The Curious Ministry of an Unlikely Leader

Ash Wednesday always gets me thinking. The part that sticks with me the most, every year, is watching the pastor put ashes on the foreheads of everyone.  I know most of the people in the line.  This one has struggled with illness.  This one is in prime health.  This one has recently lost a loved one.  These are teenagers.  This one had a brush with death.  This one is a baby.  Everyone gets ashes.  There is no discrimination. Death does not discriminate. As a chaplain, I've seen that far more often than I'd like. Watching the imposition of ashes every year is a reminder of not just my mortality, but also of just how real death is for anyone, at any time. Ash Wednesday does not promote happy feelings. It's not supposed to. Instead, it is the opening to 40 days of reflection, meditation, self-sacrifice. Last night was a reminder of how finite our lives are. It was a reminder that nothing in this world - not even us - is p...

I was just praying now. Praying about everything going on in the US, about the hatred I'm seeing, about the anger, the fear, the hurt.  As I continued to pray, I realized that right now I'm feeling much like the disciples did in the boat at sea.  Mark 4:35-40 New International Version (NIV) Jesus Calms the Storm 35  That day when evening came, he said to his disciples,  “Let us go over to the other side.”   36  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.  There were also other boats with him.   37  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.   38  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves,  “Quiet! Be still!”  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40  He said to his disciples,...

I was talking to someone recently who voted opposite of me. She gave me her reasoning. Then told me "I've had enough experience to know." I was so stunned, I didn't know what to say. I felt like I'd been told that my own experiences weren't enough to understand "grown up" politics. She's only 3 years older than me! She also has no idea of what I've experienced.  Everyone's experiences in life shape who they are and how they see the world. Here are some of mine. I've sat with a teenaged mother as her not-even-a-week-old baby lay dying in his hospital bed. I've comforted a Buddhist woman whose Christian husband was in ICU. I've sat with a Hindu mother as she tried desperately to understand God's role in her baby's diagnosis with special needs. I've read Psalms with a Jewish man who was, rightfully, angry. I've moved 5 times in 5 years - 3 of those times was in one year. I've walked the beginning stag...

I wanted to quickly check in with you - my readers - since I haven't posted for a while. I am currently not in a ministry leadership role. I am also not currently looking for one. This is not permanent. There are simply a few things that need to be situated before I can faithfully pursue ministry.  I am working on beginning a young adult ministry at my congregation. That is very, very part time. Right now, we are focusing more inwardly. The current plan is to minister to the college-aged young adults in our congregation- through encouraging notes, midterms & finals care packages, and birthday surprises. There will also be activities for breaks, especially the longer ones. As for this blog, I want to start posting original stories, reflections, devotions, and thoughts about selected scripture. I may also post personal reflections of my life/experiences through the lens of theology. I'm not going to commit to a definite posting schedule, but I intend to post at least once...

On November 8, my stomach was in knots as I watched the election results. I was shocked and surprised. I watched the numbers flip flop so many times in just a single state. It was close. Too close. On November 9, I woke up and found out the new president-elect. I was surprised. I was also deeply disappointed. I had listened to some of the things Trump had said. The hateful words that were said on the campaign trail horrified me. About the same time, I had heard about his acceptance speech. I heard that it was tactful, almost graceful, that missing from it was all of the hateful things he had said for over a year. November 9, I also had to wake up really early and get on a plane. I was scared, not of the plane ride - those are nothing to me at this point. The election results scared me. Not because Trump was elected. But because so many people had voted for him - either because of the hate-filled things he said, or in spite of them. So, as I contemplated what this meant for our ...

I have a quote sticker on my Kindle case. I actually have a couple, but the one I've been seeing the most lately is this one: It's a great thought. We all know that the caterpillar cocoons itself and turns into a butterfly. But there's so much more to it. I used to think this was referring to just simply building its cocoon and sitting there almost completely still for several days. I didn't realize the depth of this proverb until I recently learned of how the metamorphosis process actually works. It all starts with an egg. The egg hatches to a larva, which grows into a caterpillar. Within just two weeks, the caterpillar sheds its skin five times, it literally outgrows five skins.This whole time, it is consuming every bit of food it can. It then finds a safe place to form its chrysalis. Once inside the cocoon, the caterpillar nearly completely liquefies .  So, quite literally, the caterpillar thinks the world is over. Its life is complete. And that's gott...

One thing that's been catching my eye in worship lately has been just how many hidden crosses there are in just the sanctuary. I want to know how many crosses the youth see in the worship space. I want them to look beyond the purposeful and obvious crosses. After we tally the crosses we've spotted, we would head to the youth room. Once we are settled in the room, the first question I have for the youth is "What does it mean that there we found more crosses when we started to look for them?" I plan to focus on how Jesus can be found in the unexpected places. My second question for the youth is "Who is Jesus?" Have them write their answers, so no one is influenced by others' answers. Each youth will then open their Bible to Matthew 25:34-40 . I will have two volunteers read all the way through - one after the other. More questions for the youth: Who is hungry near you? How can you feed them? Is it possible someone is spiritually hungry...