It's Only Every Six Months

This morning I had a 8:10AM appointment with the dentist. There are few things in life that genuinely make me nervous. Going to the dentist is on that short list. It's something that I just want to get over with.

It's not the pain that scares me. I rarely feel pain at the dentist. What preoccupies me is when the dentist or hygienist reveals that you have a cavity or some other problem with your teeth. I feel as though I have disappointed them...plus, that kind of work costs money.

The cost is magnified by the fact that now we do not have any dental insurance. We had really good dental coverage while I was a Residence Hall Director, but as a pastor we our not offered a dental plan. It's amazing how much routine dental work costs!

This visit was a good one. No cavities or other concerns. The cost was not as much as I had expected. Now I can relax for the next six months...until I have my next appointment. I will keep up on my flossing and brushing!

As I pulled up to Tabor United Methodist Church this morning, I noticed three work trucks in the parking lot. They were Twohig trucks. I had a hard time containing my excitements because these were the folks that would be installing the carpet for the church.

With the carpet installed, we are one step closer to being able to use our new addition. Except for a just a few cosmetic items, the inside of the addition is done. We have raised some money that has been earmarked for new furniture.

I am looking forward to seeing this new addition in action. Of course I am looking forward to a new office, but I think the additional room will provide us with some wonderful opportunities.

We are currently trying to finalize a date for our celebration of the addition. We wanted to pick a time in the summer when the landscaping will be completed and we can take in the full experience of everything that we have done to improve the church.

Droid Update

No, this is not some kind of Star Wars post for all those geeks out there!

This is the one week anniversary of my new phone, the Droid ERIS. The first few days that I had the phone, I was overwhelmed by everything that this phone could. I wasn't sure how much I would be able to figure out, or if it would even be worth it to keep the phone. It only took a few days, but already there is a lot that I have been using:

1. There is a program that I downloaded that helps tabulate and record billable mileage; it also exports monthly reports via E-mail.
2. I found a program that helps track prayer concerns; it also allows you to E-mail those prayer concerns to folks.
3. I found a very sophisticated "to-do list" program that does an excellent job sorting tasks into various categories.
4. I have incorporated my prayer time into my daily works with Weaver. :) There is a GPS-related program that tracks how far (and how fast) I complete my daily walks with her.
5. Along with all this I can check my mail anywhere, sync my calendar between my phone and computer, along with other tasks.

As a part of my sermon last Sunday, I talked about how we can let a certain object or certain event be the source of our help and hope. I used the example of this phone. I realize that the organization that this phone provides is a gift from God. But, it will not solve all of problems in my life. God is where I find my help and my hope. But, it is helping and I appreciate the gift that I have been given.

A Phone Call

Last night, I attended a Bible Study that was hosted at Covenant United Methodist Church in Fond du Lac. My original intent was to sit back and take in what was going on. About 15 minutes into the study, there was a phone call that was forwarded to the room in which we were meeting. A member of my church that was volunteering there gave me the phone after talking to this man for a few minutes.

There was a gentleman on the line that had a theological question. He called the church looking for someone to talk to. He was struggling with an issue that happened eight years ago that he recently remembered. He was new to the area and hadn't found a church yet. He found me :). We talked about his question. I'm not sure how much help I provided, but he did say that by talking with someone about it, it helped him figure out a solution. I offered my own thoughts on how me might be able to be at peace with his concern.

This week I got so caught up in the administrative portions of my pastoral role that I appreciated an opportunity to offer pastoral care.

Reflections on Lenten Service

Last night, we had our second Lenten service. Again, we had a more informal worship time. I thought the service went very well. Instead of sermon, we had more of a Bible study. I felt that after awhile it turned into a sermon, but it was different. It was something like an...interactive sermon. I would ask questions, get some thoughts and preach on it. I liked the spontaneity of it. I could feel the Spirit working through me as people's heads were nodding as we interpreted and meditated on God's Word. I am still trying to find the right balance of straight preaching versus making it a Bible study...my guess is that by the final Wednesday service, I'll have figured it out.

More than anything, I am excited when I know everyone at worship comes away with something to think about. I am excite when I know folks come away feel more confident about seeing the meaning in God's Word.

I realize that as a pastor for two churches, my time is limited. But, I would really like to explore the opportunities in an alternative-type worship service during the week. I think we could rotate it between the churches and have a similar format. I think there is a real ministry opportunity here. We'll see what the future holds.

Another Thought
Wednesdays, for many churches, are a popular night for programming. It is a common night for choir practices. Some churches have a programming night. Some even offer a meal beforehand. At our churches, we have Confirmation on Wednesday evenings. During Lent, we had to move Confirmation, which has become quite difficult to re-schedule. In speaking with another pastor in the Fond du Lac area, he said they moved their Lenten services to Thursday evenings.

This may be a little non-traditional, but this is something that I may put out there as an idea for our Lenten services in the future. I am realizing that 2-hour Confirmation classes can test the attention span of both and the students and the teacher. I am envisioning classes that are 60 to 90 minutes. This would mean more classes. I like having the classes on Wednesday nights, so I am going to explore the possibility of moving our Lenten services to Thursday nights. That's a year away, so we can hold off on that for now :).

Technology Frustration

I certainly wouldn't want to encourage people to pray for a machine, but perhaps you could pray for Linda and I. We are having issues with our printer and I think it is time that we get a new printer. We received our current printer in 2007 as a donation to the church. Since I have been the pastor, it has served its purpose, but we have also had some issues with it.

This last week, we have struggled with getting it to print anything. Through some investigative work, with the help of the Fond du Lac Cartridge World folks, we were able to figure out that we were haviung issue with the printer head. The replacement did not work either. We are stumped.

I think this may be the time to upgrade. I will be doing some shopping this afternoon. We have a lot of printing to do Friday and I hope we can have something new working by Friday. Outsourcing printing can get expensive!

Technology Upgrade

I am writing this entry on my laptop computer sitting at the kitchen table. When a car goes by, I am eagerly looking to see if it's the FexEx truck...

...update, the truck came by. I am now the proud owner of a Droid ERIS phone (see picture to the right).

I have resisted the temptation to upgrade to a Smartphone, but I finally given in. I will appreciate the opportunity to be able to check E-mail at either church or in other locations that I spend my time. I will appreciate having my calendar backed up, but also available on my phone. Plus, the phone just looks pretty cool.

I am currently waiting for it to fully charge so that I can program it and get it ready. Exciting!