Hello Friends!
Welcome! I know I haven't posted much recently, but the congregation I am currently appointed to (Spokane:Covenant UMC) is launching a website redesign that includes a link to my blog... So here we are!
Here is the church's website: www.covenantmethodist.org.
Check back frequently as I will be blogging at least weekly (unless I am on vacation), and feel free to leave comments and suggestions for future posts!
My family and I love living in Spokane, and I think I can speak for myself as well as the congregation, that we have had an incredible beginning to our ministry together, and have found this appointment to be a GREAT fit (in every way)!
Talk to you more soon!
Peace,
Gregg
Monday, November 16, 2009
Book Review - "Home to Harmony" by Phillip Gulley
I found this book to be a delightful surprise! This is a book about a small town church pastor in the Quaker/Friends tradition who has returned to his hometown (Harmony) to serve his home church. He is fallible and human, but he is also humorous and very faithful.
I was given this book as a gift (I am always a little curious about what - if any - message is intended by being given a book), and I don't know exactly what I expected. What I found however was a very sweet book, that had hilarious insights about life as a church pastor, and some poignant moments about the depth of purpose and meaning of being a church pastor. The depth of insight added a wonderful layer to go with the moments of levity.
I was given this book as a gift (I am always a little curious about what - if any - message is intended by being given a book), and I don't know exactly what I expected. What I found however was a very sweet book, that had hilarious insights about life as a church pastor, and some poignant moments about the depth of purpose and meaning of being a church pastor. The depth of insight added a wonderful layer to go with the moments of levity.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Ch... Ch... Ch... Changes!
Well, after two short years we are moving again. I will be appointed to serve Covenant United Methodist Church in Spokane, Washington effective July 1st. We are really excited for the opportunity, but we are in that bittersweet time of saying 'goodbye' to friends on one hand while getting to know new friends on the other.
During this whole process of discerning and now getting ready to move, I have been extremely aware of how my anxiety has PHYSICAL manifestations. I have been trying to pay attention to that, and to manage it in healthier ways this time around. Probably the biggest step I have strived to take is to not eat anything except when I am truly hungry... Eating for comfort has been one of my modus operandi throughout my life, and it is a pattern that I am seeking to change.
Because of all the times of uncertainty, I have been reminded of a sermon entitled, "Floating on a Sea of Faith." In it, the author tries to convey that for all of our seeking of stability and certitude, we still have to ultimately rely on the gift of faith. He is clearly postmodern in his orientation (against any form of foundationalism), and he contentends that there is nothing that is ever REALLY certain. If we can accept that without fear and anxiety, then we will truly be FLOATING ON A SEA OF FAITH.
May God help us do exactly that!
(cf. "Sex and the Single Savior," by Dale B. Martin)
During this whole process of discerning and now getting ready to move, I have been extremely aware of how my anxiety has PHYSICAL manifestations. I have been trying to pay attention to that, and to manage it in healthier ways this time around. Probably the biggest step I have strived to take is to not eat anything except when I am truly hungry... Eating for comfort has been one of my modus operandi throughout my life, and it is a pattern that I am seeking to change.
Because of all the times of uncertainty, I have been reminded of a sermon entitled, "Floating on a Sea of Faith." In it, the author tries to convey that for all of our seeking of stability and certitude, we still have to ultimately rely on the gift of faith. He is clearly postmodern in his orientation (against any form of foundationalism), and he contentends that there is nothing that is ever REALLY certain. If we can accept that without fear and anxiety, then we will truly be FLOATING ON A SEA OF FAITH.
May God help us do exactly that!
(cf. "Sex and the Single Savior," by Dale B. Martin)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ordination Question
I finally finished my ordination paperwork a week or so ago. Here is one of the questions...
I thought I would share the question and my answer with all of you. Has anyone else read this book?
1. Reflect on a recent book you’ve read regarding ministry. In what way was your heart/mind/soul expanded? How can you apply these insights to your future as a pastor?
Over the past year, I have read and reread the book, “A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,” by Edwin Friedman. The book struck me with the depth of insight and new paradigms for the task of leadership. The first part of the book traces the challenges facing leaders (“from parents to presidents”) in our current society, while the second part helped me to see new ways I might provide effective leadership through self-differentiation. His thesis is grounded in the view that our society is filled with a chronic anxiety, and his encouragement for leaders is for us to focus first on our own integrity and on the nature of our own presence rather than focusing on techniques of manipulating or motivating others.
My heart and mind was expanded greatly relative to his framework for understanding our society, and I see the ways that our society, as well as the congregation and the community in which I serve seems to focus on the most anxious members of the system rather than putting our energy into the most energetic, visionary, imaginative and motivated persons. In order for medieval Europe to have a renaissance they needed bold and imaginative leaders. For the earliest European explorers to move their civilization into the New World they had to reorient the Old World that was stuck in its’ orientation. Friedman hypothesizes (and I wholeheartedly agree) that we experience similar societal anxiety in contemporary American society, and we need adventurous leadership to pull us out of our anxious existence.
My future as pastor will continue to be informed by my insights from this book. I believe I can more effectively identify the symptoms of this chronic anxiety: “reactivity, herding, blaming, a quick-fix mentality, and lack of leadership.” To counteract these destructive forces, I can only stand apart from this anxiety (refusing to get “sucked into it”) and be the presence of change that I wish to see. I believe that I can only do that if I am fully grounded in my identity in God, if I regulate myself well (with the help of God), respond to challenges in creative and imaginative ways, and allow time for processes to mature. Maintaining my connection with God through spiritual disciplines is vital.
I thought I would share the question and my answer with all of you. Has anyone else read this book?
1. Reflect on a recent book you’ve read regarding ministry. In what way was your heart/mind/soul expanded? How can you apply these insights to your future as a pastor?
Over the past year, I have read and reread the book, “A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,” by Edwin Friedman. The book struck me with the depth of insight and new paradigms for the task of leadership. The first part of the book traces the challenges facing leaders (“from parents to presidents”) in our current society, while the second part helped me to see new ways I might provide effective leadership through self-differentiation. His thesis is grounded in the view that our society is filled with a chronic anxiety, and his encouragement for leaders is for us to focus first on our own integrity and on the nature of our own presence rather than focusing on techniques of manipulating or motivating others.
My heart and mind was expanded greatly relative to his framework for understanding our society, and I see the ways that our society, as well as the congregation and the community in which I serve seems to focus on the most anxious members of the system rather than putting our energy into the most energetic, visionary, imaginative and motivated persons. In order for medieval Europe to have a renaissance they needed bold and imaginative leaders. For the earliest European explorers to move their civilization into the New World they had to reorient the Old World that was stuck in its’ orientation. Friedman hypothesizes (and I wholeheartedly agree) that we experience similar societal anxiety in contemporary American society, and we need adventurous leadership to pull us out of our anxious existence.
My future as pastor will continue to be informed by my insights from this book. I believe I can more effectively identify the symptoms of this chronic anxiety: “reactivity, herding, blaming, a quick-fix mentality, and lack of leadership.” To counteract these destructive forces, I can only stand apart from this anxiety (refusing to get “sucked into it”) and be the presence of change that I wish to see. I believe that I can only do that if I am fully grounded in my identity in God, if I regulate myself well (with the help of God), respond to challenges in creative and imaginative ways, and allow time for processes to mature. Maintaining my connection with God through spiritual disciplines is vital.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)