Presby-Musings

"Before you say 'no,' you have to say 'yes." With this provocative and confusing statement, Rob Bell began a talk on Identity to a roomful of learners---mostly pastors and church leaders---at his recent 2Days With Rob Bell event in Laguna Beach, CA. Then he shared a parable... It seems a first century rabbi was journeying home late from a dinner in a nearby village.  There was a fork in the road that led to his village.  If he went left, he would find himself at a Roman military outpost.  If he went right he would find his way home.  It was dark and he had drunk a bit of wine and he inadvertently took the left fork.  Some time later he found himself at the wall of the outpost.  A Roman guard called out to him, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"  The rabbi didn't answer.  "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"  The rabbi called back to the soldier, "How much are they paying you to do this?"  The guard was ...

The second half of Day One of the 2Days with Rob Bell Event covered a lot of ground.  Rob taught about Calling, Preaching and then did some teaching on Spiral Dynamics, which is a topic he is covering in the book he is currently writing.  In this post, I'll cover the Calling and Preaching topics.   Calling Rob began this portion of his teaching by affirming the way that so many pastors and Christian leaders struggle with their sense of call.  He told us that this was natural. "When you become tuned in to who you are as your true self," Rob said, "you begin to ask 'Who am I to do this?'" He then encouraged us (in true Seth Godin fashion) to simply create, to do, to write, to preach, to lead---whatever it is that we have been called to do. We should not, he told the group, hold back our gifts because someone else is better at what we do.  "Sometimes we hold back because of somebody else," he said.  We'll say, "but someone h...

The first day of the inaugural  2Days With Rob Bell event has come to a close. Fried though my brain might be, I feel as though I need to write down some thoughts for those who might be curious about what we've been doing. To begin, there are 50 participants---mostly pastors, but also some lawyers, entrepreneurs, at least one doctor, some non-profiteers, youth pastors and church workers, to name a few.  Roughly 1/3 of the participants are women.   We are from all over the United States and Canada. The event is taking place in an intimate setting overlooking the ocean, and there's not really a bad seat.  Rob sat in front with a couple of flip charts and a stack of notes.  He is tanned, and wearing flip flops.  0 to Californian in 5 months. Introductory Things Of course, he began by asking us to open our Bibles and turn to Matthew 3, and he read the story of Jesus baptism.  I say "of course" because Rob is still a pastor.  On...

So today I decided to wear my new clerical collar with my cool black clergy shirt while I am journeying to California. I wanted to see what it felt like to actually wear "priestly" garb.  My Catholic and Episcopal colleagues are probably laughing at me at this point. "Tourist!" they are thinking, "try wearing this all the time." I hear you.  Presbys have gotten a little casual.  The other reason I wanted to wear my clergy collar was to see how people treated me throughout a very public, very long trip across the country. I knew I would be in airports, shuttles, airplanes and cabs all day today. Having never donned the symbols of "ordination" beyond the context of a worship service (I wear a robe and stole during traditional worship services), I was very curious to see how I would be perceived.  My first up close encounter was with a trio of college kids who piled in to the elevator with me at the Orlando airport. They stared at me, l...

I've read a lot books about what it means to be a pastor, but few of them capture what it's really  like.  Instead they typically paint a picture of what pastors should  be doing in an ideal world, and with a great deal of spiritual enlightenment.  It's not that I don't enjoy reading these books, it's just that I generally feel chastened somehow while I am in the midst of them.  I find myself wondering if I will ever discover the "secrets" that the author has discovered, and then be able to write my own sagacious pastoral book. So far, I have been unsuccessful in both arenas. This Odd And Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers  is a different sort of book about being a pastor.  First, it's written by two very different pastors: Lillian Daniel, a thirty-something female pastor, and Martin B. Copenhaver, a sixty-something male pastor, who both happen to serve within the United Church of Christ.  Second, This Odd And Wo...

As part of my ordination process a few years ago, I was compelled to complete a course in a Clinical Pastoral Education program. This was not something that I was particularly thrilled about, to be honest with you. Seriously, I muddled through three years of seminary, a field study program, four ordination exams (one of which I had to take twice because I left off four very important questions) and countless steps in the Presbyterian process, only to discover that I would not be able to attach the prefix "Rev." to my name until I became a hospital chaplain for three months.  For me it was like the equivalent of approaching what you believe to be the finish line in the New York City Marathon only to discover that some committee somewhere had changed the distance in all marathons to be 29 miles instead of 26.   Funny.  It ended up being both the best and worst thing that I have ever done.  Almost all of the really important lessons I have learned in life have been ones that ...

I have had more than my fair share of days when I have questioned my call to be a pastor.  I read somewhere how a young man, who was thinking about becoming a pastor, asked his mentor---a pastor of many years---"When did you feel the call to go into ministry?"  The older man didn't bat an eyelash and replied, "This morning."   I completely get that.  There are days when I feel like I need to hear the call every five minutes just to assure me that I am doing what I am supposed to do with my life.  Even when people tell me things that should reassure me, I struggle to believe that God would actually want to use someone like me for such an important task.  I once heard that the great reformer, Martin Luther, used to feel as though the earth was going to open up and swallow him whole each time he rose to say the Mass.  That comforts me a bit, really.  If Martin Luther felt himself to be unworthy of his call, then at least I am in good company.  Martin Luther also ...