Personal

Faith journey

/ The Pastor / 11 Comments

[Personal side note: I know I have posted a lot recently so hopefully I am not overwhelming you…it’s just that I have had lots on my heart to say.]
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This last week has been a faith journey for me (times of trial have a way of leading people on these journeys).

For me this faith journey started (of course) last week when the ELCA Churchwide assembly began debating/discussing the sexuality issues.  But I don’t want to write another post about these issues (been there, done that).  Rather I want to share with you what has been going on inside of my heart during this past week…after all…this blog is titled “The HEART of a Pastor”.

Recently I had a conversation with a person who shared with me their heart about what happened at the ELCA CWA.  When this person called me and told me they were coming in, I did not expect a conversation about “the vote”, but when this person arrived…oh boy…I saw the heart of this person that I had not seen before.  They were almost apologetic but I kept telling them “We need more people like you to open their hearts and share what they are feeling about what is going on.  I appreciate seeing and hearing your passion and faith.”  This person was not happy about the outcome of “the vote” but need to tell someone…and they felt I was the only one they could talk to.  I wish that were no so.  I wish this person felt comfortable talking to others about their feelings and faith.  I told this person “I got a feeling that there are plenty others who probably feel the same as you.  So share your faith and don’t be afraid.”  I am not sure what this person will do, but hopefully this is just the beginning.

But in another way this “beginning” kind of scares me…

…part of me doesn’t feel ready to take on this task because I am still on this faith journey.  But another part of me knows that I need to be ready to guide and lead this congregation…and because that is the case I trust that God will guide me along this journey and give me what I need to lead Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches through these tumultuous (wow…that is kind of a big word for me to use, but I like it) waters.

Yet another part of me is somewhat concerned what people here and beyond will do.  Will churches and people up and leave the ELCA?  Will Salem want to do that?  This is just one uncertainty that plagues me and one that I need to be ready to deal with.  I need to explore my heart and test my faith to see where it leads me.  I know the question will come up so I am in constant prayer…asking God for guidance and wisdom here.  “What is your plan for me and this church, oh  God?  Where are you leading us?  How are we to be faithful witnesses to the world during this tumultuous time in the Church?  But also…I don’t want this issue of homosexuality to distract us from the Gospel.  Grant me/us wisdom oh God.”

But I am thankful that this journey is happening before the busyness of the fall season hits.  School is not in session yet; Release Time and Confirmation classes don’t start for another couple weeks and Salem’s 125th anniversary is still a couple weeks away.  I can afford some down time to pray, reflect, talk with colleagues, write, read, pray, reflect, etc… And I got a feeling I will be doing plenty of this during the week and beyond.

I don’t understand why things happened last week the way they did, but I hope and pray it causes people to reflect, pray and engage their own personal faith journeys.  Maybe the Church needed this to spur people to action; to explore their relationship with God; to get people talking and thinking; to force people to explore their faith; to get into scripture more.  Whatever God is doing I trust that the mission of Christ will continue forward and that we will continue to be faithful witnesses.

“Oh God, grant me strength and wisdom.”

-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-

What a blessing

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

I feel incredibly blessed…

Yesterday the congregation I serve celebrated the 5 year anniversary of my ordination (which is on July 2).  There was a special recognition of this occasion during worship in addition to a number of other surprises my wife and others cooked up (and let me tell you…as a pastor who is used to leading worship, it was a little uncomfortable not knowing what was going on in worship…but I still really enjoyed and appreciated what they did).  Connie’s very musical family was there to provide special music and brass accompaniment during the hymns and offering.  My mom read scripture and the church presented me with a gift.  After worship there was a cake/coffee reception for me (something the community was invited to, along with worship).  These were all things I was truly unworthy of, but it was nice to experience this affirmation of my call here.  I feel incredibly blessed for God has done amazing things here through all of us.

So many people were involved to help make this a special day and they tried so hard to keep things from me (which was tough considering we live and serve in a small town and small congregation), but they did a great job.  So if you are one of those people reading this…THANK YOU!…yesterday will be a day I will always remember and treasure.  But the main we all need to remember (and something that people highlighted yesterday) is that through it all…in everything that happens good and bad…PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Thank you to Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches and to the community of Jackson.  Connie and I are very happy to be part of these communities.  PRAISE BE TO GOD!

-edh-

Quiet

/ The Pastor

June has been unusually quiet…

…I guess I shouldn’t say “usually” since most Junes are quiet for me (and for many pastors).  It just means the end of a busy program year (i.e Release Time, Confirmation, Sunday school have ended for the summer).  But for many people things can pick up a bit with youth trips, weddings, VBS, etc.  I guess it is just a different kind of busy; a refreshing one.

In any case…around here things are quiet…for now.  VBS is not until the week of July 19; I don’t have any youth trips planned this summer (having only a couple kids makes youth trips difficult); but I do have3 weddings this summer (2 in June and 1 in July) and 1 in the fall.  It’s going to be “busy” but still quiet around here.

It is also kind of eerie to look out my window and not see kids running around (my window looks out onto the elementary playground).  I have gotten so used to the sound of kids yelling and screaming and running around that it almost feels like I have been “Left Behind” now.  But the reality of school being done will hit me eventually.

So with the quietness I am using my time to refresh and catch up.  Like I mentioned in my last post I have been doing a lot of reading.  I want to read as many books as I can in a variety of subjects this summer.  One starting place…my bookshelf…which contains many books I have purchased but haven’t read yet.  Maybe you can relate…you see a book that you must have so you buy it.  You bring it home and place it on the counter, bookshelf, coffee table or wherever and kind of forget about it.  Then you find another “must have” book so you buy that one.  And the process continues.  Well…I need to stop buying books and read what I got, so that is what I am doing (after I read the book I just bought…I guess I just can’t quit cold turkey).

And…with the “new found” quietness I am doing some listening.  It is too easy to get caught up in all that “must” be done that we can forgot (or just plain fail) to listen to God.  Whatever my case I am taking time to just sit and listen (and “no”…that is not a politically correct way to say that I am being lazy).  When one is (too) busy one has a tendency to rely on ones own strength and energy, but when you sit and listen to God, then comes a powerful reminder that God is God and you don’t go it alone.  My strength is not enough, but God’s strength is more than we will ever need.  Praise be to God for that.

So…I am enjoying my quietness and I hope you find some quietness of your own to enjoy.  If you’re “too busy” force yourself to stop for a well and be quite:
–Read a book outside.

–Go for a walk…alone (without listening to your iPod, etc).

–Go for a bike ride…again…alone.

–Enjoy a cup of cup while watching the birds in your feeder.

–Unashamedly daydream.

–Pray and read your Bible (of course).

–Golf.

–Do whatever calms your spirit.

Enjoy some quietness and listen to the gentle voice of God.  God has much to say to you.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

I am ready

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

It is Monday (or it WAS Monday…since I wrote this yesterday and am finishing this post today) and I am back in the office.   As you know from my last post my wife and I were out in Washington visiting my internship congregation.  It was such a relaxing time…visiting with friends, hiking, shopping, eating AWESOME seafood, gazing at the beautiful scenery and spending time with my wife.  It was just what the doctor ordered.

So now…as I sit here in my office…I am feeling refreshed (never mind feeling overwhelmed yesterday morning trying to catch up); ready to get back into the swing of things:
I am ready to get back to the craft of preaching.

I am ready to write some lesson plans.

I am ready to begin getting caught up with people here.

I am ready to begin planning the end of the program year.

I am ready to lead this congregation once again.

I am ready to breath the air of SW MN once again with a renewed sense of ministry.

I am ready…

I have talked with people who think vacations are not a priority; that they are a waste of time and money (especially in our struggling economy now days), but I do not regret spending the money I did these past two weeks.  I do not regret it because I feel blessed and since that is the case I need to take care of myself and my wife.  I need to be able to continue the ministry God has given me to do.   And I am ready once again to take on the challenges that are ahead and for that I give thanks and praise to God.

So with that I must move forward…because…I am now ready.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

Back in time

/ The Pastor

I know I said that I would be back here until April 27 but I decided to pop back in and share with you where I am at right now.

This morning my wife and I woke up on Fir Island; 5 miles south of Mount Vernon, Washington.  Fir Island is an island that is formed by the splitting of the Skagit river as both forks drain into the Puget Sound.  This is also the place where I spent a wonderful year of my life doing my internship at Fir-Conway Lutheran Church.  In about an hour I will be at the church building to see people…and taking a little trip back into time.

Before I go forward anymore I should be a little more specific about my waking up this morning.  When I got up I went into the kitchen and got some coffee.  I proceeded out onto the deck where a magnificent view was waiting for me; one created by God to welcome me to Washington.  As I sipped my coffee I peered straight ahead and caught a view of Mount Rainier…and what a sight it was.   It has to be a clear day up here before you can see that majestic mountain from here.  After a couple breathtaking moments I moved my gaze to the left where I caught the beginning the the sun’s approach over the Cascade Mountains that are just miles from my current location.  After a few moments recalling the many times I got to experiences views of the Cascades I shifted my gaze to the right where the Olympic Mountains were waiting to greet me.  What a sight they are as well.  I stood on the deck sipping my coffee; being greeted by this wonderful creation and gave thanks to our God for His awesomeness and faithfulness…and for my little trip back into time.

I say that this is a trip back into time because as I sit here I am reminded of all the things I learned while here; things I still employ in my ministry now:
(1) Monthly recognition of baptismal anniversaries.
(2) My sermon prep routine that my supervisor taught me; a routine that has served me well for 5 + years.
(3) Basic self care practices.
(4) The affirmation that God, family and self come before council meetings, committee meetings and other last night church events that “need” you there.

…and there are more “little” things that I won’t get into here.  In any case I am  very thankful for my time here and I am very thankful that I get to come and visit for a few days.

I am not sure if I will be back here before I return next week, but if I am not have a wonderful week and I look forward to sharing some pictures from this beautiful corner of God’s creation.

Take care and God bless!

-edh-

Vacation

/ The Pastor

I apologize for the inactivity of this blog but Holy Week kept me busy as usual and now I am on vacation.  I’ll see you all the week of April 27.

Take care and God bless.

-edh-

That time of the year

/ The Pastor

About this time of the year I start feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Holy Week is bearing down on us; there are classes to prepare for; Sunday worship to prepare for; I have a funeral this week and that is all among anything else I usually do doing the week.  I expressed this feeling to my wife this past Saturday.  And…when I started feeling overwhelmed one would think I would turn to God for help, but often times I try to work harder to make sure I handle everything alright, but this week God has had a sense of humor and thus has humbled me.

Later in the day on Saturday (after I expressed my feeling of being overwhelmed) my wife and I discovered we had an unwelcome visitor in our basement.  My suspicion was a chipmunk or squirrel.  On Sunday after worship we went downstairs to check things out.  And there it was…a squirrel.  I chased it around for a while and was getting close to chasing it out the door, but it decided it wanted to stay.  The next few days entailed me searching the basement high and low for the pesky thing. I would see evidence of it once in a while and actually saw it once, but it quickly ran and hid.  I set a rat trap, but it just sprung the trap and took the bait.  Smart little creature.  Eventually, on Thursday, the squirrel let down it’s guard and got caught in the trap.  No more squirrel.  As frustrating as it was, when I look back on the last few days, it was kind of funny.

Now…today…I went over to the church to get the mail.   I dropped off the church mail in the office and brought mine to my office.  As I was walking back to the parsonage I realized my pocket felt a little lighter.  Yup…I locked my keys in my office for the very first time.

“Yes God…I get it.  You are in control.”

Today is my day off and I am enjoying my weird little circumstances from the past week and I am smiling.  And you know something…I am not feeling too overwhelmed right.  God is indeed in control…

…and praise be to God!

But please God…no more squirrels.

-edh-