Author: The Pastor

Chilly run

/ The Pastor

I am putting myself to the test today (Saturday) as I continue my marathon training.  At 1:30pm I am running the Okoboji Winter Games 5K run (3.1 miles) in Spirit Lake, IA.  It will be my first race in almost 3 years.  Right now the temperature is 16 degrees, but they say it should be in the 20s by race time…nice running weather.  I am not expecting anything too fantastic.  I just want to finish somewhere between 21 and 24 minutes…so we’ll see what happens.  I will report back later and let you know how I did.

-edh-

Where’s the forgiveness

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I might stir up a hornet’s nets with this post (those who think people should take more of a stand on social issues), but those of you who know me, know that that is not going to bother me.  So here it goes…

A couple weeks ago, Kelly Tilghman from the Golf Channel, made a racially incentive remark concerning Tiger Woods (by the way, Kelly and Tiger are friends — Follow this link for the story).  In talking about Tiger’s dominance on the PGA tour, a reference was made that the only way to stop Tiger was to have the rest of the golfers taker him (Tiger) out back and "lynch him".  Obviously this remark is extremely inappropriate.  No harm or disrespect was meant toward Tiger — it was just a moment of bad judgment.  Kelly later apologized on air and to Tiger personally (an apology that Tiger accepted).  Kelly was then suspended from the air for two weeks and is schedule to return shortly.

But this issue is not over…

Many people (including former football great, Jim Brown) are upset that Tiger has not spoken out more about this racially insensitive comment.  They feel that Tiger needs to take more of a stand on social issues – to which Tiger says he does everyday and that this is a "non-issue" now. 

So here’s my beef:  Kelly said something inappropriate (I don’t condone that) – she apologized to the public (admitting her guilt) – apologized to Tiger personally (an apology that was accepted) – and was punished for her comment – Now people want Tiger to continue to drag this out and make an example of Kelly.  Why?  It’s not like she meant to cause Tiger harm.  It was a very bad mistake – inappropriate and wrong.  And she confessed her guilt (sin).  My question is this:  WHERE IS THE FORGIVENESS?

Like I said, I am not condoning what Kelly said, but is there any need to make this any more an issue than it has already become.  The thing is, society does not like forgiveness when other people are involved.  we have such an over-developed sense of justice that forgiveness gets forgotten – it becomes a "non-issue". Tiger is setting an amazing example for people.  He does not condone Kelly’s comments either, but neither is he carrying a grudge.  Case closed…let’s move on.

I know racism runs wild in our society today.  And I know we need to take a stand against it.  And if Kelly had not apologized or waited a long time then I would be in favor of Tiger speaking out about this.  But let’s not condemn someone for showing forgiveness.

When apartheid ended in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president, he didn’t start preaching that blacks should go and "get justice" by condemning their white oppressors, but rather Mandela preached forgiveness.  He never said that apartheid was O.K., but he did say that if there is going to be any hope for healing, forgiveness needs to be in the picture someplace.  Maybe you can’t snap your fingers and forgive, but at least work your way to the road to forgiveness.

So my message to Jim Brown and others is this:  Through Jesus Christ, God offers forgiveness to all people (even to you and even to Kelly).  Without forgiveness there is not hope of a peaceful society.  Justice must be sought, but hasn’t this issue run it’s course yet?  Please…move towards the road to forgiveness and let’s move on towards being a peaceful and love-filled society.  Tiger is moving in that direction…let’s follow suit.

-edh-

I can’t remember

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

Update:  Just a quick update before I move on to what I want to share with you today.  My grandma is still alive.  She’s not eating or drinking and her kidneys continue to fail.  I can’t imagine this will go on much longer. I continue to pray that these last moments with grandma are ones that create precious memories that last a life time.  Thank you again for your prayers.

Now on to what I want to share with you…

I am participating in a book discussion group with two close friends of mine.  The book we are discussing is The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning.  It is a wonderfully rich book talking about God’s amazing grace for each one of us.  It is a book I read a number of years ago, but it has been great to dive into it again and discuss it.

Yesterday we read a chapter that largely dealt with our response to this awesome grace.  As he is talking about responding to God’s grace with trust, Manning shares the following story:

Four years ago in a large city in the far West, rumors spread that a certain Catholic woman was having visions of Jesus.  The reports reached the archbishop.  He decided to check her out.  There is always a fine line between authentic mystic and the lunatic fringe.
    "Is it true, m’am, that you have visions of Jesus?" asked the cleric.  "Yes", the woman replied simply.  "Well, the next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins that I confessed in my last confession."  The woman was stunned.  "Did I hear you right, bishop?  You actually want me to ask Jesus to tell me the sins of your past?"
    "Exactly.  Please call me if anything happens."
    Ten days later the woman notified her spiritual leader of a recent apparition. "Please come", she said.
    Within the hour the archbishop arrived.  "You just told me on the telephone that you actually had a vision of Jesus.  Did you do what I asked?"
    "Yes, bishop, I asked Jesus to tell me the sins you confessed in your last confession."
    The bishop leaned forward with anticipation.  His eyes narrowed.  "What did Jesus say?"
    She took his hands and gazed deep into his eyes. "Bishop," she said, "these are his exact words: ‘I CAN’T REMEMBER."

Bennan Manning continues:  "Christianity happens when men and women accept with unwavering trust that their sins have not only been forgiven but forgotten, washed away in the blood of the Lamb"

What an excellent reminder of this awesome love, grace and forgiveness of this amazing God we have.  Not only does God forgive us our sins, but God forgets them.  We forgive each other, but we never truly forget.  And because we never forget, when a person continues to sin against us it can get harder and harder to forgive them.  But God does not have that problem.  And thank God for that.

Praise be to God…ALWAYS and forever…Amen!

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer – 01/20/08

/ The Pastor / 9 Comments

Well…my grandma is still alive.  Earlier this week I suspected that she would die by the end of the week, but I should have known.  My grandma is a tough ole bird.  The problem is that grandma wants to go.  She keeps asking why it is so hard to die and why she can’t go home.  But there is something else…grandma says she can see Jesus and that she can see the gates opening for her…but she is afraid to move forward.  She keeps asking her kids to go with her or at least walk her to the gate.  My grandma is a person of strong faith, so considering everything she has gone through these last couple years, one would think she would run to those gates and embrace Jesus.  But something is holding her back.

My wife suggested that I read a book she just finished reading called 90 minutes in heaven.  Has anyone heard of that or read it?  Apparently it is about a pastor who dies in a car accident.  He was pronounced dead at the scene and covered up so the paramedics could attend to the injured.  Then another pastor showed up to pray over this dead pastor’s body…for 90 minutes…while he was in heaven.  The book is about is experience in heaven and his life afterward.  After my conversation with my mom last night and hearing the updates on my grandma, I think 90 minutes in Heaven might be my next read.

Anyway, please continue to remember my grandma.  I pray she has the courage and faith to walk forward and let go of this life.  This is not good bye, but rather "see you later".  Thank you, again, to everyone for your prayers.  It means a lot to me to know that I (and my family) are not alone in this.  Thank you.

Let us pray…
Gracious and merciful God…in Jesus Christ, you are indeed the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  Because of that reality, we can go through this life knowing that nothing of this world can ultimately "harm" us.  In the end, you have won the day through the cross of Christ.  But we have a tendency to forget.  Our memories are short.  False gods wiggle their way into our lives and, on the surface, promise things we think we need.  Please keep our faith strong, strong enough to see through these empty promises to know that you and you alone are our source of life.  Thank God for never giving up on us when we stray.  Thank you God for leading us to eternal life.  Now God, I pray you may continue to lead my grandma and receive her with open arms.  Take away her fear and give her joy of what is to come.  Thank you God, through Jesus Christ your Son and our Lord I pray, Amen

God bless you in your faith and I pray you may always have the strength and courage to see what is to come for all of us, through the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Take care and God bless.

-edh-

God is AWESOME – part 2

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Allow me to continue with my story (testimony) of God’s awesome faithfulness and love…

As the pastor at Salem Lutheran Church and Belmont Lutheran Church I serve as the primary pastoral care giver (I still encourage others to engage in "pastoral care" for one another though).  I visit with people and am present with them when a loved is dying, seriously ill, or whatever the case.  I am there to provide words of comfort about God’s love and faithfulness in a time of pain and need.  I am accustomed to that and find it a great privilege to be with people during these times.  And when I provide pastoral care I know that it is not me alone but God working through me.  When I am called to the bedside of someone who is dying; I am in prayer – asking for wisdom, compassion, empathy and the words (if needed) to bring comfort to the loved ones (and/or to the one who is dying).  I am accustomed to providing pastoral care.

But on Sunday (Jan. 13) I found my myself on the other side of the coin – the one receiving pastoral care.  As I mentioned before, this is the first time that I, personally, have had to deal with the death (or impending death) of a loved one since becoming a pastor.  I have dealt with the death of loved ones before, but this seems like new territory for me (can any other pastors relate to this feeling?).

Anyway…following worship on Sunday a number of people expressed their sympathies and told me that I and my family would be in their thoughts and prayers.  All of those comments meant the world to me.  It showed me in a very real way the community we have become – we rejoice with those who are rejoicing and mourn with those who are mourning.  What a great privilege.  Then came "Jane"…

…Jane is a woman who is in her 50s but has the mental capacity of a child.  She attends worship regularly and is as sweet and innocent as a child.  And as a "child" Jane has a hard time understanding and dealing with illnesses and death.  As Jane came through the line, following worship, she shook my hand and said, "I hope your grandma gets better soon".  This took me back a little bit as I responded to her, "Jane, she’s not going to get better."  Of course Jane did not understand this and went on to tell me that she is going to see her "mommy" today.  But it was the person who was in line following Jane that I will remember…

"Mary" was next in line.  After hearing what I said to Jane; Mary said to me, "Pastor, you know that your grandma WILL be better." I knew exactly what she meant.  That comment made my eyes well up with tears as I responded, "You are absolutely right…thank you." 

Once again…God is AWESOME!!!

God gave me exactly what I needed at just the right time through Mary.  Even though I preach the very thing that Mary said to me…I still needed to hear what God said through Mary.  I needed that gentle reminder.  I needed the Gospel proclaimed to me at that moment.  Mary wasn’t correcting me, but rather Mary was providing pastoral care.  To her (and to many others) I say thank you.

I know that as Christian I am never alone…God is always with me.  But I am also glad and thankful I live in such a caring community.  Even though God is always with me, this impending death of my grandma would be difficult alone. 

Thank you God for your awesome love and faithfulness.  Thank you God for giving me (and all your children) exactly what we need.  Thank you God for strengthen me when I need it the most.  Thank you God.  And I thank all of you for your prayers and notes of concern.  I truly appreciate it.  I will keep you updated on how things are going. 

Thanks again and God bless!
-edh-

God is AWESOME!!!

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Sunday (Jan. 13) was a difficult morning for me (as I mentioned to you trying to type my Sunday Morning Prayer).  But I should say that it STARTED OUT difficult. It ended up in the awesome glow of God’s amazing love.  Allow me to tell you the story…

On Sunday morning, after I posted the Sunday Morning Prayer, I went up into the sanctuary to prepare for worship.  I run through the sermon one last time and review the bulletin.  I look at the announcements and decide which ones I am going to highlight and in what order.  The final announcement item is always the prayer requests where I highlight the updates from the past week.  And this was where I was planning on telling the congregation what was going on with my grandma.  This was immensely personal, but I wanted, and frankly needed, their prayer support.  I stood in the sanctuary "practicing" the announcements (does that sound weird…to practice announcements?).  Anyway…I was "practicing" the announcements and when I got to the prayer requests my eyes started tearing up and I could not get the words out of my mouth about my grandma.  It was just too hard.  It took me a couple minutes to compose myself and tried again…but to no avail.  Eventually I went to my office; wondering how I was going to do this.  At Salem, Connie said she would come up and help me, but at Belmont I was on my own.  I wondered how I was going to be able to lead worship – I needed strength and focus.  So I prayed…

…then my cell phone rang…

…of course my heart skipped a beat or two when I saw it was my mom.  I remember saying out loud, "Please God, not now.  I can’t handle this now."  With my hands shaking I answered the phone and heard my mom’s voice.  Immediately I knew that I wasn’t going to receive the news I feared at that moment.  Instead mom said that grandma woke up at 2am and was very talkative.  Actually she was more talkative than she had been for months.  At that moment I got goosebumps and felt a strength course through my body.  My tears dried up and I felt a new sense of energy for the morning.  Upon answering the phone I felt I was unable to go on with the morning and lead worship affectively.  But that simple phone call — 5 minutes before I was going to leave for Belmont and as I was praying for strength — I got exactly what I needed.

GOD IS AWESOME!!!

God knew what I needed and gave it to me so I could lead his people in worship and speak through me in the sermon.  God saw my pain and granted me comfort and relief.  And as I sit here, I am still in awe.  Not because I am surprised or blown away that God actually did what He did, but I am blown away by His awesome love, care and concern for one of His hurting children.  God always seems to come through so His purposes can be accomplished.  Not only did God give me the strength and focus to lead worship on Sunday, but God also gave me a testimony to share with others – for His glory.

God is indeed awesome…but there is more to this story…one I will continue later.

Take care and God bless!
-edh-

A difficult day and a prayer request

/ The Pastor / 10 Comments

It is going to be one of those difficult mornings…

…actually…its not like I have these often.  Today is the first time since I became a pastor that I, personally, will have to deal with the eventual death of a loved one.  You see…my grandma is close to death and we expect that to happen any moment now.  I’m having a hard time even typing this so I am wondering how in the world I will even be able to ask my congregations for their prayer support this morning.  My wife said she would handle this for me if I need her…and I just might have to take her up on that offer. 

This will leave me with one grandma left.  My first grandpa died in 1994 from colon cancer and my second grandpa died in 2000 from a massive stroke on the golf course (right where he had always told people he wanted to die).  Of course I know that we don’t live for ever on this earth.  Of course I know that eventually I will be mourning the death of my grandparents (and other loved ones), but it doesn’t make it any easier.  And to top things off, my mom asked me yesterday if I would give the eulogy for the family.  Wow…I said "yes", but now I am wondering if I can.

Now I ask you to please keep me and my family in your prayers as we prepare to say "see you later" to my grandma.  I also ask for your prayers of focus as I lead worship and preach this morning.  Just the thought of grandma sends tears running from my eyes.

But here’s the really cool thing…
we have an amazingly awesome and faithfully loving God!!!

We have a God who send His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins…that we may have a New Life.  And because of that promise I can say with confidence, "See you later, grandma".  I know that Satan would love nothing more than to distract me all morning…keeping me from proclaiming God’s awesome love to people, but the resurrection is what gives me hope.  So…in the words of Martin Luther I say to Satan, "Go back to hell, where you belong! Because of Jesus, my grandma will live forever and I will see her again…and…I will have another chance to enjoy her delicious pumpkin pie".

So…on that note…please join me in a word of prayer as we begin our mornings/days…
Gracious and loving God, at the baptism of Jesus you sent your Spirit upon him in the form of a dove and announced, "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."  And by sending Jesus to this earth to live and die and rise again you, in effect, are saying the same thing to us "You are my children, whom I love; with you I am well pleased".  Grant us faith to see in death the gateway to eternal life and strengthen us in that hope that we may proclaim Jesus’ sacrificial love to all.  Lord God (on a personal note) please grant my grandma peace as she leaves this world to be in your loving arms and strengthen me and my family in our faith as we say, "see you later".  In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.

Thank you and God bless!

-edh-

Text study – Matthew 3:13-17 (The baptism of Jesus)

/ The Pastor

"the one thing that encourages me in this whole thing is seeing how deeply vested we all are in the church and her practices. Everybody contributing to this discussion here and on other blogs are doing so because we care so deeply. That is a very good thing!" (Luther Punk)

Well said…and yes…thank you for all the energy and wonderful dialog around the issue of lay presidency.  I am by no means cutting off or finished with this lively and healthy dialog.  There is definitely some deep seeded beliefs about lay presidency.  I do see what Luther Punk is saying about calling and gifts and I will be exploring that some more, but right now it doesn’t change my belief about lay presidency.  The openness that has been shown is quite amazing and and for that I am thankful.

But now I would like to move to the Gospel text for Sunday from Matthew 3:13-17 and maybe get into a discussion about the other sacrament — baptism.  According the the lectionary, this Sunday (January 13) is called "The Baptism of our Lord".  Since Epiphany is about revealing who Jesus is the text seems very appropriate as God announces from heaven after Jesus is baptized, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

But the questions I want to ponder are ones that always seem to come up when we deal with the text about Jesus being baptized.  The questions are this:  Why did Jesus have to be baptized? and When Jesus says that this must be done to fulfill all righteousness…what does he mean by "all righteousness?  Both are very good questions and of course I have my own thoughts about what is going on.  And…has always…feel free to "correct" me if you feel I am "wrong" 🙂

When I think about baptism I go back to Romans 6 where Paul says that "if we have been united with him in a death like his we will certainly be untied with him in a resurrection like his."  Baptism here then is about being identified with Jesus or joined to Jesus.  Therefore, since we are identified with Jesus; what is his is now ours…not because of anything we have done but because Jesus first identified with us.

Now to Jesus’ baptism…

…if John’s baptism was for repentance for the forgiveness of sins, then why did Jesus need to be baptized?  Jesus was sinless and had no need to repent.  The way I see it is that by being baptized Jesus identified himself with sinners.  If Jesus was going to bring us to righteousness, he needed to identify with sinners…he needed to identify with us.  And because Jesus identifies with sinners Jesus understands very intimately what we need.  Jesus understands what must be done.  Jesus understands that he must die and rise so we can live.  So therefore it all comes down to identification.

What do you think of that?  What are your thoughts?  (Of course I still invite you thoughts on the issue of lay presidency which is posted below.)

Thank you again for you contributions and I look forward to many more lively conversations.  Take care and God bless!

-edh-

Holy Communion (Lay Presidency)

/ The Pastor / 30 Comments

I am going to throw something out there that may be a hot button topic for some (at least it is for some here in the SW MN Synod).  I hope that by me writing this I don’t get myself "in trouble" with the synod, but my guess is that they would want a pastor willing to speak their mind.  So I am going to go with that belief. 

The topic I want to throw out there is the issue of lay presidency.  If you don’t know what this is basically it is the celebration of Holy Communion where a lay person (instead of an ordained clergy person) presides.  In SW MN and other rural synods this is an important practice in some areas because of the lack of pastors (in the Minneapolis, St. Paul synods and other urban areas this is NOT an issue because of the plethora of additional pastors waiting for call or retired).  Sometimes small churches have to rely on lay leaders to lead their congregations in worship (and preside at communion).  Because of this problem in rural areas there are programs such as Faith Builders and SAMs (Synodically Authorized Ministers).  To limit lay presidency would be to limit a congregation’s access to the Lord’s Supper.

Recently, lay presidency has come under scrutiny among many bishops and has been a heated topic of discussion at synod assembly.  When I has on internship lay presidency was an issue.  My supervisor wanted me to preside at communion at least once before I left.  So he was able to get the bishop’s approval for one service (and lucky for me because the bishop before him would not have given the authorization).  I don’t get it.  A person can do a lot more damage preaching than they could presiding at communion.  As I heard a colleague quote someone, "Any idiot can read the words of institution" (not that pastor’s are idiots…you get my point).  As people (as pastors, SAMs or the like) we add nothing to the bread and wine.  Our faith (or knowledge) does not make communion any more effective or ineffective.  As our mantra says its "Word alone".  God’s Word does the work…not us.

Now…I do understand maintaining "good order" (that is the reason the Church requires ordained pastors to preside at communion) but if you have a SAM or some other trained person, why can’t they preside in extreme cases?  Rural ministry has a number of challenges that urban areas do not have (or do not understand).  We have small congregations fighting to stay open.  We have faithful, hungry people longing for the Lord’s Supper.  Why do we have to limit the leadership to a select group of people?

I guess the next question would be…then why go to seminary?  Why have a group of people set apart for the ministry of word and sacrament?  Why not just become a Synodically Authorized Minister…that would be cheaper?  The thing is…pastors do serve a purpose.  We are not any more special than anyone else.  Our calling is not any more important than the calling to be a garbage collector.  And lay presidency is not going to minimize the role of pastors.  All that lay presidency will do is allow flexibility in proclaiming this the gospel…something that is free…something that we have no right to "control".

So…where do you stand on this?  Is it okay for a lay person to preside at communion (in extreme situations)?  Should bishops be free to give this authorization?  Am I missing something in my argument?  I would love to hear from you.

I know there are many various different opinions out there and I am not trying to minimize those…I am simply stating my belief and current frustrations.  I honor other beliefs and encourage healthy dialog.  So leave you comments here…I (and others) would love to hear from you.

God bless!

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer (is back) – 01/06/08

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Good morning to all…

After a short hiatus, "Sunday Morning Prayer" is back.  Christmas has a way of throwing our schedules off and now I am still trying to find my routine again.  Starting last week on Wednesday did not help things…this Monday should be better.

A quick and early update:  A week into this new year and my resolutions are going pretty well. I am still running and actually have increased my weekly running mileage.  And weight still continues to come off.  I am eating fruits and vegetables every day and have found a Bible reading plan on my Logos Bible Study software on my computer.  Number 3 (time management)…well…I have some work to do there.  At my office I do great.  I am getting more and more done all the time.  At home?…well…that is a different story.  Maybe I should stay away from www.addictinggames.com (I think the web address speaks for itself).

Anyway…let’s be constructive here and pray together:

God our Father, you have come to reveal your glory and greatness in this cold, dark world through your Son Jesus Christ.  You have come to reveal your victory over death and to reveal the gift of salvation to us all through faith.  Open our eyes to see your glory and grant us the vision to see the path you have laid out before us.  Grant us peace, contentment and courage as we loudly, boldly and confidently announce forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  Oh God, thank you for revealing your glory among us.  In your Son’s name we pray, Amen. (Context:  Sunday, Jan. 6 is called The Epiphany of our Lord).

Take care and I hope and pray you have a very blessed day.

-edh-