...by any other name...

This question will be phrased as though it is specifically directed to those who read this blog who are in official, paid ministry roles in a church but it is open to anyone.

What do you call yourself? When someone asks "what do you do for work" or you fill out a form and it asks "occupation" what do you answer? If you are meeting someone for the first time and they say hi my name is Blah and I work at blah blah blah what do you say back?

I find that many of the answers I give to this question seem to have one of two undesirable effects. It confuses them - if they know me a bit and have talked to me for a while and then find out what I do it's like the little computer in their head that sorts things into neat categories freezes up (they must be running windows) or it shuts them down - they get uncomfortable and they stop talking and I can noticeably watch the walls go up.

I am slow to use the term 'Christian" to describe myself these days because there is a lot of baggage that comes with it and I don't need the hassle. I tend to say something like "follower of Jesus". So now I'm wondering if there are some alternatives I can use to describe what I do.

So what terms do you use? How do you answer the questions presented above? Is there a biblical answer to this question? I'll throw out a few options below but you can feel free to add to the list:

1. Minister
2. Pastor
3. A Reverend
4. Clergy
5. Preacher
6. I work at _________ Church (if on staff you may add) with youth and worship (for example)
7. Church Leader
8. Sort of like a priest

The Stock Report

(I'm pretty sure I'm stealing this format from Hooper who used it once about 200 years ago)

In Body News...

Head Colds: are way down. I have one, I hate it, it makes me want lay down and die except that when I lay down I get even more congested so I guess it makes me want to stand up and die. Also it is making my left eye ache.

Constipation: Is up, or at least the good folks at "Mycolon Corp" have been thinking so for the past several days. The company has been warned by by it's major shareholder that if things don't change fast than Raisin Bran industries will be sent in for a hostile takeover and their first step will major overhaul aimed at eliminating waste.

Sleeping in: has suffered some major setbacks. Seems like these days I just don't sleep in as well (with about a week of notable exceptions a while back). In general though I have been going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. But even when I don;t go to be early (like last night) I'm still tending to wake up a bit earlier every day. It's Wierd.

Being a morning person: has gained some significant ground as I get used to the idea of actually accomplishing significant things before noon.

And now for the Internet Report

Blogging in general has been down drastically over the past few months because basically the internet stinks. Sites that have gotten noticeably worse as of late include YouTube, Facebook, and Wesleyan.org (not that it was ever good but it at least used to be up). And now for a more focused blog annalysis.

Kirk Perry's Blog is pretty much dead
Kelly Thomas' Blog is pretty much dead though still the quality fair we have come to love we it does occasionally get updated.
Mark Brewer stocks have fallen somewhat lately as his posts have become quite hit and miss
AJ Thomas has become somewhat erratic in his posting shaking reader confidence.
Blogging as a common practice is pretty much over
And the big loser in the Blog game these days is Keith Drury's Tuesday Column. He has stayed constant but quality is way down and it seems like alot of revisiting the same old issues. Hard to put your finger precisely on what is missing but it seems less provocative, less people care to respond which means even less people are really interested. Because I like Drury and choose to believe the best I'll say that my theory is that he is in the middle of writing an awesome book and is using his best mojo there.
Blogs that are up - Matt Rose and Sarah Canny.
Robin White is holding steady with his weekly pulp about his japanese adventures.

Rounding out the online world the Mob Boss app for Facebook skyrocketed over the weekend but is now settling into a pretty fair price as the initial rush wears off and I get somewhat bored.

And finally we turn to daily life news;

Oat cakes are up as a delicious and relatively healthy snack available at most coffee shops.
Kleenex with lotion have received a huge bump due to the head cold mentioned above.
Benylin is holding steady at best since it seems to do pretty much nothing
Cold water is pretty much always on the rise since it's wonderful
Napping has fallen sharply with the meteoric rise of my Cpap machine and breathing all night.
Head colds are dropping even further in this section because they mean I can;t use my machine.

And Hoodies have reached an all time high because no other article of clothing creates and actual positive emotional response when I put it on like a hoodie. It's like I'm wrapping myself in happiness.

Immigrants, Religion, Community, and Culture

I went to a couple of volunteer orientation meetings for the Metro Immigrant Settlement Association and Halifax Immigrant Learning Center. It was interesting. I would say most of the people who were immigrants (or former immigrants, I’m not sure when you stop being new to Canada and just start being from here). It was interesting to learn what that process looks like for people and the struggles new Canadians face. What was more interesting was watching the people who work at MISA/HILC respond to me. This place is understandably a hotbed of pluralism and “tolerance”. It may have all been in my head but seemed to notice a bit of a wall go up when they figured out I was a Christian, and a pastor at that. At one point I was having a one-on-one discussion with another one of the volunteers who was looking for a new church to attend and I told him he would be welcome to visit Deep Water anytime. Shortly thereafter the person who was leading the session managed to work into our discussion of a Job description for a volunteer role that sharing our religious views was definitely not appropriate for that role. She stopped looking around (like she usually does) and stared directly at the other side of the class when she said it. This was about our 4th hour of orientation and this was the first time they mentioned religion. Found that interesting. I haven’t decided if I actually want to volunteer with them or not. I have a hunch the “religion” thing would become an issue, especially since one of my roles would be to introduce this new person to my circle of friends which at this point are almost all people who are Christians (I know, I’m working on it.)

This whole experience leads to an even deeper understanding of our culture. I think most everyone who was in that session, particularly the leaders would say that spirituality is important and that religious views enrich our lives and all that jazz yet they expect that you can truly befriend someone and interact with them on a regular basis and develop a meaningful friendship without your “religion” ever entering the picture. Ridiculous. If you can do that you suck at your religion. How could anyone, Christian or not, get that close to someone without their religion coming up? Obviously you would have to have that area super compartmentalized. If I had been meeting with someone weekly for 3 months to hang out, practice English, talk about life in Canada, etc and on the last day they said, oh – by the way, I’m Muslim and I had never heard them talk about Allah, or going to mosque, or say they couldn’t meet at such and such a time because that is when they pray frankly I would think – they must not be much of a Muslim and Islam must not mean that much to them. Either that or they have been working incredibly hard to hide this important part of themselves. In the first case I’d lose some respect for them, in the second case I be offended. Either way I’d say if you are __________ (insert your religion here) than go for it, be that around me, let me see that part of your life.

And here’s the lesson for those of us who follow Jesus. True community is when we learn to embrace people for who they are not when people learn to dumb who they are down enough that pretty much anyone could embrace them. The world’s version of acceptance says you need to know what to hide in order to fit in and the Jesus version says you need to realize that no matter what you reveal you have a place with me.

Of course the other question is if I were Buddist, Hindu, Muslim, would they feel the same way and what about the immigrants – do they get the same speech? Welcome to Canada, your sexuality, socio-economic status, and culture are welcome, but please check your religion at the door.

But Wait... There's More

And the district shuffle continues. There have been some recent (as in since my last post on the subject, some are old news) resignations including:

Staff:
Metro Halifax, NS - Ryan & Sarah Wiedmaier
Moncton, NB - Jeep & Janice McLaughlan
Perth Andover, NB - Ben Canny
Hartland, NB - Kevin Myers

Senior:
Sussex - Neville Gosman

These are added to the list below:

Senior:
Black’s Harbour, NB – Bruce Cheney
Fort Fairfield, ME - Wes McNeil
Sandford, NS - Bill Moore
Shelburne, NS - Ed Otis
Sydney, NS - Michael & Tammy Hutton
Presque Isle, ME – Rick Kavanaugh

And of course technically the staff of all the churches who's Sr resigned above and you wind up with about 20 open or potentially open positions.

I'm predicting you will see another 2-4 staff changes (not due to Sr resignation) and 4-6 Sr changes.


Any officially public resignations I'm missing?

Vacation And Stuff

I'm on vacation and it's great. I'm loving it. So far it's been some sleeping in and housework but it's been good. It's just nice to unplug for a while. Tomorrow the real hedonism begins with and afternoon at starbucks reading. Current books are "The Tipping Point" and "Islam 101".

Next week I am going to an orientation for MISA/HILC (Metro Immigrant Settlement Association / Halifax Immigrant Learning Center) I'm thinking pretty seriously about volunteering with them. It seems to be a good way to get more involved in my community but with something that is productive and helpful. I'm fairly difficult to motivate so pretty much anything I put effort into has to be ridiculously fun or be meaningful. DW has a dream to daughter a church that targets an immigrant population in the city some day and so I figure this will help me to gain a better understanding of some of those cultures and experience of immigrating to Canada. Technically I could be considered an immigrant to this country but it's really a stretch to say so. I would likely be either helping people learn english or just being a "new friend". Should be cool.

I called the department of community services the other day to begin more formally exploring the adoption process. I'm sure with the government involved it wont move quick but that's cool because we would be another year or so before we ready for another child. Now to see who helps with international adoption funding for ridiculously fertile Canadian couples. I'm guessing there isn't alot but I'm hoping to be surprised or to con Steven Curtis Chapman into hooking us up because technically we are Americans.

Mike Huckabee recently appeared on SNL and I think he is arguably the best politician I have ever seen on a sketch Comedy show. He did awesome. If I get the chance I'll post it. If you never hear from me again you will know NBC caught me.

And finally to my fellow pastors out there: If you have never had the distinct privilege and honor of leading a church full of great friends and amazing people that God has and continues to bring together I pray you get the chance. It's literally awesome!

30 Thoughts (on my 30th Birthday)

1 – My CPAP machine is amazing, I go to bed at night a wake up rested in the morning. It’s crazy. The other night I only slept for 6 hours and still felt great the next day. It is literally changing my life.

2 – I love chocolate chip cookies.

3 – I’m super jazzed for Deep Water’s international partnership.

4 – I’m not preaching this week, which is cool. It makes for a nice break and with a little luck I’ll get to take some vacation this week

5 – This is the most addicting game on the internet. I’m hooked (http://www.addictinggames.com/uphillrush.html)

6 – They say that 30 is the new 20. However with a wife, a career, two kids, and a mortgage I’m fairly certain that I am turning the old 30.

7 – I was invited to the Halifax Pastors Prayer Summit in April and although this stuff doesn’t usually grab my attention I knew instantly that I wanted to go. Did they catch me in a weird mood, am I thinking it will be cool to meet people, or does the further away from the boat you get the more aware you are of the need to keep your eyes on Jesus.

8 – I got a crack on my mac but some crazy glue made it go back.

9 – We tied our all time post launch attendance record last week with 62. If that were our average attendance we would be the 39th largest (out of 63) churches on our district.

10 – I’ve been listening to an eclectic mix of music lately including David Crowder, Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, and Jack Johnson.

11 – My knowledge of Central America has improved greatly. Next time you see me, ask my about a country down there. I bet I can tell you three cool things.

12 – last night Micah and I had one of our most epic wrestling matches to date. I was all over him like squeegee kids on a dirty limo but after 3 farts directly to the face and an accidental flail to the seat of my manhood he pinned me and I was defeated.

13 – I’m reading a book on Islam – super interesting. I’m trying to get a working knowledge of some major religions. Next up – Hinduism.
14 – I’m also reading a book Bryan Wiens gave me called the tipping point. Incredibly interesting. Looks at pretty much all cultural phenomenon through the lens of epidemics. Also it has some amazing stories about Sesame Street and Blues Clues.

15 – I’ve come to love working outside of my office. I find I am way more creative public places. My thoughts on my favorite places are below.

16 – Starbucks @ Chapters Mic Mac: Pretty typical Starbucks groove but there is something about all the books that makes me feel idea-ish. Plus comfy chairs and some first rate people watching. The coffee is expensive but I don’t drink coffee so I buy an expensive Jones Soda instead.

17 – Second Cup on Spring Garden: The chairs aren’t as comfy and they don’t have Jones Soda but the wifi is free and eclectic blend of people is awesome. college students from around the world, wealthy aging yuppies and art types, homeless dudes, and folks from every corner of alternative culture.

18 – Jamison’s Irish Ale House: Being an “ale house” (NOT a bar, I swear!) there are very few folks in there during the day but the chairs are to die for. Big deep leather arm chairs, low lighting and the décor is super cool. Think old tavern meets 18th century smoking.

19 – I got back on facebook. So far it’s been pretty anti-climactic.

20 – Since it’s my birthday I get unlimited local calling on my cell phone. I feel like I should call a ton of people just to take advantage of it. But I won’t.

21 – I want to adopt a little girl.

22 – Had a meeting with my creative team Sunday night. We came up with some awesome ideas for our next couple series. I think it’s gonna be awesome. If you preach and you have never worked with a creative team I highly recommend it.

23 – Although we have only been meeting for 4 months its coming to the end of the fiscal year in the Wesleyan Church which means it time for me to do some fundraising for the coming year. I’ll spend the bulk of my day today writing support letters. Probably at Starbucks though.

24 – Speaking of support our outside support comes from relatively few sources (District, Hillside, 3 other churches and some individuals) and is relatively (compared to other plants and our total budget needed – that said we do need it and are very grateful for the sacrifices that make it available). The upside is if one of those sources were to dry up it probably wouldn’t kill us. The downside is we have way less of a safety net.

25 – Also speaking of support if you or your church are looking for a great project to support let me know.

26 – It occurs to me that 30 thoughts is a lot but I’m committed at this point so…

27 – I’ve been thinking lately about how to keep my messages on Sunday short. Lots of factors involved, some controllable and some not. I find it especially hard in a “through a book” series because you don’t want it to be a year long series but you also don’t want to skip stuff that is important for later.

28 – Talked to a guy the other day who has all the potential in the world to be an amazing worship leader for Deep Water. It will be interesting to see if this is God’s person for this role or if it’s someone else.

29 – I’m stoked to take a medical missions team to wherever we build our international partnership. In our relatively small church (avg attendance 53) we have 3 Doctors (ER, GP, OBGYN) as well as a pharmacist, 2 PT’s, an OT, and possibly a nurse. Maybe God will send us a dentist and couple more nurses.

30 – I feel different today turning 30. This is probably the only birthday I have had where I do actually feel a bit different. Not in a bad way, not in some sort of “I’m depressed” way but I feel older, a bit more mature (but not in any ways you will notice) and stayed.