The Heart of a Pastor

I can't remember

Update:  Just a quick update before I move on to what I want to share with you today.  My grandma is still alive.  She's not eating or drinking and her kidneys continue to fail.  I can't imagine this will go on much longer. I continue to pray that these last moments with grandma are ones that create precious memories that last a life time.  Thank you again for your prayers.

Now on to what I want to share with you...

I am participating in a book discussion group with two close friends of mine.  The book we are discussing is The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning.  It is a wonderfully rich book talking about God's amazing grace for each one of us.  It is a book I read a number of years ago, but it has been great to dive into it again and discuss it.

Yesterday we read a chapter that largely dealt with our response to this awesome grace.  As he is talking about responding to God's grace with trust, Manning shares the following story:

Four years ago in a large city in the far West, rumors spread that a certain Catholic woman was having visions of Jesus.  The reports reached the archbishop.  He decided to check her out.  There is always a fine line between authentic mystic and the lunatic fringe.
    "Is it true, m'am, that you have visions of Jesus?" asked the cleric.  "Yes", the woman replied simply.  "Well, the next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins that I confessed in my last confession."  The woman was stunned.  "Did I hear you right, bishop?  You actually want me to ask Jesus to tell me the sins of your past?"
    "Exactly.  Please call me if anything happens."
    Ten days later the woman notified her spiritual leader of a recent apparition. "Please come", she said.
    Within the hour the archbishop arrived.  "You just told me on the telephone that you actually had a vision of Jesus.  Did you do what I asked?"
    "Yes, bishop, I asked Jesus to tell me the sins you confessed in your last confession."
    The bishop leaned forward with anticipation.  His eyes narrowed.  "What did Jesus say?"
    She took his hands and gazed deep into his eyes. "Bishop," she said, "these are his exact words: 'I CAN'T REMEMBER."

Bennan Manning continues:  "Christianity happens when men and women accept with unwavering trust that their sins have not only been forgiven but forgotten, washed away in the blood of the Lamb"

What an excellent reminder of this awesome love, grace and forgiveness of this amazing God we have.  Not only does God forgive us our sins, but God forgets them.  We forgive each other, but we never truly forget.  And because we never forget, when a person continues to sin against us it can get harder and harder to forgive them.  But God does not have that problem.  And thank God for that.

Praise be to God...ALWAYS and forever...Amen!

-edh-

My list of books for ministry

Pastor David over at postings from prairie hill compiled a list of his top 15 books (excluding the Bible and other worship resources) he currently uses in his ministry and asked that others do the same.  I think this is a great idea to share the various resources that people have found helpful.  There are some books on Pastor David's list that I will be checking out.  So here is a list of my top 15 books (they are in no particular order and as Pastor D said, I am sure they will change over time).  After you are done reading this (and David's list) please share your list through a post on your blog.  This should be a lot of fun and very educational.

(1) Book of Concord -- As far as I am concerned this has to be here.  I go back to this quiet a bit when I am teaching confirmation and for my personal reading.
(2) Almost anything by Dietrich Bonhoeffer but especially Cost of Discipleship and A Testament to Freedom.
(3) The Evangelizing Church with Richard Bliese and Craig Van Gelder as editors.  This is an excellent book about evangelism.
(4) Continuing down the evangelism front -- A Story Worth Sharing: Engaging Evangelism by Kelly Fryer.
(5) The New Daily Study Bible commentary series on the New Testament by William Barclay.  I use this a lot for my sermon prep and Bible study.
(6) Ask, Thank, Tell by Charles R. Lane.  A great book on Stewardship.
(7) Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings edited and compiled by Timothy Lull.
(8) A number of Martin Luther resources including Luther's Works and Letters of Spiritual Counsel.  A great way to peak into the heart of Luther.
(9) By Faith Alone -- a devotional book that I use for personal devotions and for other meetings.
(10) Lighten Up by Ken Davis -- Sometimes I just need a good laugh while being slapped in the face with the Gospel.
(11) Never Call Them Jerks by Arthur Paul Boers -- I received this book from the SW MN Synod office when I was going through a "hairy" conflict situation here at Salem.
(12) I have two books here by Mike Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality.  I read these at least once a year.  Nothing to deep but a good read about God's all encompassing love and grace.
(13) In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen -- A great book about Christian leadership.
(14) Most anything by Douglas John Hall.  Bound and Free is the latest one I have read.
(15) Christian Dogmatics vol. 1 & 2 -- Every once in a while I go back to certain sections to brush up.

I know my list has more than 15 books (so I cheated).  Anyway, Please share your books.  If you don't have 15, thats fine.  I just think that through this exercise we can find some gems we did not know were out there.

God bless and as always, thanks for stopping by.

-edh-

I'm back...

I am back from vacation...

...and it is a little weird.  I haven't watched much news for the past few days; I haven't checked my email much and my blog has gotten a little breather.  In a way I feel a little lost.  And now I find myself trying to get my barrings so I get get back into the swing of things.  But even that is difficult today.  The dew points here in SW MN are suppose to be in the 70s (I could definitely feel it on my run this morning).  The heat index is suppose to climb over 100 degrees and here's the worst of if...I have no air conditioning in my office.  So in addition to finding myself a little lost today I find myself in my secretary's office typing this post (she has air conditioning).  I guess today is a good day to do visits with people who have air conditioning.

Worship attendance
Well...just as I expected...worship attendance this past Sunday (when I was gone) dropped off considerably.  We average around 85 on a Sunday but when I am gone we average less than 75.  This past Sunday we had 52 in worship.  Some people tell me that is a credit to me, that people only like coming to worship when I am there.  But I say, "Hog wash!"  Attendance drops off because people feel guilty otherwise and this way they know that I will never find out they weren't there.  Honestly people...don't come because of me, come to worship because you want to worship our God.  Don't come out of guilt, but come out of respect and awe of our creator; come with thankfulness; come with praise.  Come and worship, don't just come to "check in".

Harry Potter
Don't worry...this won't be long, but I just have to share this little tid bit.  On Monday Connie and I went to Sam's Club with her sister and brother-in-law (Mary and Matt).  As we walked into the store there was a huge Harry Potter display.  As we walked by Matt grabbed a book and started to read the last couple pages.  Of course I asked him if Harry Potter died like so many people are speculating and he told me...

...just kidding...I won't say anything.  Now I know how book #7 ends and the thing is I really don't care :)

Oh...my vacation...
Vacation was really fun.  I spent the weekend at Shetek Lutheran Ministries (see link on left side bar) at family camp with Connie's family.  It was fun to be at camp again as a camper (my first time in 21 years).  I spent 8 summers at various camps (3 of which were as a full time program director) and now I am a board member at Shetek serving on the program committee.  So it was a little difficult just being a camper and not an evaluator.  Of course I would do things differently but I still had fun.

Sunday and Monday were spent in Sioux Falls at my in-laws.  By Monday evening I was ready to come home (thank goodness my wife had to work on Tuesday).  And as Forrest Gump would say, "that is all I have to say about that".

...back to normal?
...whatever that is.  I am looking forward to some sermon prep this week but then it is off for some continuing education next week.  I will still be around but not in the office.  Next week is the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference.  Okoboji/Spirit Lake, IA area is about 20 miles from me so I will be driving back and forth.  The conference is free and has a lot of big time speakers including Ken Davis.  I am really looking forward to hearing Ken and the rest of the presenters.

So it is good to be back.  Vacations are nice, but I would go crazy if I were on permanent vacation.  So here I am...doing what I love to do...serving God with some renewed passion and energy; ready to get back at it and ready to rustle some feathers.  Because as Paul says, "...I am not ashamed of the Gospel..." (I just wish others felt the same way).  Well...I guess I need to start rustling some feathers with my August newsletter.  This should be fun (in a nice, Christian way of course). 

Take care and God bless.
-edh-

Harry Potter

Wouldn't it be nice if people got as excited about the Bible as they do about the release of a Harry Potter book?

Wouldn't it be great if people would camp outside the local Christian book store to wait for the newest release of the latest study Bible?

Wouldn't it be awesome if people would go out and spill the beans about the Bible's story causing people to still rush out to get their copy?

Wouldn't it be nice if people would discuss the implications of Jesus' death (and resurrection) for us rather than wondering if Harry Potter (a fictional character) is going to die and what that is going to mean for fans?

Wouldn't it be nice if the world really understood what is truly important in life?

Wouldn't it be nice...

Sonshine

I am super excited about getting out of here today and heading up to the Sonshine Christian Music Festival in Willmar, MN.  Five stages, hundreds of artists, thousands of people praising God, three days and two night of camping and of course the 15 middle and high school students we are taking.  It should be a fun (and interesting) weekend.  I just hope I can get up for worship on Sunday morning.  So all of this means that I will not be able to check my blog until Sunday at the very earliest.  But I will be back to give you a full report of the weekend's festivities.

In the mean time I would like to leave you with a couple more quotes from the book Dangerous Wonder that I read this week.  I am still thinking and praying about what I read and these two quotes are currently running around in my heart:

"The greatest enemy of Christianity may be people who say they believe in Jesus but who are no longer astonished and amazed." (pg. 24)
I have encountered way too many people who take God for granted and therefore are no longer amazed.  How about you...what is your experience?  And what can we do about this?

"Shouldn't Christians be known by the fire in their souls, the wide-eyed gratitude in their faces, the twinkle in their eyes, and the holy mischief in their demeanors?  Shouldn't Christianity be considered dangerous?" (pg. 31)
I like that phrase "holy mischief".  What does that phrase mean for you?  How can we embody that phrase and help others to do the same?

I hope you all have a great weekend.  Pray for me and my group as we travel and praise God through great music.  And remember to be "mischievous" all for the glory of God. Amen.

-edh-

Dangerous Wonder

I just finished the book I spoke about in my last post, Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith.  This is about the 6th time I have read this book and each time I highlight something new and make new notes in the margins.  If you want a book that's not about theology but rather about living this is your book.  It is about breaking the rules and living by the spirit of the law rather than by the letter of the law.  It is about being "reckless" in your faith - reckless in such a way that your faith shines through in helping and serving people rather than through dogma and rules.  It is about being amazed and blown away by the love and grace of God.  Dangerous Wonder shatters the myth that you MUST "color inside the lines" and shows how God encourages and welcomes "outside-the-lines coloring".  This book slapped me in the face with the reality that following Jesus is fun, wild and dangerous; and the only way to grasp that reality is by re-claiming our "childlike faith". 

"Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:15)

As I was reading I jotted down some quotes, from the book, that really struck me and I would like to share a couple of them with you.  I am curious how they strike you:

"Predictability and faith cannot coexist...take surprise out of faith and all that is left is dry and dead religion.  Take away mystery from the Gospel and all that is left is frozen and petrified dogma.  Lose your awe of God and you are left with an impotent deity." (pg.28)

"Could it be that one of the significant problems in the church is noise?  Modern faith might be undermined more by activity and noise than by immorality and lack of commitment.  Maybe we have become so active and noisy that we have drowned out the thin silence of God." (pg.81)

Right now I am thinking I need to be a little more "childlike" in my faith.  I need to slow down and focus on listening to the still, small voice of God (the thin silence)...

-edh-

Reprise: Childlike wonder

Childlike wonder was a post I wrote on June 27, 2006.  June 27 was the day after my first round of golf for that year.  Being a person who loves to golf, that is a very late start date for me, but this year was even later.  This past weekend was my first weekend out and let me tell you, I felt like a little kid golfing with my dad for the first time in a couple years (I didn't golf with my dad last year).  It was a moment of "childlike wonder" that I haven't felt for awhile and it is something I don't want to wait another year to experience.

My dad taught me the game of golf and I have many, many fond memories of my dad and I golfing on various golf courses.  I still remember the lessons he taught me about golf (and life for that matter).  And my dad still knows how to get into my head.  He tried doing that on the ninth hole (of my first round of the year), but this time I was ready.  He said, "You know, you and I are tied".  This use to get to me.  I would dwell on the fact that I have a chance to beat my dad and would usually end up messing a shot or two up and therefore lose to my dad.  On Friday my dad's ploy did not work.  I cracked off a good drive; stuck my next shot just short of the green; my chip shot stopped just short of the hole and I tapped in for a par -- my dad and I tied (we each shot a 44).  You can about imagine the "childlike wonder" I experienced at that moment.

[Side note:  The next day I shot a 43 but my dad shot a 41.  No mind games there, I just fell a little short, but the "childlike wonder" was still there.]

Imagine if we could always have this "childlike wonder" in our faith as well...

The late Michael Yaconelli (founder and former president of Youth Specialties) wrote a book called Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith.  It is a book I have read many times and a book I will be reading again.  Childlike faith is something that too many people grow out of but Mike would argue that childlike faith is something we need to reclaim.  So I commend this book to your reading.  It is short book of 145 pages -- a fun and quick read.  But by the way of a short synopsis:  Childlike wonder is like the wonder and fascination of a two year old experiencing a soft and fluffy snow for their very first time.  The experience is so awe inspiring that their senses cannot take everything in fast enough and therefore nearly "short circuits" their brain from information overload.  How much more AWESOME is God. 

The danger for the church is the loss of this "childlike wonder" of God.

Now...imagine how fast and big the church would grow if more people had a "childlike faith"...<pause to ponder and dream>...a "childlike faith" that drove people to pursue God in order to attempt to "take everything in" to a point where our brains (and hearts) would go into overload because of the AWESOME love and grace of God.  Just imagine...

...it is time for me to start reading again.  Take care and God bless.
-edh-