I'd like to hear from some people who attend church, and who don't attend a traditional worship service--both clergy and otherwise. My purpose is to get a feel for how your spirit leans on Sunday morning when you get up.
I just read a comment from an old college friend on my Facebook wall. He said something like, "I'm getting ready for a fantastic Sunday!"
Pastors, is that the way your spirit leans at seven on Sunday mornings? Please try and reflect here on how your prayers, your mood, your overall spirit feels on Sunday mornings. Hopeful? Excited? Fearful? How does your sermon play into this? How does the service prep effect this?
Attenders, could you answer the same questions? You probably don't have a sermon, or may not have done prep for the service; but how do your prayers, mood and overall spirit feel on Sunday mornings as you prepare yourself for worship.
And for those of you who don't go to worship service, perhaps preferring nothing, or a house church, or... How about you?
I'd appreciate readers letting some others know about this "pole." It would be interesting to see how several of you from all three categories weigh-in.
Peace to you.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Leaves Falling Like Snow
A walk in the woods with Mom. Fall air. The wind sounds like a rushing waterfall once the branches empty. It's power bending mighty oaks, and humming its way through the ridge top. Where leaves still cling, the gentler breezes sound like a chattering mountain stream, cascading through its stony course.
Yesterday, my mother and I took a walk through the forest. This is the week most leaves have chosen to loosen their grip, and submit to flight and then rest. We pause, my octogenarian hiking partner having just climbed more than a hundred feet in the last quarter mile; there is no audible breathing as she navigates tall root stair-steps up the last stretch. We pause, the wind holds its breath. We scan the deep valley we've exited, turning past the ridge top to see the one lying behind us as well--and before us in this journey.
We smile. Few words. And the leaves are gliding to the earth from high above. Multicolored reminders of fearless, beautiful surrender. We whisper of the coming snows, the inevitable surrender of this season to the next. And we hike on.
Life moves on, full of greening and falling. And I will forever treasure the living I have witnessed in my mother. Very little waterfall bluster, or mountain stream chatter. Exemplary greening and giving and sheltering. And as life has demanded, willing surrender in her selfless beauty. Always giving.
Thank you Mom.
Peace.
Yesterday, my mother and I took a walk through the forest. This is the week most leaves have chosen to loosen their grip, and submit to flight and then rest. We pause, my octogenarian hiking partner having just climbed more than a hundred feet in the last quarter mile; there is no audible breathing as she navigates tall root stair-steps up the last stretch. We pause, the wind holds its breath. We scan the deep valley we've exited, turning past the ridge top to see the one lying behind us as well--and before us in this journey.
We smile. Few words. And the leaves are gliding to the earth from high above. Multicolored reminders of fearless, beautiful surrender. We whisper of the coming snows, the inevitable surrender of this season to the next. And we hike on.
Life moves on, full of greening and falling. And I will forever treasure the living I have witnessed in my mother. Very little waterfall bluster, or mountain stream chatter. Exemplary greening and giving and sheltering. And as life has demanded, willing surrender in her selfless beauty. Always giving.
Thank you Mom.
Peace.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Some assistance please!
I'm going to write some housekeeping stuff here. I would truly love to hear from you on these things.
First, is the new format (white instead of blue) easier to look at? Harder to read? I need your votes.
Second, do you know of any good web masters? I'm planning an eventual addition to this blog--a website where I can keep the book up front, while still posting to to the blog.
Third, How can I make commenting easier? My traffic counter says the readership is growing, and there are a significant number of page views each day, with a better than average amount of time on those pages. The number of followers is growing, and I get regular communication from some of those reading the book or blog. (I've had visits from 7 different countries!) However, the commenting has slowed considerably. (One thing I've heard is that in order to comment, some have had to re-register with Google each time. Hmmm. Sorry. I don't get that, shouldn't be so. You need a user name--whatever you want--and a password.)
Finally, I am still struggling with a decision on how far to go with posting the book here. The goal is readership, which would ultimately be best served by publishing. And the theory is that I need at least a few hundred people who would buy the first edition of the book right away in order to defray at least a portion of the losses I'd have from the initial printing.
One author puts his entire manuscript out there, as I have only in part, and lets it sink or swim. If people like it, he figures they'll pay to purchase it.
(Some have flatly asked: "Why do you want this book to be read?" I feel the book challenges us at some core places, and I've already heard from multiple pastors who have implemented new family priorities, recommitted to their spiritual life, or delegated much of their administration. It is so encouraging to hear of these positive changes.)
It has become obvious that people visit this site for the chapters of the book, with fewer visiting to read the regular posts. That is gratifying, but difficult. I can't continue to post things like "First Seven Chapters," without the obvious redundancy. Suggestions?
Finally, ANY suggestions you have for me would be welcomed.
O well. This has been a fun exercise and gives me a chance to write for more than my journal. Thanks for your presence here.
Peace.
david
First, is the new format (white instead of blue) easier to look at? Harder to read? I need your votes.
Second, do you know of any good web masters? I'm planning an eventual addition to this blog--a website where I can keep the book up front, while still posting to to the blog.
Third, How can I make commenting easier? My traffic counter says the readership is growing, and there are a significant number of page views each day, with a better than average amount of time on those pages. The number of followers is growing, and I get regular communication from some of those reading the book or blog. (I've had visits from 7 different countries!) However, the commenting has slowed considerably. (One thing I've heard is that in order to comment, some have had to re-register with Google each time. Hmmm. Sorry. I don't get that, shouldn't be so. You need a user name--whatever you want--and a password.)
Finally, I am still struggling with a decision on how far to go with posting the book here. The goal is readership, which would ultimately be best served by publishing. And the theory is that I need at least a few hundred people who would buy the first edition of the book right away in order to defray at least a portion of the losses I'd have from the initial printing.
One author puts his entire manuscript out there, as I have only in part, and lets it sink or swim. If people like it, he figures they'll pay to purchase it.
(Some have flatly asked: "Why do you want this book to be read?" I feel the book challenges us at some core places, and I've already heard from multiple pastors who have implemented new family priorities, recommitted to their spiritual life, or delegated much of their administration. It is so encouraging to hear of these positive changes.)
It has become obvious that people visit this site for the chapters of the book, with fewer visiting to read the regular posts. That is gratifying, but difficult. I can't continue to post things like "First Seven Chapters," without the obvious redundancy. Suggestions?
Finally, ANY suggestions you have for me would be welcomed.
O well. This has been a fun exercise and gives me a chance to write for more than my journal. Thanks for your presence here.
Peace.
david
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Some words out of nowhere...
I don't know that I'm a "morning person," or not. But when the time changed last weekend, it seemed like a great chance to hold onto my getting-up time, and maybe cash it in for the day an hour earlier than usual. And so the first few mornings of the week have been extraordinary.
The house is quiet. I can read and refocus, and there is not a peep to be heard. No one is at Facebook, and the chatter from the evening before seems less important after it has slept for the night.
And now is my chance. If anyone is going to listen to me this weekend, or anytime before then for that matter, I need to be listening. And so I read my daily dose of five Psalms, then spend some time in the New Testament, and then------it happens. Like a magnet to the left of my reading chair, my Sunday text begins to beckon from the laptop. Emails waiting for attention scream from a still blackened screen. And there is my ritual of running through the news, Facebook, Google Analytics, and checking in at the blog to see who has left a clue of their visit. (This AM, one new person had become a "follower," and another wrote on Facebook that they were enjoying the blog...and I feel another day of existence is justified for one such as myself.)
Do you ever get on with it before getting up to date with LIFE? Maybe, if you are a pastor or Christian leader, you can relate. Maybe, a healthy dose of step-aways would change a great deal for us---diminish the number of runaways. Can one burn-out when standing in such Light?
So I'm writing my blog for the day...speaking before listening much. Forgive me. It's 6:30, I've been up for more than an hour, and I have done many pressing things already. But I need to darken the screen, and seek some light.
Peace to you...
The house is quiet. I can read and refocus, and there is not a peep to be heard. No one is at Facebook, and the chatter from the evening before seems less important after it has slept for the night.
And now is my chance. If anyone is going to listen to me this weekend, or anytime before then for that matter, I need to be listening. And so I read my daily dose of five Psalms, then spend some time in the New Testament, and then------it happens. Like a magnet to the left of my reading chair, my Sunday text begins to beckon from the laptop. Emails waiting for attention scream from a still blackened screen. And there is my ritual of running through the news, Facebook, Google Analytics, and checking in at the blog to see who has left a clue of their visit. (This AM, one new person had become a "follower," and another wrote on Facebook that they were enjoying the blog...and I feel another day of existence is justified for one such as myself.)
Do you ever get on with it before getting up to date with LIFE? Maybe, if you are a pastor or Christian leader, you can relate. Maybe, a healthy dose of step-aways would change a great deal for us---diminish the number of runaways. Can one burn-out when standing in such Light?
So I'm writing my blog for the day...speaking before listening much. Forgive me. It's 6:30, I've been up for more than an hour, and I have done many pressing things already. But I need to darken the screen, and seek some light.
Peace to you...
Monday, November 3, 2008
Lost in the Glare of the Mighty One
Sometimes I glide into the church parking lot on Sunday mornings thinking the primary task of the morning is to deliver a sparkling, inspiring, exegetically precise, and edge of your seat narrative-styled sermon. I've studied, researched, plotted and charted and come away with the perfect delivery method. I feel ready to come in for a landing--straight into the hearts and imaginations of a waiting congregation.
And then wake-up calls catch me in the lobby. On a day like yesterday I hear for the first time of a son on meth, a sister-in-law with cancer, a daughter-in-law with cancer, a 7 year old with cancer, a teenage daughter who has moved in with a boyfriend, a weeping woman struggling to do what is right when it is so hard, a dear friend--now living in a nursing facility tell me he's hanging in there, a woman with a recurring tumor who is now facing another round of expensive surgeries, and a man who's defibrillator saved him, and he seems a bit shook.
Only moments later, Psalm 107 stormed into our service. I had already cut the 43 verses down to a tidy 9, when I recognized the robbery I was preparing in the form of a responsive reading. Who says worshipers can't focus through 43 verses--two full pages of a Psalm? And so we read them, hearing of the plights we get ourselves into, and the repeating "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble," and with a crescendo declared in unison: "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love..."
And together, a room full of people confess the mighty deliverance of our Lord. We are reminded to "cry out to the Lord." And at the end, all proceed to the front of the room--clutching their cares and towing their brokenness--and take the broken bread, dipping it into the cup. To Life! La Chaim!
Afterward, we file out; hugging, holding hands, sharing tears, facing fears and bearing the cancers and heartbreaks and one another out of the room. We have weak shoulders. We can't carry these things alone. But we share One Heart, a given one. And that is everything.
Slipping back into the car, I realized my sermon was far from spectacular. Perhaps that was because I left much of it out--at least a couple hours worth of study time--dumped in the shadow of something brighter. It got lost in the glare of the Mighty One. And I'll settle for that any day.
And then wake-up calls catch me in the lobby. On a day like yesterday I hear for the first time of a son on meth, a sister-in-law with cancer, a daughter-in-law with cancer, a 7 year old with cancer, a teenage daughter who has moved in with a boyfriend, a weeping woman struggling to do what is right when it is so hard, a dear friend--now living in a nursing facility tell me he's hanging in there, a woman with a recurring tumor who is now facing another round of expensive surgeries, and a man who's defibrillator saved him, and he seems a bit shook.
Only moments later, Psalm 107 stormed into our service. I had already cut the 43 verses down to a tidy 9, when I recognized the robbery I was preparing in the form of a responsive reading. Who says worshipers can't focus through 43 verses--two full pages of a Psalm? And so we read them, hearing of the plights we get ourselves into, and the repeating "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble," and with a crescendo declared in unison: "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love..."
And together, a room full of people confess the mighty deliverance of our Lord. We are reminded to "cry out to the Lord." And at the end, all proceed to the front of the room--clutching their cares and towing their brokenness--and take the broken bread, dipping it into the cup. To Life! La Chaim!
Afterward, we file out; hugging, holding hands, sharing tears, facing fears and bearing the cancers and heartbreaks and one another out of the room. We have weak shoulders. We can't carry these things alone. But we share One Heart, a given one. And that is everything.
Slipping back into the car, I realized my sermon was far from spectacular. Perhaps that was because I left much of it out--at least a couple hours worth of study time--dumped in the shadow of something brighter. It got lost in the glare of the Mighty One. And I'll settle for that any day.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
First Seven Chapters, and feedback.
One of the most gratifying aspects of putting The Runaway Pastor out here, is all of the comments and communications I've received. It's amazing.
(Once again, here is the link for the first seven chapters:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhdr3wvs_9cdf4g7cb)
One way this has happened is by getting an email, or telephone or Facebook communication from someone telling me they are reading the book...following it right here at this blog.
Another amazing thing has been the range of readers. It's a cool thing to look at your blog "Followers" list, and see it grow, especially when the people there are complete strangers.
And then when friends I haven't seen or spoken to for a decade or so, come on board and tell me they are intrigued, it's just flat-out fun.
And talk about fun, it is kind of unbelievable to go to my web counter service, and see that 10, 20, 30 or more people went to the site the day before, and to see the percentage of those who were first time visitors.
Why does this mean so much to me? I believe the message of the book--in its entirety--is important. As you read on, you will learn a lot about Trent's hopes and fears for the church...and I believe they reflect a major portion of our society. The church is changing, and Trent's actions are a symptom--not of the end of the Church, but of a renewal. And that birthing, as with all birthings, involves pain. However, I want to emphasize that Christ's Church is not in trouble. It is only changing.
Once again, my plan is to develop a following for this book, in order to get it published. Christian authors and publishers are telling me that here, on the internet, is the place to gather a market for a book. So if you are interested in what is happening here, tell your friends, and I need your continued feedback via: Email, Comments to posts at this blog, and more people becoming "followers." (It is also helpful when you set up the RSS feed, so that you are notified when there is something new here.)
Some of you are asking just how much of this novel I plan to put up on line for free. I don't know. I do know that once I can be certain of a few hundred copies being ordered, I can proceed with a first edition, and not lose so much in the process. So I'm told this process takes time, but that it will indeed grow if there is a legitimate interest. Either way, I'm OK.
Peace.
(Once again, here is the link for the first seven chapters:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhdr3wvs_9cdf4g7cb)
One way this has happened is by getting an email, or telephone or Facebook communication from someone telling me they are reading the book...following it right here at this blog.
Another amazing thing has been the range of readers. It's a cool thing to look at your blog "Followers" list, and see it grow, especially when the people there are complete strangers.
And then when friends I haven't seen or spoken to for a decade or so, come on board and tell me they are intrigued, it's just flat-out fun.
And talk about fun, it is kind of unbelievable to go to my web counter service, and see that 10, 20, 30 or more people went to the site the day before, and to see the percentage of those who were first time visitors.
Why does this mean so much to me? I believe the message of the book--in its entirety--is important. As you read on, you will learn a lot about Trent's hopes and fears for the church...and I believe they reflect a major portion of our society. The church is changing, and Trent's actions are a symptom--not of the end of the Church, but of a renewal. And that birthing, as with all birthings, involves pain. However, I want to emphasize that Christ's Church is not in trouble. It is only changing.
Once again, my plan is to develop a following for this book, in order to get it published. Christian authors and publishers are telling me that here, on the internet, is the place to gather a market for a book. So if you are interested in what is happening here, tell your friends, and I need your continued feedback via: Email, Comments to posts at this blog, and more people becoming "followers." (It is also helpful when you set up the RSS feed, so that you are notified when there is something new here.)
Some of you are asking just how much of this novel I plan to put up on line for free. I don't know. I do know that once I can be certain of a few hundred copies being ordered, I can proceed with a first edition, and not lose so much in the process. So I'm told this process takes time, but that it will indeed grow if there is a legitimate interest. Either way, I'm OK.
Peace.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Diminished doom and grins replace whining.
Last evening at our church's Trunk R Treat was a great time. I had my discussion with my friend who had the bone to pick. Wow, let me emphasize friend. "Bone to pick with you meetings" can really jaundice a great friendship, and the dread, or sense of doom can overshadow deeper truth: That we are one in Christ. And so, we sat and spoke about our disagreement over how I am handling the situation, next to a fire, smiling and being kind. And a child came to us with s'mores. I suppose to that child we looked like the friends we are, rather than an argument.
As I walked across the parking lot, between goblins and princesses, I also noticed the wager of email-war I mentioned yesterday--loving on the people around her, and being the incredible person she is.
Weaknesses. A commonality in the body of Christ. All of us broken and picked-back-up. All of us with passions that sometimes get in the way of our kingdom family ties. But after it all--I'm trying to remember--the next time Doom comes to call, it is probably exaggerating its own power. And the Mighty One has won another skirmish in my spirit.
As I walked across the parking lot, between goblins and princesses, I also noticed the wager of email-war I mentioned yesterday--loving on the people around her, and being the incredible person she is.
Weaknesses. A commonality in the body of Christ. All of us broken and picked-back-up. All of us with passions that sometimes get in the way of our kingdom family ties. But after it all--I'm trying to remember--the next time Doom comes to call, it is probably exaggerating its own power. And the Mighty One has won another skirmish in my spirit.
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