Today while riding the park shuttle at Glacier my family and I experienced two Sabbatical encounters that reminded me of the fellowship inherent in the body of Christ. The first came on our early morning trip up “Going to the Sun Road” as we chatted with our driver, Bruce. We were part of a quiet and sleepy group of fifteen passengers that dwindled to nine (seven of them in our party) as persons departed the shuttle along the way. Since we were going all the way to East Glacier to start our day, and since you never wake a sleeping baby (grandson Oliver having succumbed to the movement of the trip), we stayed in Bruce’s shuttle for the duration. He was interested in our family and easy to talk with, so soon the facts came out: a pastor, on Sabbatical, with his family (yes, all of them), planning to do a short hike and enjoy the majesty of the scenery. “Welcome to my office,” Bruce said as we rounded the corner to an especially awesome view. “This never gets old” (the view that is – and would I agree!). Continue reading
Category Archives: Pastors
Framing a New Picture – Part 3 (Church Visits)
We have seen many churches on our tour of the British Isles. These have ranged from the impressive Westminster Abbey to the ancient Iona Abbey and its ruins. But by far the church visits that I have enjoyed the most are the three Baptist congregations we’ve worshipped with on Sunday mornings. These living and vibrant communities of faith warmly welcomed us as guests in their midst, and reminded me of some important lessons. Continue reading
Filed under Christian Faith, Ministry, Pastors, Uncategorized
Framing a New Picture – Part 2 (Passage Ways)
One of the things that continues to catch my eye as we traverse the lands of Scotland and Ireland are the many photogenic passage ways that come into view. I’ve included a few pictures in this post to illustrate what we’ve seen.
Initially these registered as scenic paths or walkways leading us toward a new destination or discovery. But in time I came to see the deeper passage ways pilgrims
of faith have followed in their pursuit of hope, answers and reassurance in life’s challenges. Truly we are not so different today as we continue to seek paths to God and our own faithful discipleship.
These moments in time are helping me reframe my thinking along the way as to how to articulate the One who is “The Way” to others in our world filled with round-abouts (something Europe loves) and dead end choices.
I invite you to identify the everyday passage ways you see before you today and consider the paths you are choosing.
Filed under Christian Faith, Hope, Ministry, Pastors, Spiritual Formation, Uncategorized
Finding a Sabbath Rhythm
This summer the congregation I partner with in ministry and I have been given a gift. It’s the gift of a sabbatical. By definition a sabbatical is to be a time of rest, renewal, reflection and refreshment. It shares the same root as the word “sabbath”. My understanding of sabbath is, in part, a disruption of the normal routine in order to be able to live a different rhythm. Just as the sabbath invites us to stop, worship, rest and rejoice – breaking the weekly rhythm of work and production; the hope of a sabbatical is to also live into a new, or different rhythm in order to pay attention to new and different things. One who has observed sabbath is ready to re-enter and re-engage in the routine of life, knowing that he or she is not at the center of keeping the world spinning. So is the hope of a sabbatical – to re-set one’s perspective and allow a refreshed and reinvigorated engagement in vocation for the next season. Continue reading
Filed under Christian Faith, Leadership, Ministry, Pastors, Spiritual Formation, Uncategorized
What Am I Learning?
One of the standard pastoral care questions I have often posed to persons who are dealing with a life challenging situation is: “What are you learning through this experience?” Over the past several weeks I have been asking myself this question as I’ve spent time on the other side of the pastoral care equation.
Without going into all the details I’ll share a little background: Continue reading
Filed under Christian Faith, Family, Hope, Ministry, Pastors, Uncategorized, What I Am Learning
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