52 Straight Weeks. Oops.

So I checked in at the church building on Foursquare the other day and this happened:

52 straight weeks I've checked in at the church where I work.  That's not good.

After Ten Years

Bishop Rolf Wangberg, me, Prof. Dennis Everson at my ordination
Salem Lutheran Church, Wakefield, NE.

Today is the tenth anniversary of my ordination.  I'm amazed to think it's been that long already, and at the same time I give thanks because after ten years ministry still feels like the thing I've always been meant to do.  Here are ten things I've learned in ten years as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

And Some Get Wicked Funny

I'm not a subtle person by any means, especially when I'm angry, and I was angry when I wrote yesterday. Lily Coyle of Minneapolis, on the other hand, was not angry. Or, if she was, she's much more cool-headed than I. Most people can only wish they could write satire this good.

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating.

I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"?

If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

Now THAT is good satire, folks. Prayers for Haiti continue to ascend.

Wisdom On Her Corner

Early Saturday morning. Will be heading out for a run in a few minutes, the first exercise I've gotten since Monday. Pancakes and eggs to be made after that, then college football. Ah, the glory of September.

But I'm up before any of my girls, and since I didn't have time to run through my blogroll yesterday, I opened up a bunch of them just now. Some days it's a quick run through stuff that's not new, but between today and yesterday most of my blogger friends have new posts to peruse. Here's what I've read today:

• Jan's church is starting to understand that ministry is an "all of us" thing, not a "Pastor" thing.
• Cheesehead preached an amazing memorial sermon at a funeral for a 23 year old man, he and his family being largely unchurched (though if it had been me, hearing that sermon, I wouldn't be unchurched for long).
• Diane connected the dots between the anxiety in health care reform and our refusal to look death square in the face.
• Meta tells the story of how she and her husband set up their financial stewardship plan (hint: they give more to the church than they do to their cable provider. Probably a good sense of perspective, IMO).
• CoffeePastor is perusing the start of football season with a healthy sense of trepidation, being a Michigan fan. All is not well in Ann Arbor at the moment (but I hope it becomes so very soon, because college football is better when Michigan is a strong program).
  

Some folks think blogs are a pretentious waste of time. Sometimes they are - even here, where the author is one of the most un-pretentious people I know. ;-) But if you pay attention, blogs and facebook and even Twitter can offer some incredible wisdom in addition to a greater sense of connectedness.

My denomination is undergoing a time of great change at the moment. It's uncomfortable even for those who wanted the change, and sometimes excruciating for those opposed to it. But of all the things we've said and done in this conversation over the past eight years, what gives me the most pride in our denomination is how we've tried to make sure our collective wisdom is not ignored. Many, many voices have spoken and continue to speak about this time of change in our church, and they have rarely agreed. But unlike those who surround themselves with people who agree, we've tried to make this conversation as wide and wise as it can be. It might be more comfortable to silence dissenting voices, but no one grows wiser by hearing only what you already know.

Last night, Beloved and I watched Caprica, a prequel to SciFi's excellent series Battlestar Galactica. This movie was even more philosophical and metaphysical than the already-heady BSG; it addressed the nature of the mind, the soul, technology and what might happen when we develop the ability to mix the three more than we already do. But the sentence that struck me was this: "A difference that isn't noticeably different isn't really a difference, is it?" (As close as I can remember it, that is) So true. Likewise, a wisdom informed only by itself isn't really wise.

Well, that's some Saturday morning thinking for you. Now I'm off to kill brain cells by watching as much college football as possible between now and tomorrow night. There's wisdom, and then there's, well, whatever this weekend is going to be.

Grace & peace,
Scott