the war in the middle east on the reputation of Islam, and what it means to be American for different generations.  On my side of the family we talked about what it means to be Christian, the purpose of salvation, and how to be faithful and also skeptical.  I am certain that many of these conversations were started by Ashley and I’s evolving role within our families as “pastor”.  We are no longer just brother or sister, son or daughter, we are now also the relative who is a pastor.  However, while our status as “pastor” may have spurred these conversations I quickly realized that the real experts were not Ashley and I, but were our beloved family who everyday live out their beliefs in honest and authentic ways…. [Read more →]

This Thanksgiving Ashley and I spent time with her grandmother Elaine who is battling alzheimers.  This is the first time I have ever been close a person dealing with alzheimers, and I am learning a lot about the end of life and aging.  On Thanksgiving day Elaine came to Ashley’s Dad’s and spent the day with us.  She struggled to remember where she lived, where she was, what we were doing, and how she would get home at the end of the day.  Her anxietywould sometimes bring her to tears, and as it got darker outside it only became worse.  Ashley’s dad Buz took her home before it got too dark and we told her we would see her the next day.  When we arrived at her Memory Care Facility the next day we had to tell her about sitting on the couch with us as we ate appetizers and watched the Packers game, and how we ate a Thanksgiving meal, and sang Christmas carols.  As we got up to leave she said, “Buz, don’t leave me, I need you.”  It was a heart breaker.  But at this point in her disease it is nothing her caretakers have not heard before…. [Read more →]

Will your pageant be AWESOME or AWFUL?

Angels and Shepherds and Kings, Oh My! Ah yes, Pageant season is “all up ons”.

As I sit down to write the script for our church’s annual Christmas pageant, I am reminded that a lot of work goes into re-creating the Christmas story. Every year I wonder why the children, youth, parents and Christian Educator spend so much time on this one event, indeed the whole of Advent culminates with our Pageant. Why?

Sometimes I wonder if it is all worth it, but deep down I think the Christmas Pageant, in all its glory, is one of the best events, indeed ministries, of the Holiday season. The pageant tells the story of the birth of Christ, it allows the children to lead and to shine, and allows the congregation to connect in ways they don’t on a normal Sunday morning. The pageant is a great ministry, but it doesn’t always seem that way.

Should the Advent season be the “Pageant Season?”…….

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