Week 2 in my new ministry position is done. It was another very busy week… lots of driving around the Chicagoland area. I drove 42 miles one day and 34 the next day. I am thankful for my 2 GB iPod and my trusty iPod radio transmitter.
Early in the week, I got to play on a clay tennis court for the first time ever. It was very different… the ball kicks up much higher… and it’s harder to find traction. I prefer playing on hard courts… but there is a certain ambiance to playing on clay. Next up on my wish list: Grass courts.
Two different people in the last month have told me that my early days in a new position will be very important for a specific reason. I will need to find a healthy balance between work and home quickly… I was told that the work habits that I develop early are very hard to get away from later. I want to make sure that my family is receiving the attention they need from me.
Yesterday was a fun day for me. I had a number of projects to do around the house and Emily decided she wanted to help me. So we broke down boxes and took them to the church dumpster together. I helped fix a problem with her little bike. She helped me take some stuff to the basement. I love it when I can spend times like this with her. She comes over and hangs out in my office from time to time. I don’t get anything done, really… but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Tuesday night was my first board meeting. It went fairly smooth. My biggest challenge will be trying to learn when the discussion is starting to get repetitive and to call for a vote or a motion… My tendency is to let people talk until they are done talking… even if they had run out of things to say about a half hour ago. There really wasn’t a situation like this at the board meeting this week… but it’s something I’ll be watching.
I continued to visit people in their homes and schedule lunches with various persons. I am starting to get a picture of the current landscape at this church. I’m starting to identify ‘hot button’ issues and ‘sacred cow’ type things. There are certain people in every church that have a DEEP passion for a specific cause. Those people tend to make decisions and judgments based on whether or not their ‘cause’ is being developed or addressed. It is interesting to watch.
I prayed for a dead person this week. Seriously. I was praying from a prayer list and there was a person listed there with the word ‘cancer’ by her name… so I prayed a prayer of healing for her. Two people interrupted me at the same time and said that she had passed away. Evidently, the prayer list hadn’t been updated for awhile. Ooops. Does that make me Catholic now?
Quick hits: Emily has started a two week class of swim lessons. Our house is pretty much in order now except for hanging some blinds. Big relief. Preached my first sermon this morning… seemed to go well, but I don’t know. The kids’ big wooden swingset arrives tomorrow. I think my brother will help me build it on his next visit next weekend. Sherlock is still alive for those of you interested in him. Cardinals stink.
2 comments:
Josh, can't wait to hear more of your adventures in senior pastoring! Jeff says 'niiiice' about the clay courts (I read your blog out loud to him as we watched Tiger NOT pull a win out on the 18th hole in the final round of the US Open...Angel Cabrera won, and anyone names Angel deserves to win right???)
anyway, liv is missing em...she's in texas right now and told us she found a new friend names Harmony cuz emily moved away...but she says she wants to visit em when Jeff gets home from work (he left for a business trip the day before his mom took the kids to Texas last monday)...she's so funny.
hugs and kisses to aaron, em, wissa, and sherlock!
Josh, you have been in my dreams lately . . . I wish I could replace "dreams" with "prayers" . . . I'm not really sure why I dreamt of you. I guess that's the way dreams are.
You ought to know that my sister and I go to school with Kristin and Katie Keith whose family apparently attends your church. That's neat. Now I have to tell them you used to be my youth pastor and tought me good lessons about how not everybody is like me, and that's a good thing!
Thanks for these reflections on the first days in pastoral oversight. They are interesting and helpful.
Yes, praying for a dead person does make you a catholic Christian, but not necessarily a Papist (is this word ONLY pejorative? I don't mean it to be.) Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans (and maybe Presbyterians and Lutherans???) all pray for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. I'm not sure why, but I do know the following: Only Catholics believe in purgatory, so the other traditions must do it for some other reason. Christians have always done this (even see 2 Tim. 1:16,17,esp.18 for a possible biblical example), continuing the practice which I understand carried over from Judaism. I did read this all somewhere, not just making it up.
I must confess I pray for my buried grandparents when we are offorded that opportunity in the prayers of the Anglican liturgy . . . but I must also admit that I am more inclined to pray for the deceased who died without faith in Christ, than for my Christian brothers. This, unfortunately, is not very orthodox. Oh well . . . we will all stand before the judge, who will repay us for what we have done in the body.
Christ is risen, and exalted, and with us forever! Glory to the Father with the Spirit!
The Lord be with you. As often as I remember, I'll pray for you, your family and ministry.
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