A New Post?

I am back - for those who might actually still check by here and see what's new (I don't know if any of those folks are left!)

I just wanted to post something about the youth study we are doing:

We are going through the Bible and talking about the life of a Christian. The first week I started by talking about the (sad) stats that show the evangelical community looking much like the secular world in the areas of abuse, divorce, crime etc. I asked why there is such a great disparity between the words we say, as evangelicals, and our lives.

Then we talked about what the Bible had to say about some of these areas, and discussed what that meant in the lives of a Christian. The next week we actually looked at how the Gospel is presented, oftentimes, in the modern western church; focusing on the fact that we are MOST concerned with 'fire insurance' as opposed to understanding the fact that we are a NEW creation! Unfortunately, sanctification is often left on teh table, and the 'salvation' experience is focused on to the exclusion of everything else.

So this week we discussed this questions: What should our lives look like as Christians?

So far, this has been an interesting study, with some lively discussion. I am using Ron Sider's book as a basic framework. While I may not agree with everything Mr. Sider says, overall the book is a good skeleton upon which I can lay some thoughts.

A final thought -- We have tagged our young people with names such as 'narcissistic', 'materialistic', and 'relativistic'. Now, they are all of these, but no more so than their parents! What I have found as we study is that the young folks are very idealistic, and want to live lives that reflect Christ -- they have just never been confronted with that reality!

Will continue this line of thought in upcoming posts.

Busy!

This is a post that I believe the Pyro crew would call WIARN -- "Where I Am Right Now".

You may have noticed that I have not posted in over a week at this location. Simply put, I have been underwater -- my 'secular' job has been consuming me, I have Passover Seder coming up, as well as the Easter morning service. I also have several counseling sessions going on and a new bird at home to boot!

I must be honest; there are times when I wish I was NOT a bi-vocational pastor. There is much to be said for being bi-vocational, i.e. getting out into the community, functioning in a role that helps me identify with the congregation etc., but there are also times when it would be nice to simply be able to focus for long periods of time on the job at hand at the church.

Truthfully, without the fantastic folks at the church, I could never accomplish what I do -- but I feel like I could be a better pastor to them if I were able to spend more time being a pastor. At times I feel like I am 'robbing' them because of the other demands on my time.

So, I apologize for the spotty posting, but for now, it will have to be that way... If I do not have time for the important things, then this blog will definitely be lower on the list... I hope to dig my way out in the next three weeks!