Staying Calm

There's a lot going on right now that can easily generate a great deal of argument and frustration. Specifically this week, there are three things that have been discussed this week:

• Brett Favre's return to Lambeau Field. Vikings vs. Packers...who will win?
• The Health Care Reform Bill goes up for a vote soon.
• The Stimulus...has it worked or not?

Using Facebook as an example, I am saddened to see all of the mean-spirited chatter that goes around on these issues. Are we not allowed to have a spirited dialogue without it turning into passive-aggressive bickering? I've talking about it before, but we are losing our ability to engage in discussion anymore. Even if you are firm in your beliefs, you should still be entitled to express a different view without being mocked and made fun of.

I don't know where this has come from, but it frustrates me. Can't we disagree and be civil?

Confirmation Class Update

Even though we already had introductory confirmation class a few weeks ago, we had our first official meeting in which we dug into the curriculum. Last night, we talked about God, sin and grace.

I really appreciate how comfortable this class is with asking questions. They ask some pretty good questions, ones that I think adults still wrestle with. They were also very willing to participate and I think they learned how to look verses up in the Bible.

I had fun! I hope they did, too. I am hoping that over the course of the year, this trend continues. I also hope to see them continue to take a more active role in our worship services.

It was wonderful to see the Holy Spirit in action in that room last night!

A Visit

This Sunday, both the Tabor and Oakfield congregations will be visited by Gordon Lind, the District Superintendent (DS) for the Nicolet and Winnebago Districts. It will be an opportunity for members of the congregation to meet and talk to the DS. The Staff/Sparish Relations Committee will have the opportunity to chat with him about my match with these two congregations. It will also give him an opportunity for him to see me in action in two worship services. There's no reason to be nervous, right?

Clergy Day

Today I was in Stevens Point at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. It was Clergy Day. It was an opportunity for United Methodist clergy to gather together. There were opportunities to network and re-connect. Dan Dick presented several ideas to help revitalize churches. I have some great information to take back to my congregations.

I has the chance to reconnect with my clergy mentor as well as a few colleagues that have helped me on the way. Now I have three days this week to get a whole lot done. Cheers to productivity! :)

OK...it's been awhile,..

These last few weeks have been those in which I feel compelled to work on so many other things, and when I do have some free time, I wasn't thinking about blogging. I have had two funerals in the last two weeks and I have also been preparing for the upcoming Charge Conference for our two churches. This past weekend, Christa and I also were in Mayville and Hartford for his brother's wedding. Starting tomorrow, I will be heading out to Pine Like Camp for a Local Pastor's Retreat.

It is my hope to begin blogging again on a daily or close to daily basis. I shouldn't let blogging get cut out of my day, and I hope it doesn't happen again. Look to see some pictures and reflections from my experiences at Pine Lake :).

Sports...Bringing Out the Best in People?

Last night there was a football game. It was on national TV. Many were anticipating this game for a long time. Brett Favre, who retired from football, decided to come back. The Packers said they moved on and traded him to the Jets. He was released after one year and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. If you know anything about football and watch any sports news, you had no choice but to be subjected to this storyline repeatedly. Even, The Onion had an article about this. Needless to say, there was a lot of talk about this.

The game ended with Minnesota winning...and Brett Favre had an amazing game. Folks were already bitter before the game on both sides of the issue. There are folks that truly hate Brett Favre because he played for teams beside the Green Bay Packers. There are folks that hate the Packers for ever letting Favre go when he still wanted to play. All of this hate can gotten considerably vocal and it was sad to see so much hatred and anger spewed out, especially over the internet.

Folks hoped that Favre would get injured during the game...

Really? How does one honestly hope on someone for such a stupid reason.

Over the last few years, I have learned not to allow sports to get me too riled up. Trust me, I still get emotional, but nowhere near where I used to. I can't be alone. There must be others who allow sports to take up too much of their lives and need a reality check. Sports should be entertaining. We shouldn't take them so seriously that we wish injuries on folks.

Charlie Wilson's War

Last night Christa and I watched Charlie Wilson's War. It's certainly not a kid's film, having plenty of bad language and sexual content. Despite all of that, I think this movie has a few powerful messages for the viewer:

(1) Flawed folks are capable of doing good - Charlie Wilson accomplished some pretty amazing things in the movie, but he wasn't the most likely hero. He had a drinking problem. He didn't really care about his constituents, besides getting re-elected. He did drugs. He hung out with some seedy individuals. Yet, he paved the way to some amazing successes for Afgahanistan...as shown in the movie.

(2) Sometimes you need to a see problem before you're willing to do something - It wasn't until Charlie Wilson saw the effects of war on the Afghani people did he realize he needed to do something. I think this applies to us as well. It's easy for us to dismiss some of the world's larger problems...hunger...poverty..sickness. I imagine my worldview would change if I saw the looks of children who were hungry or those who were sick. It might be a little higher on my priority list.

I encourage you to see the movie. It's a movie that makes you think...and that's a good thing.

Who Would Have Guessed?

The transition from working at a university to working in a church has been smooth in certain ways and quite abrupt in other ways.

Living on a college campus brings a great deal of temptation and frustration. It is really easy to immerse yourself in a secular mindset.

I certainly understand that there are great advantages to living in such an environment. I certainly miss easy access to art, music and other other performing arts events. I miss having various workout facilities within minutes of campus. I miss having many friends around, all within a few minutes walk...even if it is through snow. I miss having a meal plan :).

I have certainly adjusted to being more alone. Christa and I have definitely struggled to re-connect with some friends and are still trying to establish some friends in Oakfield and the Fond du Lac area. As such, starting over in many ways has caused me

One thing I always shunned, even while being a believer, is Christian rock and Christian music.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided that I would be willing to give Christian music, Christian rock in this case, a try.

I created a Pandora station called "Christian Rock" just to see what comes up. I figured as a pastor, I should give it a try. So far, it's not too bad. I'll keep you posted.