The "Shoulds" and the "Oughts"...

Are any of you seeing a spiritual director? I have been seeing a spiritual director since August as a part of my ongoing journey (I highly recommend it for anyone considering it) and I am now a huge proponent! I selected a great OSB nun named Sister Laura, so that I could have someone outside of my own denomination and tradition - a truly safe/sacred space.

One of the things that she and I have been working on is my perfectionism. I come by it honestly... I come from a long line of workaholic perfectionists. Many of you who know me know that I am a pretty driven person, and she has been working with me on being aware of God's presence in the midst of the busy-ness; in the midst of the urgent and important duties of being a father, a husband and a pastor.

I thought about this in relation to the fact that my idealistic notions about how often I would be posting onto this blog do not match with what has actually been happening. I haven't been posting very often. Posting to the blog is one more thing that has become a "should" or an "ought"... It doesn't feel very important sometimes, so I have been just letting it slide - and praying all the while.

There is a lot going on in my life, and I know I am not alone in that. There are particular things going on right now in the life of the PNW Conference of The UMC that are impacting my ongoing discernment about my calling (I will get into that at a later point). Even though there are lots of discussions swirling about concerning my future, as well as the past and future of the community I serve, I have been STRIVING to stay focused on the "here and now." The people of the church I serve deserve my full attention and focus - they need to know that I love them and am not focused on "greener pastures."

Sister Laura has encouraged my tremendously. She has lovingly counseled me to refrain from lamenting those times that my visions and dreams for the future (for this congregation, for my conference and denomination, and for those of us who call ourselves "followers of Christ") begin to fill my mind, but instead to "pray" them as a way of releasing them to God. When I begin to feel an urge to speak prophetically to my current congregation / my clergy cluster / denominational officials that "things are not as they should be," I can only avoid being judgmental and close-minded by "praying" them first.

My spiritual director is becoming a wonderful spiritual friend... someone whose counsel I seek and admire... and someone who is a great listener.

I would love to hear your stories of your interactions with a spiritual director!

Politics, Shmolitics...

If I didn't laugh at the absurdity of our system of electing political officials, I would probably cry... Here is a video that made me laugh until I did cry!

"Freedom Writers"

We just watched a VERY good film, "Freedom Writers" with Hillary Swank and Patrick Dempsey. Check out this trailer...



This film impacted me in surprising ways. I guess the most powerful message for me was the fact that with HOPE comes incredible power. We can do anything if we hold on to hope, and life is fatalistic without it. The power of of a person being able to tell their story to someone else is something that should never be underestimated.

Besides the over-arching themes in this film, I also witnessed the power in putting our thoughts down for others to see. To that end, I will probably be posting more frequently when I feel like I have something to say. Stay tuned...

False Dichotomy

I came across this YouTube video, and it really struck me.



I began to wonder more about this person's story. What kinds of interactions have they had with Christians? What kind of Christians? It really seems to me that many who call themselves Christian really play into the stereotypes about Christians. It has almost gotten to the point that I hesitate to call myself a Christian, but instead consider myself a "Christ-follower." We have to hold onto whatever is beautiful, lovely and true and discard the rest. And that will be hard for many of us to do...

Goin' to the Fair!

I always told myself that I wouldn't just blog about stupid stuff, so it has been quite awhile since I posted anything... Oh, well!

Yesterday, my family and I went to the Grays Harbor County Fair (which is actually quite a good little fair!) in Elma, WA and we had a great time. Well, when we walked in the front gates, both sides of the path are lined with booths. Check this one out!

Do you see what it says? It reads, "Godmobile... Are you going to heaven? Free two question test reveals answer..." It was put on by some group called the Men's Gospel Mission, or something. I stood there for several minutes, and not even ONE person went up and talked with them. In fact, at one point one of the dudes stuck his head out and looked right and left to see if anyone was coming. Nope... Still nothing.

I thought how sad this was. First of all for these men who wasted so much time and energy to sit in this booth only to have nothing happen. And second of all, I feel bad for everyone else. All I could think of was how this somehow reinforces stereotypical images of Christians as simplistic, dogmatic, closed-minded and focused solely on the next life in order to escape this one. It didn't surprise me one bit that no one "took the bait." Heck, my son and I couldn't either... Even though we REALLY wanted to hear what they might ask.