Yes, this is about Tim Tebow.

I have not doggedly gone after every scrap that has been spoken, tweeted, and blogged about this man, but as a person of faith it has popped up on my radar. I am not by nature a Bronco’s fan, but a guy who volunteers in our office, is, and wore his very faded Broncos cap into the office long before “Tebowmania.”   So I have had a few discussions about Mr. Tebow and faith.

Over the weeks as he guided his team to the play offs, quite an achievement from the way the team started out the year.  He has been a huge part of that.  While in the spot light, as he did back in college, he uses this exposure it to live out his faith. It is his faith, not somewhat unorthodox playing style that has caused such an uproar.

I have seen plenty of folks ripping on this man’s, out front profession of faith. The infamous Bill Maher being right out front. But his reactions don’t surprise me, they only reinforce my opinion of his very narrow minded view of life the universe and everything. But what does surprise me is the bitter vitriol, taunting, and playground type comments coming from my colleagues and other people of faith.

Ok, sure some of his methods are very evangelical, and for some mainline folks, they seem a tad pushy.  As I said I haven’t followed every word, post game interview and the like, but the gist of what I have picked up is that when he “Tebows”  he is giving thanks or asking for guidance and strength to do what needs to be done.  I find no fault in this. I do not believe that Tim has ever said that God likes the Broncos best, nor even him for that matter. He is simply bringing his faith to his job, something I for one encourage my people to do. You want my opinion on this guy then you need to read the following link.

If you want my opinion of Tim Tebow and his life of faith  read this. 

(Seriously, it is a fantastic article, click on it it will pop open a new window, you can come back to read this.)

Ok, I don’t believe in Tim Tebow, he is at or below average as far as QB’s go, but I do believe that what he does while not on the field speaks for itself. He has a rare opportunity to witness, to live out a life of faith that many followers of the religion of football rarely see. Maybe that is the rub.  It’s not Tebow’s words that bother us so much, it is that he lives the silly things out.  Yes, if you look hard enough, you will find flaws in his personality, his playing skills and his theology. He is a professional football player, but one that by the grace of God has been given an opportunity make a difference in Christ’s name, and isn’t that what all the baptized are called to do?

Maybe on Monday at work, you too can “Tebow” a little, maybe quietly but in any case ask God to grant you the ability to be who you were created to be; as a husband, wife, or child, to do your job well and to His glory, to make a difference in the world around you for Jesus’ sake.

As far as the game goes, I don’t really give a fig, my prayer I believe would not be all that dissimilar from Tim Tebow’s, may both teams play well, stay safe, and win or lose to God alone be the Glory.

I didn’t have time to proof this one, either, so if you find an error, or if you find me in error, let me know and maybe practice forgiveness!

Anyway… Clear?

Now take a second, what is the first image, word or thought that comes to you mind when you hear the word….

Saint

All Saints Day has come and gone, but this Sunday we will celebrate All Saints in worship.

Now, think of yourself, the dipstick you saw at the grocery store, the snotty nosed kid screaming at his mother as she tried to wedge him into his car seat, the little old lady that fished out the EXACT change out of her coin purse at the Post Office, all of them and many more are likely to be saints!

Many of us think of the “hall of famers” when we hear the word saint or use it. The truth is that when ever the word saint is used in the new testament, it simply referred to believers, baptized and blessed children of God who are remarkably, um average.

I know saints of all shapes and sizes, ages and temperaments and so do you. So my question for you is what was that first thing you thought of when I had you think of saint? and who in the light of their baptismal nature, have been the saints in your life? Seriously I would love to hear, leave your comments goodness below.

Its been a little over 24 hours since the world found out about the death of Steve Jobs. I admit it, I was deeply touched when I heard the word myself. I posted this picture as my Facebook profile picture, I just felt it was the right thing to do.

In the past 24 hours there have been a bajillion bits that have flowed out onto the internet paying respects, offering homage and expressing the grief of millions of people. And this is as it should be. He did indeed make a dent in the universe, and those of us who use technology owe him a great debt of gratitude. My world would not be the same without what Steve helped bring into being. I am writing this on my iPad, if I didn’t write it here, it would have been on my iMac, and then there is my iPod and tomorrow the day will come when I will at long long last finally order my iPhone the 4s. My office computer is Windows machine, but that too, would not be what it is without the influence of one Mr. Steve Jobs.

Now that I too have added my bit to the bajillion bits out there, I have another thought or two having read a whole slug of Facebook posts, blogs, and tweets.

Yes, Steve, was a visionary, showman, entrepreneur and so much more. Isn’t it a little funny how so many people who never met the man, have no compunction about referring to him simply as Steve. Maybe it is because the products he helped produce, from Pixar movies to all the stuff from Apple have so nicely wedged themselves into our day to day existence that we feel we truly knew the man. In someways, I think that is exactly true and in someways we did know at least some part of who Steve was.

In these last 24 hours Steve quotes galore have found their way into the warp and weft of peoples expressions of grief. Maybe that is good, it seems to be natural and a healthily way of dealing with loss. But as the hours have ticked by I have noticed more and more folks taking Steve quotes out for walks they were never meant to go on. Church people, nonprofit guru’s, business leaders, and others have all held up Steve’s example and in so many words have said… if only we too would follow Steve’s lead, we too could make our dents in the universe.

Maybe that is true, but would it be good? I don’t know.

For all Steve’s accomplishments, there was a price to be paid. Working at Apple is not the employment equivalent of Nirvana. Steve set a high bar, and there are many who have dashed themselves upon the rocks of high expectations and innovation at Apple. Would we as a church do well to follow Steve’s example, for the sake of the Gospel? I am pretty sure Jesus and Steve have differing outcomes when it comes to how you measure success. Would a ruthless drive to eradicate hunger following Steve’s methods do more damage that it would good? I think it would.

To learn from Steve’s example I think is a good idea, I just want us see the whole picture even as we give thanks for his life, his work and his impact.

People are not electronics, humans are more than the sum of their parts and in the end even Steve was just a dude.

Washington Island is one of those places that holds a very special spot in my heart for many reasons.  I was fortunate to serve as a pastor up there at Trinity Lutheran for 6 years. Life on an island in the middle of Lake Michigan is unique, you rely on the ferry, no bridges, you rely on your neighbors, for that is all you have when the rubber hits the road.

In celtic spirituality there is something that is known as a “thin place.”  A thin place is where the distance between heaven and earth is well, thin.  The island is a thin place for me, not as much  of me and the world around me, gets between me and God in this place.  I have other thin places as well, the coast of Washington State and up in the Cascades as well.  Many people find that they need to periodically make pilgrimages to the mountains or to the sea periodically to keep their lives in balance, they need thin places to reconnect with God.

Well, now it is time to pack… Blessings and peace be with you!

Question: Do you have a “thin place?”  If so where is it?  How often to you go to that place and what is it, if you can put your finger on it that this place does for you?

Leave a reply if you will!

Seriously… I’ll be here when you get back…

Ok, with that image in mind (good bad or otherwise) how much have you changed over the years. A bunch, some of the changes might be for the better, some maybe for the worse, some you have had some level of control over, others, well they just happened.

We joke about change, we make fun of our institutions, and groups that struggle with change, while at the same time often feeling mighty unnerved about the whole thing.  Its not just the old fuddy duddies either, young or old, liberal or conservative, I have seen them all get mighty riled up when it comes to change.  Some of the most liberal folks I know have an absolute conniption fit when something that they hold dear, or has “always been that way” changes. Speaking of which…

There is talk about changing the close of our Advent Candle light service.  It has traditionally ended with the singing of “Silent Night” and everyone holding a candle.  The music people want to make some changes to the program, and they are some good changes, and could really make for a wonderful evening and a time of preparation for Christmas that Advent is supposed to be!

However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking!

You consume social media, you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t.  I have been doing  much thinking, reading, conversating (ok, not a real word but you get the point!), and general mucking about Social Media and the mission of the people of God.  Would Jesus tweet?  Would the Pharisees have followed him on Facebook? What would Mary and Joseph make of all the time he spent on his iphone?

Ok, it is a little silly, but I hope you get my point. The way we communicate is changing, and some have claimed it has changed period.  Would you do me a favor?  Would you watch this video and then give me your thoughts in the comments below?

To prime your pump about what I am thinking about in particular is how does this impact small to mid-sized rural congregations and the communities in which they are situated?  Do we pour time and energy into this and if so how do we help those who are not part of this “revolution” understand that this is ministry, this is how the good news gets out there?

If you can do this and ponder it a bit thanks!  If not, watch it anyway, I think you might be amazed!

Click on the commenty goodness below!

Have you ever read a phrase, from scripture, or a book, or the back of cereal box for that matter that triggered a very strong memory?  This morning as I looked at the Psalm appointed for this upcoming Sunday, Psalm 67, the phrase, “Let the peoples praise you, O God; Let all the peoples praise you.” I didn’t even get to the end of the phrase and I was humming a melody. No, actually, I was humming the Bass line from a song by William Mathias, based on this psalm that I sang in college.  Before you get to impressed, I didn’t actually remember the composer, I did a little “googling” for that, but all the words and nearly all the music was still stored in my head.  By my best estimation it has been 24 years since I sang that song last!

One of the reasons I like the song so much is that for me the music so perfectly matches the intent of the psalm, to praise God. The Organ on this puppy, is both strong and light, joyful, yet serious. For me this evokes the very nature of what praising God is all about!

Question(s):  What does praise mean to you?

How do you praise God, when does this tend to happen and what does that look like?

Please leave a comment, you can find the place to click under the video!  Thanks!

Question: what gets you going? What motivates you and drives you to not only start, but continue on with an idea or project?

This one is just like mine... ok mine has a few more wrinkles in it, but if it were in nearly perfect shape, which it isn't it would look like this.

Don‘t get me wrong the Mazda runs just fine. Oh, it creaks, groans and makes this odd noise each time I set on down the road, but I really love this truck. Still, as I sat in my truck on that very humid, 90 degree day, I realized I would really, really, really like to have air conditioning. In fact it was drifting from want into the need category the longer I had to sit in my mobile sauna. Ok, maybe I am spoiled, after all for most of human history we didn’t have cars, much less air conditioning, but whatever the case may be, some switch in my head clicked that day and said, it is time.

So last Friday I started the process of looking for a new car by visiting several dealerships. For many people getting a new car is just an exercise in– manufacturer preference, what they would like to have as options, and what they can afford. These things are a part of my pro-cess. However, because of my size I have learned that I have to ―try on‖ cars before they can be added to my list of possible options. You see, I just don‘t fit in some cars. Oh I am sure they are fine vehicles, but many simply just don‘t fit me, no leg room, no head room, can‘t see the stop lights because I have to have the seat back so far to fit! You might be thinking I need one of those full sized cars or pickups, I would surely fit in one of those. Other than the fact that they can be outrageously expensive, and the gas milage in these types of vehicles is horrendous, I found I don‘t always fit. A number of years ago someone offered me a heck of deal on a Chevy pickup, it was red, it was in perfect condition, and I was so excited… until I tried to get into it! As it turns out, just because it looks like it should fit doesn‘t mean it will. Shortly after that I found a small station wagon which upon first glance you would never think I would fit in; but I did, rather comfortably, and it was one of the best cars I have ever owned!

Again, mine was never this pretty, but this is the color and style, I still miss that car except when I needed the heat to work. Also when going up hills I felt like I needed to do a Fred Flintstone and push my feet through the bottom of the car to get it to go!

The “right fit” has been on my mind quite a bit lately as I have been working with the Call Committee, getting ready to call our next Associate Pastor. They have been thoughtfully and prayerfully filling out paper work, re-ceiving input, condensing facts and feelings about Reedsburg and St. John onto paper for prospective pastors so they can ―try on St. John to see if it will be a fit for them. Hopefully in a month or so we will be inter-viewing candidates and ―trying them on to see if they would be a good fit for us as well. This time of call is one of discernment, a time to figure out what kind of a person we need to help us continue to do ministry well, and we need the prayers of all of St. John to call a pastor who will be a good fit. We are not seeking a ―generic pastor, this pastor has to have particular options. Options that fit the job description, that fit into St. John‘s congregation as well as it‘s staff, so that they might do the tasks, and lead the ministries needed to grow the whole congregation of St. John.

We are beginning our search looking at first call candidates. These are pastoral candidates who have just finished seminary and have not yet received a call. Only after they are called can they be ordained into the pasto-ral ministry. I say beginning because if the right fit isn‘t found, we may need to have patience as we seek out that fit. I found several cars that were, on paper, pretty good cars; but unfortunately I had to cross about half of them off my list because for one reason or another they were not the ―right fit.  There is a car I have my eye on, but it won‘t be released for a couple more months, so I will have to wait. Sometimes the call process works this way too; we may interview some wonderful pastors, but they may not be what we need at St. John. I ask for your continued prayers for the Call Committee, for wisdom and insight as we seek the pastor who will be that ―right fit for us.

While you are praying, you might want to focus a little time on where you fit in St. John. Where are your gifts best able to be used to grow as disciples, to reach out in love? Often people who are teachers are pegged to be Sunday School teachers, but some of the best Sunday School teachers I have ever known were not necessarily teachers by trade, but teachers by calling. The same holds true for other leadership and serving tasks within the ministries of St. John. There is an old saying that goes this way: ―God doesn‘t always call the equipped, he equips the called. Where is God calling you so that you may grow and be equipped to serve him and others in Christ‘s name? Take some time and reflect on what you can do, what you might do, and what you never thought you would do, but feel that God may in fact be calling you to do. Then talk with other faithful people about it: they are the best sounding board to help you find your fit, as together we gather to know and proclaim Jesus Christ and as disciples reach out in love.

This might just be the "right fit" Good head room, and fair leg room, and a price I just might be able to aford! Oh... and you might have noticed I have a thing for boxy design, my first car was a 1967 Rambler American nothing but box!

Blessings on finding your fit and may God continue to bless the Call Committee and all those involved in this process so that we might find the ―right fit!

Just out of curiosity, what is your favorite car, or what was the first car you ever had?  Leave a comment!

For many this weekend and Memorial Day in particular is a deeply meaningful day.  The depth of meaning of this day didn’t really hit me until I was about 25 and  I was privileged to be the Executive Director of the Meeker County Historical Society and Grand Army of the Republic Hall.  I never dreamed about running a museum, or getting paid to do the same but it put my degree to work out side the realm of being a Social Studies teacher and it was an incredible experience.

The front part of “my” museum is an old Grand Army of the Republic Hall. The GAR as everyone called it was a fraternal organization of Northern Civil War Veterans. In the years that followed many of these Veterans found their way to the rich farmland in Meeker County Minnesota.  Once here they bound together and built this hall to hold their meetings and serve as kind of a community hub.  When I first walked into the entry of this hall, I was overwhelmed with a sense of reverence bordering on holiness.  The pictures that lined the walls and looked down on you held you in their stoic glare.

Memorial Day was started under the impetus of the GAR.  In the early days it was called “Decoration Day” and many old timers on my board still called it that.  The reason was that on this day they remembered all those who had died in our nations service graves were decorated to honor the dead.

The histories of these soldiers were full of heroic stories, of terrible stories and many of them bore the scars of their service and sacrifice not only on their bodies but in their souls as well. The solemn photos that filled the museum files of Decoration Day observances show the depth of feeling about those who had died in serving and those who carried the scars of war deep into the rest of their lives.

These days there are those who feel we should not glorify such things as war and its terrible consequences and I agree, war is a horrible thing that God never intends for us. God desires Shalom, peace for all of his creation, but some how we continually muck that up.  Why wars are fought and how they are fought have changed over the years but the cost to humanity has never changed. However, this does not mean we should not remember and give thanks for those who did what they had to do.  We must take care not to put too much of a modern gloss on things that happened long before we were born.

Today we should rightly give thanks for those who have selflessly served from the very beginnings of our nation to those who serve today. Agree with the political situation that necessitates their service or not, the men and women who serve in our military deserve our thanks for they do what we can not, and maybe will not do our selves. They often put themselves in harms way, and many have given their lives so that we can enjoy a brat, and a beer on a humid May afternoon.  May God bless the memories of those who have served and the lives of those who serve today.