Tag Archives: pastor

Pastorshaming

17 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by in Church Life, Current Events, Pop, Religion, Social Justice

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_9190

We’ve all heard it and seen it: “If your pastor doesn’t preach on (fill in the blank), then walk out.”

Undoubtedly, people who are posting such statements have never served a church with truly different perspectives.

I’ve personally only had experience being a pastor in churches where there are people to the far right and far left and everywhere in between.

So while my message may be focused on hot topics of the day, I have to say things in a way that as many people as possible will listen to the message- because if I seem like I am siding with one perspective, then some people will close their minds and hearts to my sermon and to where God may be directing all of us.

And the message will not reach the people who have not yet heard it from another angle – especially if the news they watch are biased towards the other perspective.

Yes, it is our calling to be prophetic as well as pastoral. It’s our call to love all of the people in our pews. We can’t completely shy away from the subject, but we must speak words that will be considered. We must evaluate the time and space in which our message will be delivered.

So friends who are prophetic and shaming your fellow pastors into mandatory preaching on subjects: please stop it. Please stop putting extra pressure on colleagues. We are all trying our best in our unique contexts. Additionally, we must preach according to the Spirit’s call – not from the pressure of our clergy colleagues.

And to friends reading this who may disagree with your pastor- please give them a break. They are trying to be faithful to the Gospel. They are trying to share the Good News. And it may sound the opposite to what your favorite politicians may be saying. This is not the time to automatically side with your favorite politicians. This is the time to engage in discussions and dialogues on why people believe what they believe. This is a tough time to be in the pulpit because. Please extend grace to your pastors and one another.

To my fellow pastors who serve diverse-perspective churches: let’s keep working together to scatter the seeds whenever possible. We are called to preach the Gospel, and it’s tough. So let’s work together to lift one another up.

If your pastor doesn’t preach on (fill in the blank) this week, have a conversation with him or her. Please do not leave. This is a crucial time for us to dialogue our way through the wilderness.

Liturgy for a Final Sunday

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by in Liturgy, Pop, Prayers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

IMG_8649.JPG

For my last Sunday at St. Paul UCC, Old Blue Rock, Cincinnati, I wrote this service which includes a communion liturgy. Please feel free to use with attribution!

CALL TO WORSHIP
One: ​As the trees release their spring flowers and welcome ​summer’s deep green leaves,
Many: ​God’s spirit accompanies us.
One: ​As each season passes their baton forward and years ​speed by in a flash,
Many: ​God’s Spirit strengthens us.
One: ​As we welcome new faces and bid farewell to others,
Many: ​God’s Spirit fills us with peace.

OPENING PRAYER (unison)
All:​God of questions and answers, of mystery and clarity, we grasp onto your presence today. In this time and space, we celebrate the crossing of thresholds. Here and now We express our gratitude that you abide with us in our laughter and tears. Saturate our souls with strength. Open our spirits to understand that all will be well in our seasons of change. Amen.

PRAYER OF RECONCILIATION
One:​Holy one, we enter this space today knowing that the winds of ​change are entering this sanctuary. The doors have opened to the ​Spirit’s surprises. But before we look towards a new chapter, we ​must conclude our current one.

All: ​God and Neighbor, we come to you today knowing that we ​must move towards a new future. In this space, we ​acknowledge that our hopes and dreams occasionally fell short, ​and we let one another down. Before we close our doors, may ​we extend grace to one another. May we know that we will ​always be part of the vine and branches, and that our love for ​one another extends throughout eternity. Amen.

Silent Prayer

ASSURANCE OF GRACE
One: ​God understands our human hearts. God extends grace ​continuously, and God delights when we pass that grace ​and mercy along to one another. Let us celebrate that ​even in our most human moments, we hold the image of ​God within us. May peace abide.
All: ​Amen!

INVITATION TO OFFERING
One: ​In both seasons of stability and change, God gives us the tools we ​need to serve this congregation, the Church, and the community. ​In recognition of our talents, time, and treasures, we give back to ​God in a spirit of gratitude. Let us celebrate all that has been and ​all that will be in this congregation by sharing our gifts.

UNISON PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Here and now, God, we express our joy for the gifts you’ve delivered to us and for the talents you’ve bestowed upon us. May each gift that we’ve been given as individuals and as a congregation be used to shine the light of Christ into the world. Amen.

SERVICE OF COMMUNION
One: Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a season for everything.
Seasons for planting and reaping
Seasons for mourning and dancing
Seasons for losing and seeking.

Today, at this table, we embrace the intersection of two seasons:
The season of welcoming and the season of bidding farewell.

We welcome new faces to the table of Christ knowing that all are
welcome to this time and space as Jesus the Christ crafted a table set
for all.

This table also represents a time of farewell- of the departure of faces
from this space. Yet as we reach for the bread and cup, even with
droplets of sadness in our hearts, we understand that the table forever
unites us for eternity.

May the Spirit of God surround these elements as the Spirit surrounds
us in our seasons of change. May the Spirit guide us in our ministries
and service. May the Spirit bless us as we mourn and dance, lose and
seek, plant and reap.

On the night before Jesus’ departure, Jesus gathered his friends one last
time for a meal like no other. As he took the bread he blessed and broke
it.
“Remember me” he said and passed the loaf to his friends.

On the night before Jesus’ departure, as the friends gathered one last
time for this meal which extends beyond time and space, Jesus took a
cup filled with the fruit of the vine.
“Remember me” he said and passed the cup to his friends.

A first meal. A last meal. A meal like no other.
This gift from the Christ connects us for eternity.
And through our time together today we are forever part of this Table.

UNISON PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
God, your love crafted the table at which we feasted today. Your love
connects us whether we are nearby or miles apart. Through your
love, we grow closer to you and our neighbor. May the bread and cup refresh our souls and renew our relationships, and may we know that we are part of this table for eternity. Amen.

BENEDICTION
One: ​​As we depart today, may we know that through Jesus the ​Christ we are eternally siblings in faith. May we go ​forward in love, may the memories of joy abide with us ​forever, and may we celebrate our shared time on life’s ​journey: Forever connected. Forever loved. Forever part ​of the Body of Christ.
All: ​Amen.

A Post-Synod Prayer

06 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by in Church Life, Pop

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

IMG_2166.JPG

God who fits into the spaces that seem too small to exist,
The demon of exhaustion has embedded into my soul after the past week.
What a gathering of our denomination with its highs and lows!
Gathering information. And more information. Wrestling with your call, Dear Holy.
Knowing that we all have so much work to do.

Now we are home.
Now we resume everyday life.
Now we try to infuse the ideal into the normal,
To marry the theoretical and practical-
If that is possible.

God of all connections and spaces,
I miss my friends,
My support, my kin.
Like the disciples, we have scattered across the miles-
From California to Connecticut and beyond.

So here in the silence of everyday life,
I give thanks for the extraordinary days,
The exciting conversations,
The laughs that lasted for hours,
And the friendships that will last forever.
Amen.

Advent Prayer Day 12: A Prayer for the Tired Pastors

08 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by in Church Life, Pop, Religion

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

tiredGod from whom all energy flows,
Our bodies crawl from dawn to dusk
From one visit to another,
From one meeting to the next,
From one worship service to the following one,
From one duty until our list is complete.

(It’s never complete.)

We know our help comes from you.
And our strength and courage are bestowed upon us by you.
Yet, our stamina wavers
And we wonder where you are.

Grant that our tired bodies
And even-more-exhausted souls
Find their refreshment in sleep, in recreation,  and in times of fellowship.

May we learn to prioritize what is needed
And let us find the grace we need when certain tasks remain incomplete.

May our spouses and partners and parents and children understand our frenzy.
May our friends continue to invite us to parties even thou we’ve turned them down four times before.

May our bodies remain strong,
May the flus and infections stay far away,
May additional unforeseen tasks that may pop up wait until January,
And may we see the Christ around us even when our eyes are focused elsewhere.

Amen.

Coveting Thy Neighboring Pastor’s Church

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Current Events, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Clergy: when was the last time you thought to yourself, “If only I could be more like Pastor B or Pastor S? Then I’d have more members/greater attendance/higher giving levels/etc.” For many of us, I can imagine this has crossed our minds at some point in the recent future.

Hmmm… Wouldn’t this be considered coveting?

Re-reading the Ten Commandments reminds us of the taboo of coveting. Exodus 20:17 states “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Granted, we don’t covet many donkeys these days. Yes, some people covet their neighbor’s spouse or significant other (think Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl”). Otherwise, coveting is still part of our culture and who we are. Coveting is competition and to be and have the best. Our advertising driven culture feeds on our tendency to covet. We want bigger houses, fancier cars and the most up-to-date electronic toys. We can’t keep up with the Joneses. We become depressed as we see our lives aren’t in the exact place we planned five or ten years earlier.

And, for those of us who are clergy, coveting begins to bubble within us when we see the success of our fellow pastors.

Coveting in any part of our lives can lead us away from being present in this very moment. It can distract us from the call of God.

What if we realize that we are called to this place for this time and embrace the satisfaction with our current pastorates? What if we took some time to remember that it is God who calls us and that quantitative success isn’t everything? I’m sure this is difficult for some. (NOTE: I’m not advocating for pastors who are being abused in their current setting to remain in their position. No one deserves to feel abused in any situation.)

Clergy friends and church leaders – maybe all of us are called to create some new commandments for ourselves. This is not to clarify us as “sinners,” but to break old patterns of unhealthy thinking.

10 Commandments of Pastoral Coveting
1. I shall not covet another pastor’s church size or worship attendance.
2. I shall not covet another pastor’s gifts and creativity.
3. I shall not covet another pastor’s energy levels.
4. I shall not covet another pastor’s ability to bring in new members or visitors.
5. I shall not covet another pastor’s successful attempts at leading their churches to such-and-such status (i.e. Open and Affirming, Just Peace).
6. I shall not covet another pastor’s compensation package.
7. I shall not covet another church’s location.
8. I shall not covet the number of volunteers my neighbor’s church has.
9. I shall not covet another church’s programs.
10. I shall not covet the size of another church’s youth program or Sunday School.

Reasons why churches grow or programs succeed is more than just the pastor who inspires or creates them. Sometimes it has to do with the location of the church or the context of your community.

Furthermore, chances are there’s another pastor out there who covets what you have. But none of us are perfect. None of us were bestowed every single gift. That’s not how it works. That’s not how God created humans and, specifically, clergy. We are not messiahs of churches nor are we fully to blame for failed programs. We are only asked to try out best and love others the way we want to be loved.

May we find ways to work together instead of working in competition with one another. The more we encourage each other in acknowledging our gifts and cheer each other on as we grow from our mistakes, the stronger we can create God’s kingdom.

Happy Pastor Appreciation Month to all clergy!

Go On … We all need our communities

07 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by in Television

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Since the beginning of the new television season this Fall, I’ve been watching the show Go On.  Ryan King (played by Matthew Perry) is a sports radio commentator  and is in the peak of his grief over the death of his wife.  Because of an outburst as a result of grief, he is ordered to go into counseling.

Enter the support group.  Each member of the group is quirky.  While Ryan tries to resist the help at first, he becomes part of this community as they struggle together through their mourning.  From his presence, some begin to speak about their grief.  The diverse and quirky group of grievers become closer and lean more on one another.

Their fearless leader, Lauren, seems as if she has it together.  But even her quirks seep through the cracks as she sits with her community.

This week’s episode “Do You Believe In Ghosts…Yes!” pointed to one of her faults.  While she doesn’t want to lean on the group for her problems, being within a community, they find out that she has test anxiety and can’t pass her real estate exam.  Her group values her presence and wants her to succeed.  They work with her to pass the test, and, yes, even sit with her during the exam.

In many cases, as pastors and other types of leaders, we are required to facilitate a one way support system.  Because of our boundaries, we don’t lean on others (and ethically know it’s not our place to be their burden).  Yet, being in community and being human, boundaries don’t always have perfect edges.  Our quirks will rise.  Our problems will occasionally become transparent.  While we work hard to keep boundaries, we are human, they are human, and humans need humans to thrive.  God didn’t create pastors to be robots.  Sometimes our humanness seeps through.  And sometimes it is us pastors who need prayers from those for whom we often pray.

Even Jesus needed his community.  As he prayed in the garden the night before his death, he needed his buddies around him.  During those painful moments, he needed the love, energy and support of his followers to survive.

The greatest isn’t the greatest alone.  Leaders aren’t leaders in a box.  We all need each other.  Yes, we can keep boundaries and be their support system.  But because God is relational, and we are made in God’s image, we are relational too.

In this Go On episode, Ryan comments:

“Something magic about a great team.  Jordan needed Pippen… Never won without him.  Labron never won before Dwayne Wade.  Some people got game they never knew they had before the right person came along and made them step it up and just be better.  Sure you can be like Kobe – send away Shaq, Bill Jackson – think you can do it yourself… but… don’t be a hero.  Take the help.”

As the support group sits with their leader during her exam, Ryan says to her “You are great with us around you.  Be great.”  Watching this show as a pastor, I see how the love of my community makes me a better pastor.  I thank God for that love.