The three saddest days of the year: 3) When the Masters PGA Golf Tournament is over, and I have to wait an entire year for the next one; 2) When the Superbowl is over, and I have to wait seven months for the next regular season Steelers game; and 1) When 24 is finished for the season, and I have to wait until January to find out what sort of international intrigue Jack Bauer is going to get mixed up in next!
I have to say, though, this year the first 18 hours were much better than the final 6. For those of you who haven't seen it, I won't spoil the storyline, but probably for the first time ever I thought the last few episodes were anti-climactic. At any rate, Jack is still the man.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Sweet People
I was blessed Sunday in that my congregation wanted to congratulate me on attaining my Masters Degree. We already had a carry-in dinner scheduled for right after church, and it was shifted into a dinner in honor of my graduation. I knew nothing about this, and was really suprised that my kids did such a good job of keeping the secret. Makes me suspicious of what other secrets they're keeping from me;... hmmm. Several people remembered me with cards and gifts (totally unnecessary, but very much appreciated), and many expressed their love verbally. Some of the sweetest people in the world attend C'ville Church of God.
Friday, May 18, 2007
This Weekend
What a week! I already wrote about Refresh!, which Janelle and I enjoyed the first part of the week. Tuesday I got back into town with less than 15 minutes to spare before a Trustees' Meeting. Wednesday I was up at 5:15 to head for Latrobe Hospital to be with a church family undergoing surgery. Then it was most of the day spent on my Sunday teaching, and another meeting after Family Factory. I spent most of Thursday morning in the office, and then took a couple hours with some pastor friends for fellowship and prayer. After that it was a home visit to another family recovering from surgery. I turned everything off about 4 p.m. to rest my body for the first time all week.
Then when Ben (14) walked Sparky (a little random-mix dog we rescued after its long-time owner died) last night, we all heard an unmistakable yelp that signalled something was wrong. Somehow, as Ben was bringing Sparky back inside, she tried to step up from the grass onto the driveway pad and apparently sprained the elbow on her left front leg. I was convinced it was broken from the way she was holding it, but this morning our vet, Doctor Contir of Mt. Pleasant Animal Hospital, said he thinks it's just sprained, or I think his word was "tweaked." She'll be on anti-inflammatories for a week and then we'll re-evaluate.
I am often concerned about how time spent pastoring other families takes away from my own. I'm trying to do something about that tonight and tomorrow. Tonight we're taking in a Pirates game with Will's (11) PAVCS (Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School) class. Following the game we're driving to Emlenton and our church's state campgrounds (they graciously allow pastors 7 nights free lodging every year) so we can be close to Cooperstown, where we will be attending a fund-raiser dinner hosted by Stacey, a friend of Ben's.
That will get me some time with my kids (maybe even win me some "parenting points"), but get me home kind of late Saturday night. Fortunately I've known for at least a couple weeks what I'll be teaching about Sunday morning. I'm borrowing my theme from Mark Batterson's book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. My teaching is entitled Becoming a Lion Chaser. It's gonna be a good day.
Then when Ben (14) walked Sparky (a little random-mix dog we rescued after its long-time owner died) last night, we all heard an unmistakable yelp that signalled something was wrong. Somehow, as Ben was bringing Sparky back inside, she tried to step up from the grass onto the driveway pad and apparently sprained the elbow on her left front leg. I was convinced it was broken from the way she was holding it, but this morning our vet, Doctor Contir of Mt. Pleasant Animal Hospital, said he thinks it's just sprained, or I think his word was "tweaked." She'll be on anti-inflammatories for a week and then we'll re-evaluate.
I am often concerned about how time spent pastoring other families takes away from my own. I'm trying to do something about that tonight and tomorrow. Tonight we're taking in a Pirates game with Will's (11) PAVCS (Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School) class. Following the game we're driving to Emlenton and our church's state campgrounds (they graciously allow pastors 7 nights free lodging every year) so we can be close to Cooperstown, where we will be attending a fund-raiser dinner hosted by Stacey, a friend of Ben's.
That will get me some time with my kids (maybe even win me some "parenting points"), but get me home kind of late Saturday night. Fortunately I've known for at least a couple weeks what I'll be teaching about Sunday morning. I'm borrowing my theme from Mark Batterson's book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. My teaching is entitled Becoming a Lion Chaser. It's gonna be a good day.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Refresh!
Janelle and I returned home last evening from Refresh!, our Western Pennsylvania Ministries of the Church of God retreat for pastors and their spouses. We had a blessed time. Props to the organizers, Jodi Poorman (our worship leader); and Ken Wiedrick (our speaker) was phenomenal. We had four sessions together, and after the third I shook his hand and told him, "You've nailed my problem; now you have 60 minutes to solve it... but no pressure."
Whitehall Camp has been in the Church of God family since 1892 and is a magical place to those of us who have been connected with those grounds since our childhood. It was great to spend a couple days there being "refresh"ed with Janelle. The whole experience left me spiritually refreshed and physically tired -- the perfect combination.
Whitehall Camp has been in the Church of God family since 1892 and is a magical place to those of us who have been connected with those grounds since our childhood. It was great to spend a couple days there being "refresh"ed with Janelle. The whole experience left me spiritually refreshed and physically tired -- the perfect combination.
Friday, May 11, 2007
God's Anger and Ours (Day 129)
At the beginning of this year I made available to everyone in my congregation a Bible in 365 bookmark.
It is my strong conviction that believers should be reading the word. Recently Mark Batterson wrote, “When you open the Bible, God opens his mouth. When you close the Bible, God closes his mouth.” That entire post is well worth the 90 seconds it will take to read, and the 90 minutes (or more) it will take to digest.
Every couple weeks we have a gathering of Bible readers, called 365 Forum, who bring their observations and their questions over the previous readings, which we discuss, and then I share a short introduction into what’s coming. From time to time I also want to use my blog to share some thoughts from our daily readings.
In 2 Chronicles 28 King Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father and all around bad guy, repeatedly chooses to reject God in favor of Baal, even sacrificing his own son. His God-ordained multi-stage punishment, according to the Scriptures, was defeat at the hands of Aram with many prisoners taken to Damascus, followed by defeat to the Northern Kingdom. In one day Pekah’s army killed 120,000 of Judah’s fighting men. The Israelites took plunder and prisoners back to Samaria, where they were met by Oded the prophet. This is the only mention of Oded in the entire Bible. He admonished them, “Because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God (2 Chronicles 28:9-10)?” Oded was telling them that just because God was angry with Judah, that was not license for Israel to be abusive.
I was stung by the words of the prophet. How many times have I used God’s anger as an excuse to inappropriately express my own? That’s not to say that it was wrong for me to be angry but, like Israel, it’s easy for anger to slip into rage. In his insightful work The Prophets, Abraham Heschel writes: The prophets never thought that God’s anger is something that cannot be accounted for, unpredictable, irrational. It is never a spontaneous outburst, but a reaction occasioned by the conduct of man. Indeed, it is the major task of the prophet to set forth the facts that account for it, to insist that the anger of God is not a blind, explosive force, operating without reference to the behavior of man, but rather voluntary and purposeful, motivated by concern for right and wrong. [1] He goes on to say: There is no divine anger for anger’s sake. Its meaning is, as already said, instrumental: to bring about repentance; its purpose and consummation is its own disappearance. [2]
Read Paul’s charge in Romans 12:17-21. With the help of the Spirit, we are not to respond as our human natures urge, but to respond just the opposite. If someone has hurt us and is in need, even though we might be tempted to relish their position, we are told to reach out to them and relieve their pain.
Again, God’s measured, purposeful anger is never an excuse for our uncontrolled rage, which will result in, at the very least, our own need for repentance. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Ro. 12:21).
[1] Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 282.
[2] Ibid., 286.
It is my strong conviction that believers should be reading the word. Recently Mark Batterson wrote, “When you open the Bible, God opens his mouth. When you close the Bible, God closes his mouth.” That entire post is well worth the 90 seconds it will take to read, and the 90 minutes (or more) it will take to digest.Every couple weeks we have a gathering of Bible readers, called 365 Forum, who bring their observations and their questions over the previous readings, which we discuss, and then I share a short introduction into what’s coming. From time to time I also want to use my blog to share some thoughts from our daily readings.
In 2 Chronicles 28 King Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father and all around bad guy, repeatedly chooses to reject God in favor of Baal, even sacrificing his own son. His God-ordained multi-stage punishment, according to the Scriptures, was defeat at the hands of Aram with many prisoners taken to Damascus, followed by defeat to the Northern Kingdom. In one day Pekah’s army killed 120,000 of Judah’s fighting men. The Israelites took plunder and prisoners back to Samaria, where they were met by Oded the prophet. This is the only mention of Oded in the entire Bible. He admonished them, “Because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God (2 Chronicles 28:9-10)?” Oded was telling them that just because God was angry with Judah, that was not license for Israel to be abusive.
I was stung by the words of the prophet. How many times have I used God’s anger as an excuse to inappropriately express my own? That’s not to say that it was wrong for me to be angry but, like Israel, it’s easy for anger to slip into rage. In his insightful work The Prophets, Abraham Heschel writes: The prophets never thought that God’s anger is something that cannot be accounted for, unpredictable, irrational. It is never a spontaneous outburst, but a reaction occasioned by the conduct of man. Indeed, it is the major task of the prophet to set forth the facts that account for it, to insist that the anger of God is not a blind, explosive force, operating without reference to the behavior of man, but rather voluntary and purposeful, motivated by concern for right and wrong. [1] He goes on to say: There is no divine anger for anger’s sake. Its meaning is, as already said, instrumental: to bring about repentance; its purpose and consummation is its own disappearance. [2]
Read Paul’s charge in Romans 12:17-21. With the help of the Spirit, we are not to respond as our human natures urge, but to respond just the opposite. If someone has hurt us and is in need, even though we might be tempted to relish their position, we are told to reach out to them and relieve their pain.
Again, God’s measured, purposeful anger is never an excuse for our uncontrolled rage, which will result in, at the very least, our own need for repentance. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Ro. 12:21).
[1] Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 282.
[2] Ibid., 286.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Celebration
My sons in whom I am well pleased, Ben (right) and Will, honored me with a picture together following my hooding ceremony Friday evening May 4th.
This weekend a long awaited dream finally became reality. When I was seventeen I enrolled at Anderson College, our church's main educational institution. I studied sacred music, but left after my third year to marry Janelle, the joy of my life. I always intended to finish school, but got sidetracked with life, a career, and family. After five years as a paramedic, I answered the call into ministry, serving for fifteen years as a worship pastor, and then becoming a preaching pastor in 1999.
As a worship pastor I got by fine on musical ability, but when I started preaching on a regular basis, in order to preach the Word with integrity, I really felt the need for more education. The opportunity presented itself and I finished my BA through Warner Southern College's (another of our church's schools) Church Ministry Online Degree Program. By the time I finished my BA, Anderson (now) University was accredited to offer an online MTS (Master of Theological Studies) Degree. After six semesters finishing up my BA, I figured what's another five completing my Masters? Hey, the three years would have passed anyway, right? Celebrate with me my joy at completing my Masters Degree. 
I also want to honor the other members of my School of Theology cohort: Bob Highlands MTS 2007, April Lopez MTS 2007, Craig Haney, Ryan Shockey and John Sieg. Craig, Ryan and John could not take classes full time, but they will finish up soon.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Revival
Wow! God is doing some cool things in my life. I'm in a period of revival. Something I never really reflected on before this is that the times of revival in my life have always been birthed out of difficulty. Imagine that! Mountaintop experiences are great, but it's the valleys that motivate me to climb.
I just finished reading (actually re-reading) Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus. It's one of those deceptively simple little books that looks like a good read while waiting for your son to finish his guitar lesson, but in reality it runs over you like a freight train and leaves you wondering, "What hit me?"
Thank God for writers like Henri Nouwen, and for books.
In Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's Good Will Hunting, bad boy Will, played by Damon, expresses derision for some aristocrati mama's boys from Harvard. He remarks that the ivy league education, which cost them countless thousands of dollars and an investment of four plus years of their lives, he'd gotten for $2.50 worth of fines from the public library.
Friends, I'm so grateful that God has carried me through my Masters of Theological Studies degree program, especially after spending almost 20 years in ministry before even starting it. It's nice to have the formal education and the degree to go with the OJT. I graduate this weekend, but God is not finished educating me. People ask if I'm going for my doctorate, and props to anyone who goes that route (and by the way, big props to any kid who finishes high school and then goes right on to compete a 4-year degree -- I didn't have the determination or the discipline to finish back then, so I really honor those young adults who do have what it takes!). But, regarding the doctorate, I really don't think I have another degree in me right now. And even if I did, at my age I would never make the tuition costs back in salary, not that the personal satisfaction of completing a doctorate wouldn't be worth much in and of itself.
Whether I go on with school or not (this is really the wrong time to be making such a decision), I'm definitely not done learning. There are still a lot of good books out there.
I just finished reading (actually re-reading) Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus. It's one of those deceptively simple little books that looks like a good read while waiting for your son to finish his guitar lesson, but in reality it runs over you like a freight train and leaves you wondering, "What hit me?"
Thank God for writers like Henri Nouwen, and for books.
In Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's Good Will Hunting, bad boy Will, played by Damon, expresses derision for some aristocrati mama's boys from Harvard. He remarks that the ivy league education, which cost them countless thousands of dollars and an investment of four plus years of their lives, he'd gotten for $2.50 worth of fines from the public library.
Friends, I'm so grateful that God has carried me through my Masters of Theological Studies degree program, especially after spending almost 20 years in ministry before even starting it. It's nice to have the formal education and the degree to go with the OJT. I graduate this weekend, but God is not finished educating me. People ask if I'm going for my doctorate, and props to anyone who goes that route (and by the way, big props to any kid who finishes high school and then goes right on to compete a 4-year degree -- I didn't have the determination or the discipline to finish back then, so I really honor those young adults who do have what it takes!). But, regarding the doctorate, I really don't think I have another degree in me right now. And even if I did, at my age I would never make the tuition costs back in salary, not that the personal satisfaction of completing a doctorate wouldn't be worth much in and of itself.
Whether I go on with school or not (this is really the wrong time to be making such a decision), I'm definitely not done learning. There are still a lot of good books out there.
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