Bonus Bests for 2011: Topics That Hit Nerves

New Year's Eve will always be special to me. My wife and I have had some great dates on this date, one being one of our greatest dates of all time. Our first child was born on December 31, 2002. I'm naturally reflective on December 31. I skip the resolutions. I take a look back. I take a look forward. I do my best to live thankfully.

These two blog posts continue to get hits, even though neither was written in 2011. I want to share them with you on this reflective day for me.

1. Ten Commandments Mnemonic Used In Kids Sermon This post has nearly 1000 hits since I posted it in May, 2010, leading any other post I have made by almost 700 hits. I get at least 3-4 hits per week. I find this amusing for two reasons. First, it's enjoyable to see all the different spellings of "mnemonic" in web searches (pneumonic is my favorite). Second, most of the searches occur on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. Me thinks people are desperate for tools to teach the Commandments in Sunday School. I cannot take credit for this teaching tool, Nate Hanson, a Lutheran pastor in South Dakota shared this with me about 10 years ago, and I still use it to this day.

2. Remembering Dave Niehaus This was also a 2010 post. It still gets hits (it's in the top 5 for this blog all time). I still miss Dave Niehaus. Seattle Mariners fans know the gaping hole that was left in the culture of the region when Dave died in November, 2010. The popularity of the post reminds me how deeply people search when a loved one dies and how the soul is stirred. Someday Mariners broadcasting will move forward, but Dave will never be replaced. The scenario reminds me a lot of my 10 years in interim ministry.

Thank you for sharing with me in 100 posts for 2011. Happy New Year to everyone--blessings to all of you!

The Cosmic Significance of Jesus' Birth (John 1: 1-14)

I remember sitting with my infant children in the wee hours of the morning and found myself pondering. I pondered the enormous responsibility of caring for a child. I pondered the smallness of each human being in the scope of the universe. John's gospel does not tell a birth story like Matthew or Luke (Mark doesn't even reference the beginning of Jesus' life), but John does place Jesus in a cosmic frame, "In the beginning." This statement calls to mind the introduction to Genesis. John does not completely dwell in the cosmos to tell readers and hearers about Jesus, but moves into the stuff of earth throughout the book. Jesus does not wave his hand to magically make things happen, but brings about redemption using dirt, mud, bread, wine and eventually his own blood. Jesus is significant in the cosmos, but also tangible and real. This is not often the Christmas story of a child's book, but John helps us to look into the heavens and know that God is passionate for you and faithful to you.

An Average Top 11 Blog Post List for 2011

Creating a top 10 blog list for the year 2011 helps me reflect on the connection between good content in general and what I actually write. Good content is not necessarily popular content, but I believe good and popular should have some kind of relationship. I've never figured out that formula. Based on statistics of my most popular posts in 2011, I see a few things that touch nerves and lives. However, this list goes to 11, because Spinal Tap is sometimes a good example.

11. A belated, yet incarnational review of Carol Howard Merritt's "Reframing Hope" Carol is an excellent colleague in the best sense of the word. She's also a fine writer, a champion of encouragement for the church, and a visionary. Her writing is well worth your time investment.

10. Place matters--how do your surroundings affect how you see the world? This topic is raises passion in my blood--I think place affects faith and church in a significant way. How place affects faith and church is a big question. Scholars who study religion in the American West have been wrestling with distinctive nature of the West and religion intentionally in 2011, and will continue to do so. I hope to contribute.

9. Overrated in Congregational Life: Mission Statements In the past 2-3 years, I have gone almost completely sour on congregational mission statements. I'm not sour on congregational mission. The statements were all the rage in the mid to late 90's. I suppose the bigger issue is that congregations are looking for magic bullets for what ails them, and mission statements were the silver bullet du jour at the time.

8. My Experience with the Invisible Denominational Ladder I'm surprised this received so many hits. Maybe not. Some denominations (including my own ELCA) have an uncharted expectational flow for the vocational trajectory of its clergy. Move them up a ladder to congregations with bigger budgets and programming schedules, should they meet the unwritten expectations and requirements. After 10 years of watching call processes in interim ministry, I decided I didn't want to spend my life climbing. I may be striving, but I'm not climbing.

7. Still Interpreting a Teacher's Comment--15 Years Later I think a common desire of teachers is to learn in some way that they had a positive impact on a learner. Even when I don't always understand those interactions, relationships with teachers are some of the greatest of life.

6. Overrated in Congregational Life: Politics, Relationships, and Moving Forward with Church Office Space: Church consultant and master coffee roaster Kirk Jeffery writes about a sensitive topic for many pastors--office space. How much time should the pastor spend there? What is the best use of office space? How do these questions affect congregational relationships?

5. What Happened to Casting Lots? Sometimes the church is engaged in chronic over thinking. Maybe a biblical practice should be renewed.

4. Navigating debt and gratitude: a student loan milestone I have some colleagues and friends who are really hurting with student loan debt. We made decisions about student loans. They weren't necessarily the best ones. I know the pain--intimately. But I also made it through, with the generosity of many people. I hope my story can help others. It certainly hit a nerve.

3. Overrated in Congregational Life: Office Space This was my opening salvo about church office space, especially for pastors. For more on the subject, see #6.

2. The Interpretive Challenge of UNCO11 UNCO (unconference) is a literally wonderful concept and activity on so many levels--it cultivates creativity in the church and it builds strong relationships with God and neighbor, Holy Spirit and friends. The people I met at UNCO11 are some of the highest on my list for go to people for vocational life. I'm thankful my wife, Melanie tops that list. But UNCO people are up there.

1. A Litany of Farewell--A Ritual for Celebration and Forgiveness in Community Life I like to think I have a balanced understanding of ritual. I don't rely on it too much, but I respect it's mysteries. I think this is the number 1 blog post for 2011 because it recognizes the power of ritual in addressing something needed in congregational life--the need for confession, forgiveness and healing. These rituals in worship can become rote. In the context of saying farewell to a pastor, one of the central tenets of the Christian faith, forgiveness comes to life. If only pastor and congregation could confess and forgive more often, maybe the goodbye doesn't have to be premature.

Thank you for reading in 2011. I appreciate your time investment in my words. God's peace be with you.

A New And Personal Perspective On Time Off Closing Out 2011

December 26th marks the first official time off since I began serving at St. John's Lutheran Church. This reality sounds strange on two fronts.

1. I am part-time. On average (I'm an expert on average) I work somewhere between 25-30 hours per week. Some weeks less, some weeks more. Sometimes I notice the difference. Sometimes I don't. I can care for my children and get them where they need to go. If I need a day or two during the week to recuperate, I can. If Melanie needs help, I can do it. If the household needs particular attention, I attend to it. If someone from the extended family calls for my assistance, I oblige. We have a little less money coming in, but our lives feel a little more sane. The only reason I'm able to serve church and family in this way is because my wife has a wonderful full-time call with the ELCA--a call she enjoys and to which she is well suited. If she's not in a good situation, things change. It's good to take some time away for perspective, but I'm not particularly exhausted. Advent and Christmas have been hard work, but I'm still upright and mobile, which leads me to my next point.

2. The notion of time off is different for me these days. I'm serving in a way I enjoy. I have the opportunity to try new things, stretch my thinking and prayer life. I think the people of St. John's are thankful these days because morale is up--the congregation was not far from closing in recent history. I believe there is recognition of the presence of God in the ministry, and people at St. John's take many opportunities to encourage one another in faith and serve their neighbor in a thankful and joyful way. We have outside volunteers leading St. John's, bishop-appointed trustees, that take away some of the burdens of leadership (mostly in the areas of financial and organizational management) and allow St. John's to focus on worship, spirituality and evangelism. In this climate, I feel like all parties involved aren't attempting to squeeze blood out of a turnip. In other words, congregations and pastors are often disappointed with each other because each is hoping to get more out of the other (trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip), or that one sees the other party as not quite giving enough. It is possible for pastors and congregations to have good relationship--and I have experienced that environment. My experience this time is unique for me because I feel like I can give of myself and my talents to congregational life that isn't attempting to live up to skewed congregational (or personal) expectations. In the environment of skewed expectations, vacation feels like a time to exhale and escape, and the vacation never seems long enough. This week, vacation is a time to rest, but it is more about perspective than anything else. I am thankful for my work, not merely for employment's sake, but because of the shared opportunity to give.

In 2011 both St. John's and I saw nebulous futures. Though we may not be able to predict the shape of tomorrow, I think we share a sense of thankfulness that I believe God blesses moving forward.

Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.

God Is Not Looking For Important People (Luke 2: 1-20)

In the way that we humans take in news and information, it's tempting to believe that God only loves and seeks out important people. With this view, it minimizes the gifts that God gives to each of us. In this Christmas message, the story of the birth of Jesus is a strong reminder that God loves and calls all kinds of people. The least likely candidates are brought to take part in what God is doing in the world. That person can be you as well.

Words Of Dread: Let's Have A Meeting (an ode to the December schedule change)

On numerous occasions, people pity me as a pastor because I have so much work to do during Christmas and the holiday season.

Yes, I am busy (busy is a word I hate, but I'll play along). But most of the busy-ness is self-created in things I like doing in my own household and with extended family and friends, not because the church or congregation imposes more work on me in December. I've often contended that December is one of the easier months for serving the church. Why?

Unless a severe budget crisis looms in the congregation, people generally don't see the need to meet, at least not for the typical meeting. December can be a nice month in serving the church. In theory I can focus more on studying Bible texts and in prayer.

So the theory goes.

I've often contended that a pastor could actually work approximately a 40 hour week if it wasn't for the committee meetings (especially standing committees). Seth Godin reminded me today that one of two things should happen at a meeting--that I am ready to change or be ready to make a decision right there. Otherwise, the meeting is a waste of time.

My current congregation doesn't have any standing committees right now. If we ever have committees again, I like Godin's guidelines.

I know many of you have some frenzy in the next 24 hours, I invite you to consider from where the frenzy comes. Peace to you.


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Can You Control The True Meaning of Christmas?

(Sermon audio) 2 Samuel 7: 1-16 is a passage that tells of David's vision to build a temple dedicated to God. David has a noble cause, but the noble cause is encased in a cautionary tale. God will not be limited to our confinements or expectations. So why is it that we expect God to live up to our expectations when it comes to Christmas observances?

Disaster Tourists (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11)

If you're willing to pay the money and take the risks, you can visit the disaster site from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear explosion. How could God possibly be at work in a disaster? Regardless of how you might feel about the ethics of disaster tourism, reading Isaiah 64 can give a disaster tourist experience. There can be a lot to learn from a disaster site. What if the disaster is in your own life?

There's No Such Thing as a Godectomy

The "War on Christmas" and the debate to define the "True Meaning of Christmas" highlight a theological tension with American Civil Religion. I don't worry about whether a nativity scene can be placed on public property or whether a religious song can be sung at a public school. I am thankful to live in a place where I can publicly live out my faith. It's the theological tension I find troubling.

For civil religionists, Christmas is the front line of a battle. The premise--without particular expressions of Christmas, God is somehow taken out of the public sphere. I'm not at war. War monger all you like. Run me over if you must, but I'm not participating.

If there truly is a belief that taking God out of the public sphere is possible, what does that say about God?

If God is even fractionally as powerful as some humans testify God to be, how is "removing God" even possible? I don't think removal is possible. There's no such thing as a Godectomy. The thing I appreciate about Bible texts around Advent and Christmas is that God comes. There's nothing we can do about it, and whatever preconceived notions we have about who God is and how God acts, God still comes. Many folks at the time of Jesus' birth (and at the end of his life) did what they could to make sure God didn't show up, but to no avail. God is not going to be subverted by a group of people who don't want a nativity scene at Averageville County Park.

I think I'm better off paying attention to whether I'm aware of the activity of God in the world, rather than demanding God to live up to my expectations.

How Has God Changed Your Life? (Mark 1: 1-8)

We are tempted to believe that Christmas is about what we do. Don't you have a lot to do? Does your list seem full of important activities that usher in the season? John the baptizer lets us know that with Jesus in our midst, what we do is not the focus, but what God is doing. With God being active in the world, then a changed life lets others know that God is active. Faith sharing then becomes an important activity in how God works in the world. What would you tell someone if they were curious about how God has changed your life?

Friday Arts YAP: Serving Up A Heaping Plate of the True Meaning of Christmas

Every December, for the last 12 years since I was ordained, I have been sick. I end up preaching a sermon where I sound something like this kid. I contaminate Communion. I might as well give up singing. Even my die-hard near the front worship sitters find someplace else to sit, lest I cover them in the haze of hacking and sneezing.

It started making me think about Christmas celebrations and what they're about. Today's post is filed under "arts" because it is art that has caused me to be a ponderer about the intersection of Incarnation and culture and the stresses that lead me to illness.

+ Making sense of the melding family traditions of my wife and I and our families of origin.
+ Facilitating a faithful season of worship in the congregation I serve.
+ The call of Advent.
+ Concern for those who don't find joy in the season because of loss.
+ The sights and sounds of the culture--some cacophonous, some wonderful. 
+ Public discourse and the attempts to define "The True Meaning of Christmas."

I've been hearing that phrase "The True Meaning of Christmas" for decades. It seemed good enough. Go to church, celebrate Jesus' birthday, be kind to people, help your neighbor. Eat and drink and sing a lot. I really enjoy it all. But it's also killing me. What was pushing me over the edge was the public discourse and "The War On Christmas." I have attempted to take on something wrapped in anxiety with my own anxiety-filled arguments.

What I've needed is some perspective and some healthier practices. I'll write about the healthier practices in the coming weeks. Today involves contributions from the arts. I offer these to you as pieces of scholarship, beauty, and perspective.

1. English Village Carols My brother gave this to me as a gift about 10 years ago, and I appreciate it more all the time. It's unlikely you'll recognize any of these Christmas carols, because they represent a "vigorous local tradition" in Northern England, particularly around Sheffield. According to music historian Ian Russell, these are not the songs of elite institutions of church or academia, but written by local laborers and craftspeople. The music is not overly produced, and not commercial radio-ready, but it is a strong witness to love of God and neighbor.

2. The Battle for Christmas, by Stephen Nissenbaum. I received this book as a gift last year. I have not completed it yet, but I can already tell it's going to appear in some of my sermons and writings. Nissenbaum is a history professor and Jewish. He confesses some of the Christmas envy of his life--even though he was not allowed to participate in Christmas, he found a way to do it by filling a sack of gifts as a child and giving gifts to others. If you want perspective on celebrations and the nebulous "True Meaning of Christmas," this is a fascinating read.

Here is my takeaway from my history with Christmas and the perspective I have received: Christmas may not kill me instantly, but allowing it to create a death by a thousand cuts is not a good thing either. Many people (including the church) love to offer solutions to the frenzy and stress. Celebrate Christmas their way. What I've learned from my two arts offerings that the problem with me and my fellow Western Christian humans is that Christmas becomes yet another forum where we exercise control. The English Village Carols groups had their music removed from the church because the leadership couldn't control it. Nissenbaum chronicles the Puritans' hatred of Christmas because they couldn't control it. A little perspective makes me laugh at the frenzy to define the True Meaning of Christmas. From that perspective, I can see that it is precisely for our control freakishness that God comes to us in Jesus, and then dies on a cross. God comes neither in a way that we expect, nor control.

God, have mercy. Let us be well, my friends.