While at LJO’s thing last week picked up some more books at the Fuller Book store. Tonight I decided to see what this one was about. Very applicable to my ministry as a small church pastor.

Right from the first chapter…

“Culture is the most important social reality in your church. Though invisible to the untrained eye, its power is undeniable. Culture gives color and flavor to everything your church is and does. Like a powerful current running through your church, it can move you inland or take you farther out to sea. It can prevent your church’s potential from being realized, or-if used by the Holy Spirit-it can draw others in and reproduce healthy spiritual life along the way.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eZBevXohCI]

humor is good for the soul.

ht:ysmarko

Learning how to read again in the doctor of ministry program at fuller. Seminary was the place I had my button kicked when it came to reading. Found the blurb below amazing for any church in the middle of transition or in the middle of a project.

In their book, “Who Needs Theology?”Grenz and Olson write, “Our heritage is a reference point in that it contains examples of previous attempts to fulfill the theological mandate from which today we can learn.” (96)

Haven’t had time to really process what I learned from LJO. We were away with some old friends here. It was neat to catch up, watch, and listen to what God is doing the lives of his people.

Here’s a couple of LJO quotes from last week…

“Great preaching is when we allow Christ in his power to meet us at the point in our needs hopes and dreams, so then we can reach out to those we preach.”

“We preach with passion when we listen to the deepest needs of our people.” 

 ”The sermon is the preacher up to date.” 

 Three hopes for me as a preacher.  

Sunday after Sunday I would hear him preach the word with passion. There was never a dull moment. Fuller is hosting a wonderful event this month and in January. I will be here today sitting at the feet of a gifted preacher.

It was a long weekend in so many ways. I officiated a memorial service of a way cool guy hanging with Jesus as we speak. No more suffering. No more pain. Jimmy is indeed with the king of kings. I also officiated a wedding yesterday for a neat couple.

Right after the wedding, an older gentleman and I were talking and he said to me, “you know, preaching is like selling newspapers. You’re selling the same news every week hoping someone will buy it.”
Another person said to me, “you know, you’ve done a memorial service, a wedding, now all you need is a baptism. You’d have the whole spectrum of life.”

Smile. Smile. Smile.

Survived the first week of an online experience at fuller for the doctor of ministry program. This online experience is very unique. I’ve never participated in something like this in that as a class we interact through a chat board if you will. The papers I write are uploaded to a “drop box” and if I need to chat with the professors I send them an email through the message system set up in my “virtual” class room. The cool thing is that you can even track your grades for assignments. Very cool. In many ways its a global community of followers of Jesus trying to make a difference in the kingdom of God. This week our readings are from Nouwen’s, “In the Name of Jesus,” and Bonhoeffer’s, “Life Together.”

Community is vital to me. It has always been a desire of my heart to live amongst friends. When I was involved early on in my ministry as a youth worker and as a wannabe collegian I participated on two occasions in a community of friends who lived in community serving a local neighborhood near our church. It was one the most powerful experiences of what community should be as the church. It was an honor to serve Christ, but the honor came from being with friends who were like minded and who desired a more intimate relationship with the Lord. Bonhoeffer’s opening line in his book summarizes the importance of followers of Jesus living together as “friends”, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Ps. 133:1 In community I find restoration for the soul. Forgiveness and grace. In community I come broken ready for God to change me, and in community I find with friends a desire to go back into the world and into the neighborhoods around us with the same message we found together living in community. Hope. And the cool thing about my call to serve Christ as a pastor??? The church is my community of friends and we together represent to the world what it means to follow Jesus and we get to represent what the kingdom of God here on earth should be and should look like.

Reading a book by Alan Hirsch for class called, “The Forgotten Ways.” He describes what he calls “Apostolic Genius” as the primal missional potencies of the gospel and of God’s people. Simply that there is something innate in all of us as followers of Jesus that needs to be unleashed.  What would the church look like if we focused our energy on helping followers of Jesus find that power within, the heart of God, to transform our communities in the Name of Christ? There’s another book for you to read Steve!!!

Jimmy went home today to be with the Lord. Nothing in seminary really prepares you to confront life and death issues you face in pastoring a church until you actually walk with someone through their pain.