Thursday Thoughts

(The following is a slight elaboration on a Twitter thread I posted earlier this week, so if you follow me on there, you're getting the same but slightly fuller story here)

I grew up in a conservative Christian home. My dad passed away when I was 11 and my mom persevered to be a rock-star parent. She did her best to nurture and guide us four kids, of whom I was the oldest. 

In elementary school, when our classes had Halloween parties, we were excused from school and went home early for the afternoon (though candy and treats did await us). Mom felt conviction that we shouldn't celebrate that holiday. Later on, I wasn't allowed to go to school dances which kind of stunk socially. But personally I was full of angst and social awkwardness that I'm not totally sure how much fun I would have had.

I share all that to give context to one particular story that I was reminded of this week. 

In seventh grade, our honors English teacher organized a class trip to go see Schindler's List, the Steven Spielberg epic about the Holocaust and Oscar Schindler's heroic quest to save Jews from Nazi Concentration Camps. It was an optional trip, meant to supplement our study of The Diary of Anne Frank if memory serves correct.* Proper explanation was sent home to parents and I remember having a serious adult conversation with my mom. It was widely known the film had nudity and violence but in a historically accurate way meant to educate its audience about the awful abuses and offenses done by the Hitler regime. 

About 6 years later, my college basketball coach took several of us on the team on a basketball ministry trip to Europe. One of the tourist stops we took was at the Dachau Concentration Camp. I have a file of pictures I took there including one of a sculpture near the exit that reads "Never Again".

It was clear from our experience in Germany that the country is sensitive, remorseful, and mindful of the atrocities their people were guilty of 70 years ago. There is no avoiding it, only honest admission.

With all that in mind, I found this news item pretty troubling when I read about it:

TN county school board votes to remove use of graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus from school curriculum. Complains about vulgarity and naked pictures. https://t.co/fUynX6Mu7g pic.twitter.com/v1fkaCMt2N

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) January 26, 2022

I'm appreciative of the fact that my mom allowed me to be exposed to the horrors of evil depicted in that movie. I'm glad she made the assessment that I could handle it. 

I'm disappointed that these school board members are claiming they need to ban this Pulitzer Prize-winning resource because it has some obscenities that may offend middle schoolers. 

I question a couple things. 

1. Have they met an 8th grader before? These kids know swear words and have probably seen racier things than (checks notes) sketches of sort-of-nude anthorpomorphic mice. Even if they haven't, I doubt it will shatter some kid's "innocence", especially if a parent helps them process it.
2. Have they read the novel? Even a cursory Google search will reveal most of their objections have not actual basis. 

I admit I have not read this graphic novel. I admit there are plenty of other resources that help teach about this dark part of history. Why are we banning this universally-lauded resource that speaks to actual lived experience in a format uniquely appealing to youth?

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*Honestly, I'm not sure at all about why our English class took a trip to see that movie, this is my best guess.

Christmas Songs continued

Merry Christmas everyone!

We've had a good set of celebrations around our house and with our family.

Let me offer you another song that helps me get in a proper Christmas mindset this time of year.

Wednesday Worship

As I wrote last week, there comes a point where I feel myself being drained by all the Christmas stuff that is going on. Certain Christmas things can be reenergizing though. Near the top of the list is the music. But not all Christmas music. I find a few specific selections tend to refuel my tank. 

Today's sample is a classic Christmas hymn that can send chills down your spine if a great vocalist is singing it (David Phelps and CeCe Winans are to recent examples). And yet the heart of this song is worship. Even more specifically, it's a call for people to worship together - corporate worship.

The best version to capture all of that is one I know I've featured here before. Chris Tomlin, from his Christmas album of ten years ago - "Glory in the Highest":

Thursday Thoughts

We are in the throes of the Christmas season it would seem. 

With all of the extra programs and specials and events that churches tend to have around Advent, it can be a tiresome stretch for pastors. My church doesn't have too many extra things going on typically. But even just adding in family plans can pile stress on top of stress.

Pretty much every year there comes a point where I feel myself being drained by it all. Certain Christmas things can be reenergizing though. Near the top of the list is the music. But not all Christmas music. I find a few specific selections tend to refuel my tank. I'll probably feature several over the next week and a half, but here's one I've always enjoyed, Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant. It's a beautiful, simple song entreating the Lord for his grace and presence.

Wednesday Wisdom - Getting Boosted

 

I got my COVID Vaccine booster shot yesterday. And I don't feel good.

Originally I received the Moderna vaccine last March and April. Both times I felt half-sick and sluggish for several hours later but by the next day I was back to normal. Today I still feel some soreness achy-ness but nothing some ibuprofen can't handle. I did a decent 20 minute cardio Pre-Core workout yesterday too - so some of this is undoubtedly due to my body complaining of the exercise after a holiday week of laziness.

What experts have said about what I'm experiencing is that it's pretty normal and that it is my immune system adapting to prep and fight the COVID strain. 

Clearly, I'm pro-vaccine in a time where strangely, our society that has made medical health a political issue. "You can't tell me what I do with my body" scream people who are predominantly anti-abortion. Masks and life-saving medicine are eschewed for personal freedom. I think that is a gravely mistaken position to hold. 

This is a personal choice, but it is not only a personally choice. Even if you don't feel the serious effects of this virus, even if you are healthy and trust in 'natural immunity' - this isn't just about you. This is about the people you can infect who don't have immune systems as strong as yours. This is about the people who contract it from the people you infect who are also a-symptomatic. 

Theologically, this is about "loving your neighbor". I wish I would have understood and communicated this earlier as the pandemic was just settling in. Wearing a mask and getting vaxxed is a way to love others by drastically reducing the chances of getting them sick. Despite what our American mindset has told us, our individual rights are not supreme. We have responsibilities to others - God even calls us to dramatically love others (Matt. 5:43-48, John 13:34-35).

I thought about trying to link to all of the relevant peer-reviewed medical research to supplement my points. I thought about offering you up the clear preponderance of evidence that my above statements are factually true. That information is out there and has been out there for awhile now, and if it hasn't convinced you and this post has triggered you, you have my sympathies.

In my mind, a night of semi-sore sleep and a day-and-a-half of feeling a tad below average is a small price to pay for inoculating myself against this deadly virus and protecting others from contracting it from me. That's what it comes down to. 

Wednesday Wisdom

I don't know about "wisdom" but today I thought I would offer you a peek behind the curtain of what the routine of ministry can be like for a pastor - at least this pastor.

There have been long stretches, "seasons" if I want to use church terminology, where I would reflect on my weekly schedule and wonder if I was spending too much time in books. 

Sermon preparation is a important. Sometimes pastors make it too important, as if a 20-45 minute message is going to completely override the hundreds of hours of other messages our people are consuming during the week. And for that reason this pastor sometimes wonders if my week has been taken up by too much commentary reading and message-preparing. Proclaiming God's Word is a vital task but that wondering is helpful self-evaluation that ensures things are in balance. 

That's how some stretches of my routine can go. Then there are days and weeks like the last few I have been through. A elderly widow needs moved, people call in looking for basic assistance, lunches are planned, and meetings must take place. Sermon prep gets done but it gets done more in the margins while relationships and interpersonal interactions dominate my time. It is during these times I remind myself that pastoring is by definition more shepherding than studying.

Ebbs and flows have marked my almost 9 years now as a full-time pastor of our church. I'm thankful I have had room to use my stronger gifts for the edification of our people. But even more so, I'm grateful to have had the space to grow in areas where I wasn't as polished. Pastoring is a multi-faceted calling and our people have been patient and gracious and appreciative of the learning curve I have been on. 

Now, on to the rest of my day full of sermon prep, ministry lunch meetings, and two other appointments.

Thursday Thoughts

It has been and will be a fun-but-busy month at church. 

For the past two-and-a-half weeks we have been living out our polity, our special church practices that go beyond simply meeting for worship.

Two Sundays ago, we had a baptism. A young man who has been coming to church since he was a hyper-active toddler. It's a privilege to see how God's worked in his heart. You may notice from the picture, we baptize in an unique way - three times forward. It makes it a little more awkward but it is our tradition and we make it work. After this particular event, I remember as I was changing my clothes in a separate room and hearing lots of "church chatter" in the pool room. There's few sweeter sounds than God's people celebrating steps of discipleship.

This past Sunday, we held Communion. The Brethren have long observed not just the traditional "Bread and Cup" but also serve each other in foot-washing and incorporating a Fellowship meal. All done to mirror the last supper Jesus had and to literally obey his words in John 13. 

Then last night we held our annual business meeting. Admittedly it's less worshipful than these previous events, but it doesn't have to be. We adopted a newer, more specific and accurate mission statement to serve as a general guide for what we want to be about as a church. I purposefully tried to connect that with the various reports that were given to show how God's worked through us this past year. 

This busy ministry month isn't over either. Regional Gatherings, leadership meetings, plus we have an annual Halloween Fun Fair we put on for Trick-or-Treaters. 

It would be unwise to pack every month full of activities like these. But it is a good boost as we finish out the fall to celebrate and serve in these various ways.