Living Inbetween

Beth and I are living an in-between life. On Friday she interviewed for a new job, but she won't hear anything until next week. Tomorrow we go for our first interview at NUMC for the youth min position, but that's far from completion. In the midst of these two, we're starting to look at new places to live, but we can't make any decisions until we know what jobs we have and how much they pay. I'm supposed to schedule my fall classes tomorrow, but I can't really nail down a schedule until I know where I'm working. We're living in-between, knowing that we're leaving where we are (probably), but not quite sure when or where we're going. Needless to say, this life is fairly stressful and adds a fair amount of anxiety to our lives. Beth and I are working very hard to hold these two positions with open hands, but it's hard, very, very hard. In the midst of all of this, I'm blown away by the faith of Abraham. I can't imagine how he might feel as he headed toward the place that he didn't know where he was going or when he was going to get there. I can't imagine the kind of faith that it takes to stand in the midst of not knowing where one is going or when you might get there. I'm in awe of faith that takes us to places that we don't know. I'm learning that faith...far, far away, but learning. I'm learning that patience is not as much fun as one might think. I'm learning that faith is more than what gets you through the tough times...faith gets us through the blurry, unknown times. I'm hoping that I can have faith like Abraham...and I'm hoping that I might know where I'm headed soon, too.

Seminary Street Cred

I've come to the conclusion that I when I'm a seminary president (yeah right) I'm going to institute a class to help prospective pastors gain street cred, as I realized today that I have very little. I headed to work this morning and found out that I was working with Gary. Gary is a good ole' Kentucky boy...he's been working at the seminary phys plant for almost 20 years. I'm sure that Gary sees me coming and thinks to himself "Here comes the useless guy again." You see, Gary has been witness to several of my work-related failures (the time I set the yard on fire, the time I ran over a lightpole with the lawnmower, the time I couldn't figure out the right way to get the hitch off the tractor and it turned out that I was tightening it instead of loosening it...you get the picture) and although Gary is a really nice guy, I'm sure that he thinks that I'm just another worthless pastor type. This is way I think that seminaries should offer classes to increase our street cred with people like Gary. See, I can talk about the Greek use of the word phroneo in Philippians or I can identify the the use of parallelism in Matthew's gospel, but that means very little to Gary. Over the past few weeks I've heard it said "I need a pastor who isn't weird" and I've been told "Ministry is about relationships." I'll revise that a little bit...Ministry is about being credible in the eyes of those you minister to so you aren't viewed as weird and so that a relationship can be established. Ministry is about having street cred with the people that you minister to, which is why I think that seminaries should offer classes on how to fix cars or build things or knit and crochet...Things that you can do to build street cred with those you minister to. Sometimes I wonder about how I'll ever have street cred with the people that I'm going to minister with in Western PA. Thankfully, I'm a diehard Pennsylvania sports fan, and anyone who lives in Western PA has to love the Steelers, but other than that, I'm stuck. What happens if I get appointed to East Podunk, PA with people who could care less what I know about theology, people who love country music (I listen to jazz and random, ecletic pop rock), people who hunt (something that I've never done well), people who work on cars and know everything about the Camaro (I can tell you about the 1915 Pittsburgh Pirates, but nothing about cars), people who play country guitar (I play the tuba and I'm a classically trained high-tenor). I need some street cred, and I need to learn that soon. At some level, I realize that loving people makes up for a lack of street cred. I just hope that it's enough.

Watertowers and the Church

This weekend Beth and I made a suicide trip from Kentucky to her home in NY state to celebrate her dad's 50th birthday, meet her brother's fiancee and her sister's new boyfriend. It's been somewhat of a whirlwind, long weekend...BUT...I was struck as we were driving up I-75 by the number of watertowers in Kentucky. They're everywhere...all along the road, you see watertowers, big and small, with the municipalities named scrawled across the tower. Some are simple, saying things like "Jessamine County North," while others attempt to be flashy watertowers, saying things like "Florence Y'all!" Being a Northeasterner, watertowers are not a part of the landscape that I'm used to, but I'm always struck by the importance they play in their respective communities. They show where a community is located, and I always know that I'm almost home when I see the Jessamine County tower. They provide life-giving resources to a community. They're really important, but if you didn't know what they are, you'd never know what you're dealing with. More than that, though, they often become part of the landscape, blending into the countryside without even a notice. But, what do they have to do with the church?
I believe that our churches need to be more like watertowers. I believe that our churches need to be the symbol of a community, directing people and showing people the way home. I believe that our churches need to be careful to be places that gush with the life-giving Gospel. Too often I think our churches become stagnant, holding onto the power we possess, unwilling to share it with those who are outside our community. We bring people in, but we never send them back out to provide resources to the community. Too often, though, we simply stand as a part of the community landscape, doing nothing to show people that we actually have something to offer. We need to be watertowers that stand out, marking our community and offering water to those are thirsty for the things of God.