Monday Morning Musings: January 13, 2020
This morning, I rearranged white stuff. We only received about an inch of snow last night, which really is not a lot, but it still needed to be moved. Thus, right after I completed my time of Bible study and prayer, I went to the garage and began pushing the snowblower and the shovel.
Not at the same time.
I actually enjoy running the snowblower and the shovel. You see, there is a clearly defined begin, middle, and end to snow removal. I shovel my way to the garage, blow out the end of my driveway, clear the front sidewalks, blow the church sidewalks that I can, and so on and so forth. I know when I have started. I know when the job is finished. And I have only to look down and behind me to see what I have accomplished.
Sometimes, this stands in stark contrast to my job as a pastor. Sure, I know when I have started working on a sermon, and there is a sense of accomplishment when I have finished preaching on Sunday. But I am often tweaking a sermon right up until the time I preach because there is never a sense of completion. And there is always another sermon to write for next Sunday.
This week, I needed something that I knew was done. The last couple of weeks, I have been spent from the Christmas season, all of its various accouterments, and a few other odds and ends that had nothing to do with the holiday.
Do not misunderstand me. It is not as though the week went badly. It was just draining. And then we had technical difficulties prior to yesterday’s worship service, and I just needed to do something that did not require much thinking and could provide that sense of accomplishment.
Maybe you have felt the same way.
Anyway, enough about that. Yesterday’s worship service went reasonably well after all of the technical difficulties were cleared. We sang some new songs. I always appreciate new songs because I cannot just sing them without contemplating the lyrics. We also did an “audience participation” segment at the end, where we all tried to do the Church Clap Dance. Thanks to the kids for leading that! And thanks to everyone else for being a good sport. We will no doubt have to try it again another time.
In case you were wondering, I still have not mastered that dance. I think Pastor Tami had it down the second time she tried it.
The message Sunday was from Philemon, a book that we often gloss over because it is only one chapter. I was challenged by the fact that Paul expected all of Philemon’s relationships – including his relationship with Onesimus, the fugitive slave – to be transformed by his faith in Jesus and governed by love. How difficult that is!
Also exciting this week was the arrival of our new pew Bibles! Perhaps you noticed them in the rack near where you were sitting. They are black, not beat up, and have much larger, more legible text than the old ones! Thanks to everyone who helped make these pew Bibles possible!
This week, we are turning our attention to the New Testament book of 2 John. In this very short letter addressed to “the elect lady and her children,” the apostle John calls Christians to love one another. Interestingly, though, he then warns his readers to not associate with people who do not hold to the gospel. Love, then, must have boundaries. So we will explore what that means.
I will also be taking down the Christmas decorations this week. Many of my readers will know that I am not huge into decorating for Christmas. In fact, growing up, my family had a 2-foot ceramic tree that we pulled out of a box and set on a card table, and that was the extent of our decorating! Even so, I must admit that there is something magical about the church decorated for Christmas, and I will be sorry to see everything come down and return to its storage closet.
On January 26, Rev. Tim Purcell will join us for his annual visit. He will also be meeting with the local board of administration to conduct a pastoral review. This process happens every four years, and it is an opportunity to point out what I am doing well and where I need improvement as a pastor. I am looking forward to this process!
So, that is about all I have for this week. I think I will go and take some ibuprofen!