the Eclectic Soul

I Promise to be a Better Blogger

Ok do I've sucked at blogging lately. I have a post on deck that I will be posting tomorrow.

So, sorry, to my probably one & only reader. I'll get better!

(well I'll try anyway) ;)

Peace,

E

I Promise to be a Better Blogger

Ok do I've sucked at blogging lately. I have a post on deck that I will be posting tomorrow.

So, sorry, to my probably one & only reader. I'll get better!

(well I'll try anyway) ;)

Peace,

E

Support this....

My friend Penny's daughter Madeline has suffered from Type 1 diabetes since 2002.  She and her mom made this amazing video to raise awareness and to secure support for her upcoming walk for the cure.  Give it a watch and support diabetes research where ever you live. 

This Makes Me Sad....

Now, before you read on, let me just say this:  I don't have all the facts or information, just what I've managed to follow in the news.  So, as you read, please keep this in mind.

This article from the UM Reporter really saddened me on many levels, one of which is the incessant fear of what appears to be competition between local pastors and churches.  Sometimes I fear that if we're not careful, we can be all too busy building our own kingdoms instead of the kingdom of God.

While I honestly sympathize with Bryson Butts, the former pastor of Gracepoint UMC - I hear in his responses a primal call to reach the unchurched that isn't always appreciated within institutional churches like the UMC - I am saddened that a church plant opportunity in Kansas has succumbed under the strain of it's tearing apart.

My prayer is for the Bryson and his new congregation and the 17 original members of Gracepoint UMC that suddenly are left without a church.

Peace,

E

Just Awesome!

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Why I Love This Man...

Back in the early nineties I was introduced to the writings of Brennan Manning when someone gave me a copy of the Ragamuffin Gospel.  Needless to say, that book transformed my life to such a degree that when my first son was born, I named him Brennan.

If you haven't ever read anything by Brennan Manning, I suggest with everything that I am that you go and buy everything that he's ever read!

Listen to what he writes in his latest book, The Furious Longing of God:

"Jesus said you are to love one another as I have loved you, a love that will probably lead to the bloody, anguished gift of yourself; a love that forgives seventy times seven, that keeps no score of wrongdoing. Jesus said this, this love, is the one criterion, the sole norm, the standard of discipleship in the New Israel of God.  He said you're going to be identified as his disciples, not because of your church-going, Bible-toting, or song-singing.  No, you'll be identified as his by one sign only: the deep and delicate respect for one another, the cordial love impregnated with reverence for the sacred dimension of the human personality of the mysterious substitution of Christ for the Christian...if we as a Christian community took seriously that the sign of our love for Jesus is our love for one another, I am convinced it would change the world.  We're denying to the world the one witness Jesus asked for: Love  one another as I've loved  you (John 15.12)."

--Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God, pp. 86, 89

Great Article...

Great article from presby pastor and church leader Bruces Reyes-Chow.  

Check it out here.

A Snapshot Religious Life in America

There's an interesting article out from the the Associated Press that says fewer Americans are willing to identify with any given religion.  

Although the article seems heavily biased towards evaluating those within the "Christian" spectrum of religious life, although they do touch on the percentages of other faith systems.  The report put out by The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn, makes some interesting findings.  

"In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists,Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population."

"The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious group."

"Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year."

It's an interesting article.  You can read it here.

What are you thoughts?

Peace,

E

Why I Got My Ear Pierced...

This past Friday I did something that I should have done almost two years ago: I got my ear pierced.  Now before you gasp, let me invite you to read the story before you pass judgment.  Hopefully then you'll understand [and besides, I had my ear pierced for years in college, even when I was in the midst of the ordination process, but I digress]. 

Almost two Junes ago now, Lisa and I had what was an awesome vacation with our two best friends and favorite people in the whole world, Jon and Siri Davenport.  We had been planning the trip for months, actually 6-9 months prior.  Like many things in life, it started out with a conversation that began with, "wouldn't it be great if...." and before we knew it, we had chosen a week, late June 2007, picked a place, the Wisconsin Dells, and were busy making preparations.

One of the many things that Jon and I talked about during our many weekly phone calls was the fact that his two boys, Seth and Jared, had wanted to get their ears pierced on this summer vacation.  Jon told me that he thought that he might like to do it to; first to show support of his boys, they were a bit apprehensive, and two, he had always said he wanted one.

In a moment of exhilaration I said, that if he did it, I too would do it in solidarity with his boys.

Being that Jon and I were both pastors and leaders of local congregations, there was some talk between us as to how our churches might react.  Both of our congregations were somewhat rural and not very progressive, so as good leaders we were trying to be sensitive by at least asking the question.

Well June finally came and before we knew it we were together for a week of hilarity, relaxation and amazing fun and fellowship.  About the middle of the week the boys decided that it was time, time to get pierced that is.  

We traveled the town, scoping out the best place to get it done and came across a tattoo parlor on the main drag, it looked clean and well kept and the personel seemed to be friendly.

If my memory serves me right, being the good father that he was, Jon went in first. After a minute or two out he came with the familiar golden bead seated in his now reddening ear.

Next was Seth, desperately trying to be as brave as his dad, he went in, “pop” and came out with the twin golden bead of his dads.  Everyone looked at Jared, who was a bit timid and wasn’t all too sure that he was really willing to go through with the ordeal, but sure enough he soldiered up and went in, and came out; same read ear, same gold bead.

Then, all three looked at me, and well, I froze.

Not because I was scared, of the pain that is.  I knew what to expect.  I was terrified of what people would think; what my congregation would think.  I serve a great church that unfortunately was going through a bit of a trying time, adjusting to someone who was probably casting more vision than they were ready to swallow at the time.  So, needless to say, I didn’t want to throw gasoline on an already smoldering fire. So...

I didn’t go through with it.

I broke my promise, and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening, the rest of the trip actually, torturing myself; wishing I had gone through with it.

Little did I know that two months later, I’d be burying my best friend.

Even as I write this I still get a lump in my throat.

I’ll never get that moment back.  I’ll never be able to call him up and say, “hey Jon, I’m finally brave enough to do it, so lets go.”

Never.

I missed an opportunity to share an amazing and unforgettable time with my best friend and let fear and other people’s expectations and opinions get the best of me.

I’m sorry Jon. So sorry.

So, this past Friday, I spent the morning at the local Starbucks, finishing the Sunday message, packed it up, had some lunch, and went down to the local tattoo parlor and had my ear pierced.

Was I still concerned what the wonderful congregation that I lead was going to say?  Yep.  Did I do it anyway?  Yep.

So, Jon, I wear this earring proudly, in honor and memory of you.  Thanks for loving me.  Thanks for sharing who you are, were and always will be with me.  Thanks for investing in a friendship with a crazy fool like me.  And thanks for all the ways that you have and continue to inspire me.

You’re a braver man than I ever could be.

I love you, and I miss you man.

Grace & Peace, 

E

P.S. tomorrow is my first public worship service that I will lead with my new accessory.  Pray for me ;)

Ouch

My little guy had to have his two front baby teeth pulled today after he fell & broke the roots. He handled it like such a trooper!