Author: The Pastor

Swinging on Monday, Aug. 17

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

O.K…it is time to get back into the swing of things once again.

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) is convening in Minneapolis for its Church wide assembly.  And this year promises to be one of heated (and hopefully) civil debate over the issue of homosexuality.  Tops on the agenda is the social statement on Human Sexuality.  Closely behind that is the ministry recommendations that would allow ordaining gay/lesbian pastors who are in life-long, committed relationships and for the blessing of same sex unions.  No matter where one stands; no matter what happens, there will be some polarization in the ELCA.  I hate to say it, but its going to happen.  My prayer is that the mission of Christ still continues marching forward and that we don’t let issues derail us.  Satan would love nothing more than for the Church to lose its focus.

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and I am deep into getting ready for confirmation.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I am revamping my confirmation program here.  It is not a complete overhaul, but rather some important (and intriguing) additions to the schedule and requirements.  One of the key things I am doing is putting a greater emphasis on parental involvement.  I will talk more later on what I am doing with this.  I have a couple more piece I am finalizing yet, but I am really looking forward to this year.  It’s going to be a fun one.

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and I am starting to feel a little anxiety.  In less than a month, Salem Lutheran Church will be celebrating its 125th anniversary and I don’t feel ready to go yet.  The big weekend is Sept. 12 and 13 and it keeps creeping closer and closer every day (duh…i guess).  It’s just that there is so much to do here at church and in the parsonage…and I just want everything to go smoothly.  But on the other hand I am looking forward to the celebration.  We have former pastors coming back and other special guests returning for the weekend.  You can go to our church website for a complete schedule of events at http://www.salemjackson.org

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and I feel like I am back into the swing of things…again.  But with everything that is coming up I am hoping and praying that I do not “strike out”.

God bless your day!

-edh-

Faster Pastor

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

Saturday night was a night I will not soon forget.

Here in Jackson, MN we are blessed to have the Jackson Speedway.  Races are a big deal here in town.  On Saturday nights one can hear the races going on…sometimes until 11pm of after. Our mid-summer celebration is called “Race Days”.   But in my five years here I had only been to the races once (now I will be going more often).

The track promoter we have has done a phenomenal job this year with a variety of creative promotions.  Saturday night was charity night.  As part of charity night the track sent out vouchers to all the churches to hand out to people.  For every person that bought a ticket and turned in a voucher, that particular church got $5…half the ticket price.  I handed out about 80 vouchers…that’s a good chuck of change for Salem Lutheran Church (if all those people showed up).

One of the feature races on Saturday was the “Faster Pastor” race (that’s right…it is just as it sounds)…and I was in it.  They put seven of us pastors in these hobby stock cars and turned us lose.  And let me tell you…it is quite an experience to be in a powerful piece of machinery like a race car.  I was given a quick orientation on how to drive this car and tips on how to maneuver around the track.  It was a little unnerving though, not being able to turn my head to see who was around me and not having any mirrors.  It was just me and the race car (by the way, we never got over 55 to 60 mph).

We drew numbers for our starting positions and I was fortunate enough to draw #1…the pole position.  I got strpped into my car and started it up.  The roar of the engine was deafening but exhilarating.   After we got out on the track they gave us a few practice laps to get familiar with our car.  I quickly realized that it took some strength to drive these cars and hold them on the turns.  I also quickly realized the feeling of adrenaline coursing through my body…what a rush.  After our practice laps the green flag was waved and off we went.  I hit the gas and felt the power of this car.  I held up in the turns as advised and hit it on the straight aways.  While in turns 3 and 4 on the second to last lap of this 4 lap race I saw my first competitor on my right side…my friend Chris from the Presbyterian Church.  As soon as I rounded turn 4 I hit the gas again and off I went.  I didn’t see Chris again until I got to the pits.

By the way (and I know you are probably curios)…I WON!  I got to go to victory lane; have my picture taken with the checked flag and be interviewed in front of the grandstand.  What an incredible experience.  I will not soon forget this night.  Most little boys dream about being a race car driver (as I did) when they grow up.  For me…this was a chance to fulfill a childhood dream…even if it is the only time I do this (but hopefully this race is an annual event now).

Thank you to the Jackson Speedway…not just for letting us pastors race live out a boyhood dream, but for supporting this community and for supporting the churches.  I am not sure what we are using the money for yet, but I do know that it is going to go to good use…helping others.  Living and serving in a small town definitely has it perks…and this is one of many reasons why I love serving in Jackson.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

What I have been up to

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Wow…it has been a while…August 4…What in the world have I been up to?  Where has the time gone?  Am I O.K. (as one person has asked)?  Well…to answer the last question…Yes, I am fine.  Now on to the first two.

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy…much busier than I anticipated.  Aug. 3 – 9 was the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference.  I mentioned this before and said I would write more about this.  Well…with running down to Spirit Lake twice a day (50 miles round trip each time), it took a toll on me.  I found that I had very little free time.  The conference was great though…probably the best one I have been too, but I am sorry that I did not write more about it.

August 10 through today has been one of reading and fall planning.  One of my big accomplishments was that I totally revamped my confirmation program (this WILL be something I will share with you once I polish off some details).  I am really excited about this and looking forward to classes starting on Sept. 23.

I also read another book.  This one is called “God and Cancer” by Tim Chaffey.  GREAT BOOK.  Tim is a college friend of my wife and a cancer survivor.  The first part of his book he talks about his struggle with leukemia…how it hit so fast and so hard.  In the second part of the book Tim talks about the problem of evil.  He talks about how various other religions deal with evil and that Christianity is the only religion that has an answer for evil.  I highly recommend this book.  We have invited Tim to come to Jackson to speak about his book in November.  I can hardly wait.

And tonight I am doing something that will be incredibly fun.  I won’t say much now but what I will say is that it involves me and a race car (mom…I know you probably remember what I am talking about so don’t worry).  Be watching my blog on Monday for highlights about tonight.

So that is where my last two weeks have gone.  Thank you for being patient.  Thank you for stopping by.  Thank you for your individual ministries…all in the name of God our Father through Jesus Christ who is ALWAYS faithful.  Thank you and God bless.

-edh-

#499

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

I have been watching this number climb towards 499 for a couple weeks now.   And I have been thinking what I would write to commemorate the occasion of this number.  But I really don’t have anything sharp and witty to say other than it’s hard to believe that I have had so much to say (some sharp and witty…and some not so much).

Why in the world am I highlighting #499???

Well…as I thought about this I realized that it is selfish for me to think about how to commemorate #500 or any post for that matter.  For me to glorify any “special number” would take away from the real purpose of this blog.  I don’t write this blog to gain popularity, attention, fame or a large number of followers.  If those things happen…well then…great, but that is not my point…it can’t be the point.  It was my point early on…about 3 years ago…but that only led to frustration and burn out when I did meet those objectives as fast as I wanted.

But God kicked me in the butt and things began to change…my focus began to change.

You see…God has given me so much.  God has blessed me in so many ways.  And for me to write to gain popularity would be stealing glory away from the one who deserves all glory and honor…and attention…God our Father.  So I write…and as of fairly recently I write with a renewed passion and excitement.  I write as if God pulled up to the local gas station and filled the tank.  I feel ready for the long haul when only a couple months ago I seriously pondered whether to continue blogging at all.  So I write…I write because…

I enjoy sharing thoughts about scripture.

I enjoy sharing thoughts about current events from a faith perspective.

I enjoy sharing “God sightings” in my life and in the world around me.

I enjoy sharing discoveries from books I am reading.

I enjoy sharing about this amazing God we have.

I enjoying sharing…

…all to the glory of God.  So I continue to write and post and share.  I thank you for joining in the conversation and I look forward to continued conversing.  And…as #500 comes and goes I will treat it as any other post…I will thank and praise God.

God bless you as you continue to serve the Lord through your individual vocations.

And…as always…PRAISE BE TO GOD!

-edh-

Okoboji Conference 2009

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

This week I am attending the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference .  Traditionally I take the week off for continuing education so I can attend morning Bible studies, classes and evening worship.  I have someone coming in on Aug. 9 to lead worship and preach for me so I can focus this week on being fed.  The conference began on Friday, July 31 but last night (Sunday) was my first night there.  The speaker was Mark Ashton; a pastor in Omaha, NE (formerly a pastor at Willow Creek Church near Chicago).  He gave a sermon about God’s amazing grace.  He speaks tonight again (Monday), but this time on God’s amazing forgiveness.

This morning I attended a Bible study led by Skye Jethani who spoke about the story of Jacob wrestling with God from Genesis.  One phrase that sticks out for me is: “Don’t spend your life wrestling with God because you can’t and won’t win.  Surrender to God.”  I am still pondering this.

Following Bible study, Skye lead a class about how our culture uses fear to control our behaviors.  This is a week long class and I am looking forward to where we will be going.  I will share more insights from this class throughout the week.

I am also using this week to begin preparing for the fall season (i.e. Confirmation, Release Time).  It’s hard to believe we are closing in on the start of school and fall church activities.  Where has the summer gone?

With that…I’ll be back later with more insights from the Bible conference.

God bless!

-edh-

Lutherans and immigration

/ The Pastor / 7 Comments

I am reading a fascinating book right now titled They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration by Stephen Bouman and Ralston Deffenbaugh…

…I have yet to finish the book but I will be done shortly.  It’s a short book and a quick read.  It is also an eye opening book.  I hope to have more insights for you soon but in the mean time, here are some thoughts and highlights that have jumped out to me.

–We are all descendants of immigrants.  How often do you actually think about that?

–Scriptures command us to welcome the widow, orphan and the stranger.  How often do we do THAT?

–Our immigration system is indeed broken.  I do not have the answer, but something needs to be done.  Families are being torn apart.

–Since 9/11 it has become “okay” to discriminate against immigrants all in the name of national security.

–I need to readjust some of my attitudes and pray for my brothers and sisters who are simply here to make a better life for them and their families.

Like I said I do not have the answer to the problem of our broken immigration system, but as Christians how are we called to respond to these brothers and sisters in Christ?  Maybe our first order of business is to pray for our national leaders that they may actually figure something out so all people are treated with respect and dignity.

More to come later…

God bless!

-edh-

The Bread of Life

/ The Pastor

We are continuing in John 6 this week with verses 24 – 35.  This scene picks up where we left off last week; Jesus feeds the 5000 and then goes for a walk on the water; scaring the disciples half to death.  After calming the disciples down and climbing into their boat they head to the other side of the lake.  Once over there the people that were fed by Jesus realize Jesus and the crew are gone, so they climb into their boats in search of Jesus (looking for breakfast).  Once again, the people still have no clue who Jesus really is and what he really did for them.

Now we get some talk about Jesus being the “Bread of Life“.  The people are looking for real bread; talking about how Moses gave the Israelites manna from heaven.  But Jesus fires back and says that it’s not Moses that gives bread from heaven but God who gives the TRUE bread.  And this bread means life.

“I am the Bread of Life” Jesus says.

The quote that jumps out to me (besides, of course, the Bread of Life comment) is the one Jesus says to the people when they come looking for him.  Jesus tells them that they are only there because he gave them something to eat.  Jesus then goes on to say “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  This statement may not have shocked the people too much then, but what about today…a society that is based on “working for food that spoils“?  This verse is reminiscent of the verses that talks about storing up treasures in heaven where moth and rust can not destroy.  This is an intriguing connection.

So maybe I will “play” with this connection some more…Hmmm…

What do you think of this connection; not working for food that spoils and storing up treasures in heaven?

-edh-

Awesome worship (explained)

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

O.K…time to share with you what happened at worship on Sunday.

I said that worship was awesome on Sunday.  Two things contributed to that:  (1) My wife and her team of singers lead worship with the guitars (with me playing as well…which I really enjoy); and (2) continue reading below…

…The Gospel text was from John 6:1-14 (The Feeding of the 5000).  This is one of my favorite miracle stories (next to the Resurrection of course).  I talked about the miracle as something that the people (the 5000 present) did not really get.  I mean…after they had eaten and realized what happened they thought Jesus was the prophet who had come into the world.  They probably likened him to Elisha who fed 100 in 2 Kings 4 (the OT text on Sunday).  In any case they wanted to take Jesus and make him king by force, but that is not what Jesus came to do.  They missed the point…they did not get who Jesus really was.

From that I moved to talking about Holy Communion…another great meal that we a lot of times miss.  We come forward for Holy Communion in a ritualistic kind of way and totally blow off the words that are being spoken.  I mean think about it…Holy Communion is about the death and resurrection of Jesus and the promise of the forgiveness of sins, but how many times do you REALLY really think about that when you receive the bread and the wine?  I urged the people on Sunday to think about this.

Then I went on to say:
“When you come here to Salem on the 1st or 2nd Sunday of the month you expect to receive Holy Communion.  You know that Holy Communion happens towards the end of the worship service.  You know the liturgy and how to respond.  Well…I am going to throw you off guard today.  It may be the 4th Sunday of the month but we are going to celebrate Holy Communion right now.  I did not get permission from the altar guild, the worship/music committee, the deacons or the church council.  We are just going to do it.”
I did not use the “normal” liturgy…actually I didn’t use any liturgy.  I went on to invite people to come forward whenever they felt ready to encounter a miracle.  I urged them to listen to the words “The Body of Christ broken FOR YOU…the Blood of Christ shed FOR YOU“.  I urged the people to listen to these words and hear the miracle…the forgiveness of your sins.  I invited them to pray before hand and confess if they would like and then come forward.  There was going to be nothing that was ritualistic about this celebration of Holy Communion.

Everyone came forward (except for one person) to partake in this miracle.  And after the worship I got so many comments from people who were very appreciative of what happened in worship (Praise be to God!).  I think people liked it because Holy Communion was not ritualistic.  Maybe some people were hearing for the first time the miracle of this sacrament…I don’t know…but what I do know is that is was powerful for me (and for my wife who was helping serve communion and obviously for a number of others).

Worship was awesome on Sunday.  And all I can say to summarize it is:  “PRAISE  BE TO GOD!”

-edh-

The greatest miracle

/ The Pastor

I really want to tell you right now what I am doing for my sermon tomorrow, but I won’t.  I know there are a number of Salem/Belmont people who read this and I don’t want to spoil anything.

So why am I even teasing you with something I am not going to share now?  Well…part of it is to give you a heads up on what I am going to write about on Tuesday (I am taking a comp day Monday so I probably won’t post that day, but who knows).

The other part of the reason I am teasing you is that I am really excited about this.  I am still not sure how things will go tomorrow, but God is in control.  My hope is that God is glorified and that hearts are opened (not by my power but by the power of the Holy Spirit) through the greatest miracle of all.

May God be praised tomorrow and always.

-edh-