An Unfortunately True Cartoon

I wish this weren't true, but I fear that it is for many congregations and denominations. Before people are allowed to 'belong' within a community, they are often expect to 'believe' certain things and 'behave' in certain ways. As a pastor in the near future, I will make a concerted effort to change the flow of these three 'B's. I think people should be welcomed in with open arms, regardless of their past. People should be allowed to 'belong' to our community in genuine relationship, and then perhaps (hopefully) this will result in changed 'behavior' and 'beliefs.' But belonging comes first. Always.

A Fantastic Week

I generally enjoy life and am rarely disappointed by the happenings of a week, but I must say that the past 7 days have been better than most. This week was one of celebration and of getting to do some things that are really life-giving for me. The week began last Sunday with watching the NFL playoffs (always a joy) and the chance to preach for the first time at our new church in Kent. Over the past few years, preaching has become a true passion and something I always eagerly anticipate. I was blessed to be able to preach once a month at our church in Maple Valley, so I am excited to once again be on the preaching rotation at our new church home.

The week's activities continued on Tuesday with the celebration of Mandy's 30th birthday. Since it was a weeknight, we saved the big extravaganza for the weekend and just the two of us went to a movie to celebrate. We saw the new Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock movie 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,' which was very good. It was nice to have a date-night out to commemorate this special occasion. Mandy's birthday festivities continued on Friday evening when we hosted 10 of our best friends in our little apartment for a night of hanging out, playing games, and eating cake and ice cream. We had a great evening of laughter and fun with a special group of people we have shared life with over the past 4 years. What a blessing!

The other aspect that made for a great week was the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. The Pacific Northwest is never short of outdoor activities, and the mild climate means that many of these hobbies can be done year-round. Last weekend I was snow-shoeing in the Cascades, while this week was spent mountain biking in Seattle and Bellingham. David and I spent Friday afternoon honing our free-riding skills at the Colonnade Bike Park under the interstate near downtown Seattle. And then the next day, David, Tyler, and I rode great, technical singletrack at Galbraith in Bellingham. So fun! I did take a pretty nasty fall on Friday at the Colonnade, however, which served to remind me that I, myself, am coming up on my 30th birthday and might need to be a little more careful in the coming years to avoid any serious injuries.

All in all, a great week. Here's to many more like it!

A Crazy Snowy Week

The view from our apartment

This has been a crazy week thus far, and the craziness is not quite over. This is all due to the Snowmageddon that has consumed Seattle over the past week. Seattle is an interesting city when it comes to snowy weather because the entire city shuts down. The city is built on hills and, since we do not get winter weather very often, it has no infrastructure for proper and timely snow removal.

So with school and work almost completely shut down for the past few days, Mandy and I have been having a blast being shut into our little apartment. We have been playing lots of games, watching a ton of movies, and eating great meals together. Our lives have slowed down immensely and we've gotten a bit of a winter vacation. I have to work tomorrow for a few hours, but other than that, the city remains in standstill, so I look forward to at least one more day of relaxation. As far as I'm concerned, this snow can just keep on falling.

The Reverse Rapture

It's been a little while since I last posted a funny and prophetic cartoon on here, but I couldn't resist this one. Here is a gem from one of the artists I frequently link to, Naked Pastor. I'm sure there is a bit of a message here for us, but, for the most part, this is just hilarious and needed to be shared. Enjoy!

HT:  Naked Pastor

Goals for 2012

For most people, the beginning of a new year seems like the perfect time to set some goals for the year to come, and I am no different. This year is sure to bring a multitude of changes in my life, especially in the way of graduating from seminary. After 4 hard years of academic toil, I will finally finish school and officially have my Master of Divinity degree. So to prepare for a year of changes, I am committing to a number of resolutions that I hope will help round me into a more complete and healthy person. Without further ado, here are my goals for 2012 (some are things Mandy and I are going to do together):

• Read 12 books in addition to my school books (one per month) 
• Learn Spanish (definitely won't be fluent, but I'd like to speak and understand pretty well)
• Read through the entire Bible in a year (I'm someone who needs rhythm and regularity, so hopefully following a plan will help me in this effort)
• Run once per week (I stay active through mountain biking and rock climbing, but neither of these really help me stay in shape--hence, the running)
• Have people over to our apartment for dinner or fellowship once a week
• Do a fun activity in Seattle once a month

Hopefully I can stick to most of these goals over the next 366 days (leap year!). What are your goals for the year?

Officially On Break

Christmas break has come, and not a minute too soon. I turned in my last homework assignment for the term on Wednesday and officially concluded my penultimate trimester at the Seattle School. Only one more trimester left. Only 3 more classes. Only 6 more credits. Graduation is just around the corner.

The assignment I finished this week was my Integrative Project. This is the comprehensive project that all M.Div. students must complete in their final year at my school. It is a 25-35 page paper that serves to summarize and 'integrate' your entire seminary experience. Mine ended up at 26 pages. I was initially unsure as to what to write about and I changed my topic about half-way into my research, but I am glad I did. My first idea was fine, but was essentially a mini-dissertation. What I settled on was effectively an integration of all I had been learning through the past 3 years.

INSERT 'THEOLOGY' FOR 'MATH'!

Throughout the last number of years, I have kept a constantly growing list of ideas that would one day be the foundation of the church I lead. For my project, I collated these thoughts into 5 foundational principals and unpacked each one according to its theory and practice. The five concepts are:

1. Worship as 'Denouement'
2. Social Justice/Missional Living
3. A Willingness to be Evangelized
4. Holistic Living
5. The Priesthood of All Believers

Throughout the next semester I will spend some time blogging about what I mean by each of these phrases...but not now, because I need a few weeks off from thinking and writing. I am extremely proud of the work I have done on this and think this document, and the ideas it contains, will be extremely beneficial in my ministry. This is a document that I can pass on to my regional pastor to let her know exactly what I believe and am passionate about. These thoughts will help me be concise and articulate in job interviews when explaining what sort of pastor that church would be employing. And more than anything, I believe that if churches were to take these 5 foundational principals seriously, they would radically transform their neighborhood, city, and world.

Fantastic Quote

I'm working on a project for school where I'm collecting thoughts and quotes from many of the books I've been reading over the past 3 years (probably more like 6 or 7) as an integration of all that I've learned in seminary. As I was looking through the book "How (Not) to Speak of God" by the brilliant Irish philosopher Peter Rollins, I was reminded of this enlightening quote and thought I would share it with you. These thoughts seem especially relevant in the midst of our current economic climate. Enjoy!

"For too long the Church has been seen as an oasis in the desert--offering water to those who are thirsty. In contrast, the emerging community appears more as a desert in the oasis of life, offering silence, space and desolation amidst the sickly nourishment of Western capitalism. It is in this desert, as we wander together as nomads, that God is to be found. For it is here that we are nourished by our hunger."

My Last Year In My 20s

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a great day of celebrating. It started with 3 rounds of disc golf, continued with a few hours of rock climbing at the gym, and concluded with the senior recital of one of Mandy's work-study students. It was a fantastic day...but the celebration continues this evening. Since last night was a Thursday night, we had decided to hang out with our friends tonight instead. So tonight we are getting together for dinner with a bunch of friends and then we are all going to the Family Fun Center in Renton for some mini-golf, go carts, and batting cages. Should be a great time.

A co-worker asked me on Wednesday if my last year had been a good one. I instantly replied that it hadn't really been all that great and that I thought the next year would be better. I said this because I still feel like Mandy and I are in this strange liminal space where we are waiting for the next step. I will be graduating in April and am pursuing ordination, so for now we are just having to be patient. While I really do believe that this next year (my last year in my 20s) will be a great year, the more I thought about the year that was, the less negative I was about it.

This past year really has been a great one. The main reason it was great was that we got to spend 2 weeks in Africa visiting our friends Brian and Nicole. This was an amazing adventure that I will NEVER forget, and was truly the highlight of our year. But this last year also included a lot of other fun trips. We spent a weekend in Portland with David and Michelle, I spent a weekend in Squamish mountain biking and rock climbing with David and Matt B., we were in Ohio for Matt A. and Michelle's wedding, I spent a week in San Diego at a conference with some friends, and a group of us were in Whistler mountain biking for 3 days. All in all, a lot of great traveling.

This year also saw us move into a nice, new apartment with a great view overlooking the Cascades (which I am enjoying right now). This larger apartment also afforded us the space for Mandy's sister Kathy to come live with us for a while. It has been great having her here and getting to know her as an adult. What a blessing.

I'm grateful to my co-worker for asking me about my year, because it has invited me to process the year that was and to celebrate, rather than simply lament the frustrations of our future uncertainty. This has been a great year of great adventures with great friends and family. Truly a blessed season of life.