For the time being, I'll just post over at Reflections from Seminary Life.

Time to start blogging again, I think...

I've considered, off and on, getting back to writing on here. Since I'm no longer a supply pastor, I can't really post my sermons, so what to do?

I suppose I could make this another "seminarian blog" where I write about all the blessings and woes of seminary life. Arguably there are already too many of those out there, and I could just as easily post my thoughts as statuses on Facebook, so why bother?

Well, I guess to some extent I have a "unique voice," though I don't really use phrases like "unique voice," and it sounds a bit egotistical to claim to have one. But, that said, I could think of it the same way I used to think of preaching, I don't need to be original all the time, just me...

Plus, posting on here is, in some ways, a more "stable" and "open" format than the Facebook status and note.

So, here I'll be... from time to time. I won't commit to anything more than one post a week. That sets the bar of discipline just low enough that I might meet it.

Choices, Choices

Choices, Choices

The First Podcast

enjoy.

Thought for the day

I don't think "why" is a very fruitful question when it comes to spiritual development. That's because I don't think it's a question God is in the habit of answering. It's a better idea to ask "what did I learn from this" than to ask "why did this happen?" The reason, I think, is because "why" puts things on a sliding scale; does the answer to "why" justify the "what" that occurred, which is completely dependent upon our feelings at the time.

No Sermon This Week

I attempted to utilize more notes this Sunday and less of the "written-out" approach. Hence, no post. I apologize. I may try to type it up later this week, but more than likely you'll have to wait till next Sunday. Have a good week and God Bless.

Salt and Saltiness (Sermon 2-13-11)

Matthew 5:13-20


Who else is grateful for the recent turn in the weather? I know we live in Indiana and we ought, by now, to be used to the often dramatic swings in temperature from one day to the next. But I am so glad to be able to be here today, I missed you all last week. And I’m trying to keep myself from becoming too excited about predictions of 50 degree weather for the coming week and the possibility of little to no snow left in our Winter; I’m afraid I might jinx it all if I allow myself to adjust to the idea.

Now, technically speaking, if we were following the lectionary to the T, we would’ve skipped this particular passage from last week and moved on to the next section of the Sermon. However, I simply like this passage too much to do that. Plus, I think last weeks storm gives us at least one useful mental image to think on with today’s passage.

On an average Sunday your typical pastor called to preach upon this passage for the week might get up and ask “what do you think of when you think of salt?” And there could be several potential responses: everything from “McDonalds French Fries” to “my water softner.” We have a lot of uses for salt. But, after recent events, one particular use is probably at the front of our minds: rock salt.

Don't Run (Sermon 1-30-11)

Matthew 5:1-12

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” That’s probably on the top-ten list of things little kids get asked on a regular basis. It’s right up there with “what did you do in school today?” and “can’t you just sit still for a minute?” It’s a cutesy type thing to ask a kid. It’s a fun way of finding out who there current set of heroes are.

Like, when I was a kid, after I gave up on being Superman (too complicated of a process), I wanted to be (in order) a fighter pilot, followed by a short stint as a lawyer, rounded off by concluding my life as a writer. If none of those worked out, I’d settle for being either Indiana Jones, or Sherlock Holmes.

Think about your own list for a moment. What qualified a choice as a good one? Adventure? Respect? Money? All those great and exciting things which are meant to go along with being the “good guy.”

God messes stuff up (Sermon 1-23-11)

Matthew 4:12-23
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How do you deal with stress? What are your habits? I don’t mean like chewing your fingernails popping your knuckles, but time consuming ways of managing stress. For example, some people, when the world gets to be too much for them, go exercise, maybe out for a run, or out for a game of golf. Others might read a book, or veg out in front of the TV, some form of escapism. Some people have projects they work on, like building something, or getting some place organized. Most folks use a combination of any of these and more depending on how the mood suits them.

Behold the Lamb of God (Sermon 1-16-10)

John 1:29-42

Last week, I mentioned briefly our current culture’s increasing obsession with all things paranormal and drew a connection between that and a decreased attendance at churches. Now, of course, that connection is not absolute. Not everyone who enjoys Twilight or Ghost Hunters is an unbeliever, and not every unbeliever is a fan of those types of shows.

In fact, in the interest of being entirely candid, when it comes to some of those ghost shows, I have to admit that I find them entertaining, too. Actually, this past week, one of my coworkers lent me his copy the second season of a show called Ghost Adventures. And within a few days I had watched most of it.

Hide and Seek (Sermon 1-9-11)

Matthew 2:1-12

You know, when I first visited Bethesda, one of the first things they told me was that their's was a more “casual” church. I didn’t have to wear a tie when I stepped up on Sunday mornings. Who knew that, for me anyway, I actually just feel better if I do wear a tie? It’s kind of weird the way we adjust as adults into habits which we hated when we were kids.

But I was relieved, because, even though I still wear a tie, they seem to have accepted, or at least looked the other way, with regards to some of my other departures from normative attire. For example, only one person has ever mentioned the fact that I tend to wear Chuck Taylors instead of dress shoes, and that was in a positive regard. Also, as of yet no one has made a disparaging remark when I come in on a Sunday morning less-than-clean-shaven.

But one of the more casual aspects of my appearance which I was kind of in between about at first was the D-ring. I know it seems insignificant, but it really sets a tone. On-casual; off-formal. I wasn’t sure if it might not have been a step too far. But, in the end, it had to be done, I had to wear it. Not because I wanted to look more casual, but because I’m dependant upon it.

Resolutions and Why We Stink at Them (Sermon 1-2-11)

John 1:1-18
Ephesians 1:1-14


 Happy New Year! This morning I’m going to ask the same question that I would guess about 95% of pastors are going to ask their congregations: It’s been 24 hours, how are you doing on your resolution? Anybody doing great? Anybody doing so-so? Anybody already give up? Anybody decide that their resolution was going to be not to make a resolution?

That’s been my resolution for the past couple years now. For a long while, every New Years and Lent, it always seemed like I was making up a decision at the last minute, remembering that “oh yeah, everybody else is going to have one, I need one too.” I wonder, am I the only one, or do most people make these resolutions just because “it’s the thing to do.”

Do any of us really put that much stock in the power of having to hang a new calendar and remember to put ‘11 instead of ‘10 when you date a check? Did anyone wake up yesterday morning and say to themselves “Ahhhh, it’s a fresh year”? I imagine a pretty large number of folks woke up yesterday morning and instead said “ooohhh, owww, why did I do that to myself?”

Gift Language (Sermon 12-26-10)

A quick note: this is the chapel version of the sermon that I preached last Wednesday. I edited the original and cut the family stories out a bit, because my family was coming to Bethesda to hear me this last Sunday and I didn't want to embarrass them by talking about them in front of everyone.
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Luke 2:1-20



I remember once, when I was 14, my family decided to take a trip down to Arizona to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Smith. They’d just moved down there the year before, to a retirement community called Green Valley, because of Grandma’s asthma and Grandpa’s heart issues.  I remember thinking when we first decided to go that, apart from getting to see Grandma and Grandpa, this was going to be the most boring vacation ever- who wants to go visit a retirement community?

What's in a Name? (Sermon 12-19-10)

Matthew 1:18-25


When I was a kid, like all good children, I loved Dr. Seuss books. I loved Fox in Sox, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, but most of all, if I remember correctly, I loved the story of The Sneetches. If you don’t remember the story, it starts out this way:

Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.
Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small.
You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all.

But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches
Would brag, “We’re the best kind of Sneetch on the beaches.”
With their snoots in the air, they would sniff and they’d snort
“We’ll have nothing to do with the Plain-Belly sort!”
And, whenever they met some, when they were out walking,
They’d hike right on past them without even talking.

The story then goes on to tell of the arrival of one Sylvester McMonkey McBean, a hero of capitalism, the fix-it-up-chappie, who builds a sort of Ruth Goldberg style tattoo machine which can place a star upon the belly of any sneetch. Of course, then, chaos ensues as the Sneetches which had formerly had stars upon thars now wanted no stars upon thars due to the Sneetches which did not have stars upon thars now having stars upon thars. And Mr. McBean, ever ready to make his living, supplies a similar star removal machine. And eventually, all of the Sneetches are running in and out of both machines, paying their money, putting stars on and having them removed, until nobody knows which was which first.

Now, I have long believed that my brain works in funny ways and often draws connections between thoughts which are in no-way related, and here is the proof: every Advent and Christmas season, without fail, and some point while passing a nativity scene and observing the star which is often glued to the peak of the roof of the stable, or when passing some other Christmas decoration including the star which the Magi followed, I will inevitably here the words “the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars. The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars,” somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

Of Mary and Signposts (Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent; 12-12-10)

Luke 1:39-56


Mary is a bit of an enigma for we Protestants, or more accurately we non-Roman Catholic Christian Westerners. Though our Methodist lineage is not quite the same as that of other Protestant denominations in the world, we too were influenced by the events of the Reformation, though perhaps in some unique ways. But one thing that did carry over is that, for the average person in the pew at least, there used to be a bit of an aversion to things “Popish” and smelling of veneration.

Advent: Why Wait? (Sermon 12-5-10)

Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19


People love to celebrate. We love to throw parties, dress up, eat big meals followed up by great desserts and coffee or wines, and make a big to-do of things. Any chance we get, whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or even on the occasion of moving away, we love to get everybody together and have a good time.

It’s in our nature to celebrate. Celebration helps us to remember things, how old we are, how long we’ve been with someone, or how important the people in our current situation in life have been to us. When we don’t celebrate, we have a tendency to forget, or worse, to take for granted. In fact, this is one of the chief reasons we gather together every Sunday, to celebrate the work of God in Christ, to be reminded of the good words of the Gospel, lest we forget. We celebrate to defy forgetfulness.

No Sermon Today...

Today we had a "Hanging of the Greens" service, and as such I wasn't required to give sermon. I may post what I write up for chapel on Wednesday, we'll see.

What does this tell us about God? (Sermon 11-21-10)

1 John 5:13-21

Thanksgiving is upon us now, only days away. Dried noodles and frozen pumpkin filling are patiently waiting in their zip locked containers for the upcoming week. And as we prepare our turkeys and mashed potatoes among other things, perhaps amidst the fray we’ll be able to stop and think, if just for a minute, about all the things which we have to be thankful for. Perhaps for having a job during tough economic times. Maybe for having family and friends when it’s so easy to find yourself lonely. If we are so lucky we may even gain a sense of how these things are truly blessings, dependent much more upon the grace of God than we’re usually inclined to give credit for.

Maybe, if we’re watching the game after the big meal, or a special on the History Channel while we’re preparing the food, we’ll think for a moment about the fabled origin of this holiday; not the legalized national origins when an official date was set in 1941, but the story of Plymouth Plantation, the 53 Pilgrims and 90 some Native Americans. We might think of them giving thanks to God after a successful harvest following a difficult year.

And that’s always how it’s coupled, I think. Blessings in the midst of suffering, boon and bane together. I’ve never subscribed to the idea that bad times make the good times more valuable, rather I think good times make the bad times more bearable. I think, in the midst of difficulties, we get glimmers of hope, things to hold on to, promises that can still create faith amongst the barrage of worries, fears, and doubts; faith in the middle of a world often gone drastically wrong.

His Burden is Light (Sermon 11-7-10)

I wish this was the version of the sermon I preached this morning. 
Unfortunately, whereas this is the finished product, this morning's 
version was the rough draft, a rough draft which, sadly, probably 
sounded too much like law, though my expressed intent was to go 
in another direction... 
God willing I will do better at Chapel on Wednesday.
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1 John 5:1-5
In addition to keeping a blog, I check a lot of blogs. Blogs are a quick, easy way to access informative opinions from a broad scope of perspectives. Sometimes it seems like everyone has a blog anymore, and while that can be tiresome, it also means that, in addition to the “isn’t it so great, my baby said ‘poop’ for the first time” type blogs out there, there’s also a load of good theologically oriented blogs out there as well.

A number of the blogs I check are from theological streams outside of my own. I try to keep tabs on just about everybody, whether Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, pretty much everyone aside from the Baptist, because who cares what’s going on with the Baptists? Only kidding of course.
I find, however, that the blogs I check back on most frequently are the ones kept by former professors of mine. I’m five, almost five and half, years out of college, and I still look to many of these men for guidance on some of the tougher issues of the faith. Many of the teachers which I sat under were very intelligent, and very wonderful examples of the faith.

So, after last Sunday, having preached on my own experience at Indiana Wesleyan with regards to the teaching of holiness and sanctification, highlighting how that experience pushed me in the direction of Lutheranism, I found it interesting that one of my former professors posted that same day a note with this heading: “Why Holiness is such a hard sell.”

He First Loved Us (Sermon 10-31-10)

1 John 4:7-21

            If you weren’t aware, today is actually two holidays rolled into one. In fact, it’s two of my favorite holidays. I’ve always loved Halloween. Just like any other kid, I always thought eating loads of candy, playing make-believe, and being out late at night was the perfect combination of things to do. Any insistence by fellow believers over the years on the evil nature of Halloween’s pagan origin has always fallen on deaf ears for me. I never had the misfortune of running into a witches’ coven or any unearthly malevolent being while out loading up on kit-kats and trading whoppers for the good stuff.

            However, a holiday which I have come to celebrate with, albeit less fervor, but no less sincerity and appreciation, is Reformation Day, which also happens to be today. On this day 493 years ago, the day before All Saint’s Day, according the account of Philipp Melanchthon, Martin Luther strolled up to the doors of All Saint’s Church, or Castle Church, in Wittenberg, Germany, and nailed to the door of the church a paper, or disputation, which he had written and also sent a copy of to his archbishop, Albert of Mainz, containing “95 thesis” on “The Power and Efficacy of Indulgences;” criticizing the sale of indulgences, aspects of the doctrine of purgatory in general, and some of the policies of the Pope.

Greater is He who is in You (or, my Daddy can whip your Daddy) (Sermon 10-24-10)

1 John 4:1-6  

              What keeps you up at night? Pause to think about that for a moment. Are there things in your past? Things in your future? Questions that are left unanswered? Perhaps, with Halloween almost upon us it’s good to reflect on those things which scare us. As children, of course, the ghouls and the goblins, witches and vampires, all were meant to frighten us but in a fun way. As we grow older, the things which frighten us are no longer fun, in fact we may relish the days when all we had to worry about were whether or not there really was a boogey man hanging out in the closet, or under the bed.