Presby-Musings

Whenever I start to take myself too seriously, all I need is to go into my office at the church I serve and take a look around at all of the art and artifacts I've amassed over the years, particularly the slightly irreverent ones.    I rather enjoy all the humorous Jesus pieces I've collected, like my Jesus bobbleheads, action figures, and funny art.  I have a notion that Jesus approves of these kinds of things, and they help keep my head from getting too big.   There's a way to be serious about your faith without becoming too  serious, if that makes sense.  There has to be some joy and laughter in our journey with Jesus, otherwise why would anyone in their right mind want to join us? Theologian and author G.K. Chesterton once quipped: “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” I feel that far too many of us carry life too tightly clenched in our hands. We overanalyze mistakes. We replay awkward conversations. We place enormous pressure on...

  Recently, my fiancé and I did some shopping for things we needed to move her from St. Louis to Austin.  On a whim, we decided to stop at a massive thrift store that had just opened up in the shopping center where we happened to be.  To our surprise, we found some things that we'd been talking about getting to make our Austin house more homey, including some artwork that delighted us.  There were two things that contributed to our feeling of delight: that we were getting a bargain and that we could both visualize the artwork in our new place.   As I thought about that moment, I started thinking more deeply about all the ways that delight can shape our lives, our outlook and even our spiritual growth.   Delight is often an underrated emotion.  It's unexpected, joyful, and fulfilling all at once.  But I feel like most of us have a hard time allowing ourselves to experience it.   The theologian and mystic, Thomas Merton, once wro...

This week, I decided to spend some time reflecting on joy in the Daily Devos.  God knows, we could all use some joy in our lives.    I'm writing this now after spending about half an hour perusing the headlines about what's making the news, and finding nothing that seemed optimistic, joyful, or the least bit encouraging.   It's easy to start thinking that the world is going to end at any moment. There's no shortage of outrage-inducing things happening around us, and the more that we read, watch or engage with this kind of negativity, the more the algorithms make sure we see more of it.   I read this quote recently from C.S. Lewis that made me smile, and I thought it deserved sharing:  “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” Let me unpack this a bit and reflect on why I think this quote is so important for us to think about, given our current circumstances. You see, fear has a way of shrinking our lives. It tells us to brace ourselves constantly...

I used to pride myself on being a "hard laugh" kind of person.  Someone who claims to be a "hard laugh" has the idea that something has to be truly funny before they make what comedian Pete Holmes calls their "joy noise."    I would say things like, "That movie made me laugh, and I'm a hard laugh, you know."  Or I would watch videos on YouTube and Instagram that would reduce my kids to tears as they laughed at them, and I wouldn't crack a smile.  Pete Holmes did a comedy bit years ago that made me realize how ridiculous I was being.  In the bit, he literally quoted my line about laughing at a movie, and being a "hard laugh" guy, and then went on to say: "Work on that. What are you? Nosferatu?  Let some sunlight into your soul."  That really hit home for me.  I realized that we need more, not less, joy in our lives right about now.  There's so much in the world around us to drive us to worry, anger, and even despair...

Today's Daily Devo is drawn from a devotion I originally wrote nearly nine years ago.  I decided to reflect on it, update it, and then share it.  I hope that you all have a meaningful Memorial Day.  When I was a kid, my family would often travel on Memorial Day to the small community of Seibert, Colorado, where my dad grew up. In a quiet cemetery on the outskirts of town, we would visit the graves of my dad’s grandparents and those of close friends and relatives. I remember walking among the stones, reading names and dates, and noticing the small American flags placed beside the graves of those who had served in the military. When my grandfather died when I was ten, those trips took on new meaning. My grandmother would refresh the flowers on his grave, and we would stand quietly while she did—each of us remembering in our own way, carrying our own thoughts and stories. Years later, I officiated at my grandmother’s funeral and returned to that cemetery as an adult. I re...

Recently, I went out for drinks and dinner with a friend.  It had been a long time coming, but our schedules had to align, and when they did, we jumped at it.   My friend got wind of a great restaurant on South Congress that was going to be closing soon, and we decided to go there on account of the great food, and the amazing patio where we could people watch.  He and I had a fabulous time, and the food was perfection.  We spent way more time there than we anticipated, but the evening flew by with great food, drinks, and awesome conversation.  At one point, I thought to myself, "I completely get why Jesus' ministry took place around tables so much."   I recently saw a quote by the great Julia Childs that goes something like this:  “People who love to eat are always the best people.” How can you not love that quote? If you read it slowly, you can almost hear Childs' unmistakable voice saying it.    Throughout Scripture, some of the ...

How many times a day do we encounter people in need, and we simply overlook them?  I know that I do more often than I'd like to admit.   It's easy to do because we're often in a rush to get from one place to another.  Even when we do see someone who needs our help or attention, we quickly calculate that we don't have time for an encounter with them and move on.  I was pumping gas into my car the other day, and heard a commotion inside the gas station.  Apparently, a man wth obvious mental health issues was arguing with the clerk, who had thrown him out of the station for trying to steal a bottle of water.   The guy filling his car up next to me called out to the man as he walked away agtated and talking to himself.  "Do you need water?" He asked him, and the man approached him.  "Here you go, I  got some for you."  He handed over a water bottle to the agitated man, who took it with trembling hands, and then walked away.  W...

Years ago, I attended a short, intimate two-day workshop led by author and speaker Rob Bell, whom I admire very much.    At one point over the weekend, he was talking to us about theological reflection on the ordinary and mundane things we do in our daily lives.  His point was that holiness was all around us; we just had to be aware of it.   Bell told a story about how he'd had one of those moments after buying groceries, and examining his receipt.  He said that he was suddenly struck by all that it had taken to get the food into the grocery store, where he could buy it.  He thought of farmers growing the produce and raising livestock, workers picking the fruit and vegetables, and drivers transporting everything to the store, where employees sorted it and put it all out.    He went on to say that he was struck by gratitude for all of it, including the fact that he was able to afford groceries and later prepare meals with his spouse for their ...

I've said this before in one of the Devos, but being a pastor gives you a front row seat to some amazing acts of faithfulness, love, and compassion by church members who often labor behind the scenes.   It's one of the most humbling and rewarding parts of my role to see just how many people eschew the spotlight and quietly and faithfully serve others.  On the occasions when their work is highlighted, I often see them glad to be recognized, but also more glad to simply be of service.  Their example emboldens me to find quiet ways to serve every chance I get, and every place I find myself.  Every single opportunity that arises around me is a choice between stepping forward and hanging back.  When I think of these folks who faithfully give of themselves and their time, it makes me want to step forward.   Mother Teresa once wrote:  “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” We live in a world obsessed with vi...

There's a house in my new neighborhood that I pass pretty often that has some unusual planters near its curb.  They are large and appear to be hand-painted in bright colors.   These planters are difficult to miss, and I decided the other day that must have been the point for the owner of the house.  The owners not only painted them but also placed them in a spot where they would be clearly visible to everyone who drove or walked past.  I got to thinking then about how many times I'd passed them before they became mundane to me--just another part of the route to my house.  Until that moment, I had never really given them much thought beyond the flash of color as I drove by.   As I thought of the time, energy, and joy that must have gone into placing the planters there, and how amazing all of that was, I was reminded of this short snippet of a poem by Elizabeth Barett Browning that I once read:  “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common b...

Easter Is Almost Over Resurrection isn’t something that happened—it’s always happening.   Now What?   This series will help us learn what it means to live as Resurrection people.   The past seven Sundays have kind of flown by, at least for me.  When we started this series, it was the first time that we had gathered together as two congregations becoming one.   And now here we are, asking that very important question---Now What?---one last time.  Today, we are going to read and study a prayer from Jesus that is caught between times and speaks to our identity and purpose.   FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS LIVING ETERNALLY John 17:1-11 The scene for this passage is at the Table.   Jesus’ Final Discourse with his followers is theologically rich.    After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all peop...

  When I was young, I really took to heart everything I was taught in church about what it meant to be "saved."  But I was often confused about the mixed messages surrounding what I learned.   On the one hand, the fundamentalist Baptist churches we attended taught that you were saved by God's grace from an eternity in a fiery Hell, and were pretty emphatic about how rituals, good works, and church attendance weren't enough to keep you from that fate.  But on the other hand, they constantly harped on having the right behavior and morality, and on needing to be in church every time the doors were open, which was at least three times a week.  The idea of earning your way into God's grace was deeply embedded in their theology, and it became deeply embedded in mine.  When I got older, I decided I could never live up to what was expected of me by God, so I walked away from church for a long time.  It's hard to shake those beliefs, and even after all of...

I don't like asking for help, even when I need it.  I've always been this way, long before I became a pastor, but over the twenty years I've been a pastor, it seems to have gotten worse.   I think part of it has to do with my personality.  I'm a Three on the Enneagram and an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs, which essentially means I don't want others to think I can't handle things.  The show must go on, at all costs.   I'm fine with being vulnerable about things like faith and some aspects of life's challenges, but when it comes to being vulnerable about whether I can handle things, complete a task, or maintain my emotional equilibrium, I'm not great at sharing.   Brene Brown speaks right into the heart of this when she writes,  “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”  Many of us are far more comfortable helping others than receiving help ourselves. ...

On one of my recent road trips, I heard an old country song by the group Alabama that found its way onto a playlist I was listening to.   The song is entitled "I'm In A Hurry," and the chorus goes like this:  I'm in a hurry to get things done Oh, I rush and rush until life's no fun All I really gotta do is live and die But I'm in a hurry and don't know why...  It's one of those songs that repeats the chorus enough that it gets into your head, so for days I walked around humming it, and even singing it aloud when I was alone.  Then, as I was rushing around the other day trying to get a bunch of stuff done, and feeling overwhelmed by it all, the song suddenly started to make sense to me.  All I was doing was worrying about doing, and not spending a moment on thinking about being.     Life has a way of slipping through our fingers while we are busy planning for tomorrow, worrying about yesterday, or rushing through the ordinary moments that quie...