Comfortable?

Yesterday was my seventh Sunday worshipping at Liberty, fifth since beginning as Associate Pastor, second as an ordained minister and first opportunity to preside over communion. While normally we worship outside in the summer, beneath a great oak tree (or two, I'm horrible about knowing the various species of trees), this Sunday called for rain, so we moved inside the big barn. And what a call it was - it poured throughout the service despite only a light dusting while I drove in to the church in the morning.

It has been slightly over a month since beginning here and I remember very vividly the feeling last week during the service, as I nervously looked to the bulletin to make sure I was ready for the next part of worship. I've always enjoyed worshipping, but leading others is a particularly difficult thing to do - you cannot simply get up there and "worship" yourself - you are there to assist others in worshipping. The balance is tricky.

But there was a point yesterday, as I stood on the stage and looked and listened to Phil, our part-time minister of visitation who was sharing the preaching duties with me while John & Becky are on vacation - it was as we led the congregation through communion - that I realized I felt... comfortable. Not the kind of comfortable where you can kick back your feet and not care, but the kind where you feel like you belong. I recognized it again when I Welcomed the congregation and gave the announcements - still my absolute least favourite thing to do in worship (announcements - welcoming is fun). And then, as I was handed "the count" after the service I felt it again, this time in a slightly different fashion. Someone else recognized that I belonged - enough at least to believe I should be the one "entrusted" with the attendance for the Sunday (a number after brief consideration, I was impressed with - people DO attend church on a rainy summer day!).

Why do I share this? Because it's part of where I'm at right now. I'm not a stiff, formal type of guy, and that feeling of belonging, of being comfortable is important to me, so that I can invite others to worship as well. Worship should never become "old hat" so that when you read Scripture, serve communion, or preach - or even sing, you don't recognize what an awesome thing you're doing - what a priveledge it is to participate - to lead others in worship of our awesome God. There should always be a touch of nerves that hits you as you ascend the stage or pulpit or open the bible... but not so much that it takes you away from what you're doing, that it inhibits you allowing others to worship - and hopefully, I've begun to get there at Liberty.

Elijah, Part I

So, now that I'm sitting here preparing sermons & teaching & writing devotionals and stuff, I figured I'd use this blog as an opportunity to prime the pump on some of it. That said, I've chosen to do a 2 part mini-series on Elijah for my sermons August 12 & 19 here at Liberty. So, over the next few weeks I'm going to write a few entries about Elijah, who although he may not be my favourite prophet, is definitely up there. In fact, I only say that he may not be my favourite because so many of the prophets are so exciting to me in their own way. Elijah happens to get a lot of play in the bible (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 2) and some pretty cool stories are in there, and of course it is he and Moses that appear at Jesus' transfiguration and in the Passover Sader, it is Elijah that is left the empty seat, just in case he drops by... Elijah's pretty cool.

He first steps on the scene in 1 Kings 17:1, rather suddenly: "Now, Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew or rain for these years, except by my word.'"

There is no introduction, no history of who he is, no call narrative, no explanation of how he became a prophet or reason for his mission. It has already been established that King Ahab is not such a great guy, not exactly following the LORD God, introducing Baal worship and stuff like that. Elijah, who's name literally means "My God is the LORD," simply steps up, referenced as one from some unknown group of people and place within the area of Gilead and lets the king have it - "This so-called god of yours, the god of rain and storm whom you call Baal (Lord), well you and he have another thing coming if you think there's going to be rain. The truth is much more different than you claim - the LORD, is the only true God, and you'll see when Baal can't lift a finger to drop a thimble of water on this place. No, it's going to be by the LORD, the true God that it rains - and it ain't coming any time soon."

That's some pretty fierce talk from this Elijah character, no wonder that the very next sentence begins with the word of the LORD coming to Elijah to "head out of town" and take refuge - hide, in the little stream called Cherith, East of the Jordan." Not surprising at all. Now, it could've just been Elijah being scared of the big bad King. It wouldn't surprise me at all. The LORD gives him a message that will only anger the most powerful man in the land, the one man who has power of life and death over Elijah, and everyone else, to run after giving such an unpleasant message doesn't seem all that absurd. But, it's not simply running FROM for Elijah, but running TO.

The LORD sends Elijah somewhere specific, somewhere he can drink from a small stream, be safe from Ahab's reprisals - which given the fact that they live in an arid climate, would probably take awhile to miss the rain - but also a place to be FED. That's right, the LORD promises he can drink from the stream but also be fed by RAVENS! Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not all that excited about scavenging birds feeding me - but it's no worse than what Survivor Man or that guy named "Bear" from Man vs. Wild does. In fact, it's far easier. Elijah doesn't have to find gross bugs & animals - they're brought right to him!

So, here we have Elijah, given this difficult message out of nowhere to the most powerful man in the land, and when he has done it, he is miraculously provided for by the same God who called him to give the message in the first place. Does that make the message easier to give? I think not. Does it mean that he will be in a better place with more friends and more money after doing so - it doesn't look like it. But he WILL be provided for. He IS provided for.

I think we could use this reminder in our daily lives. Sometimes we're given a word that we need to share - a witness to the true God, the one who has provided salvation - Jesus Christ. It probably won't quite be in the same vein as Elijah - promising no rain (in fact, I'd be highly suspect of anyone claiming a word from God like that) - but it may be a word that we're reluctant, out of fear, to share. But we can be reminded that God provided for Elijah after this difficult word he was given, and the Lord will provide for us too. We just need to be faithful in the face of it...

R-E-V, who Me?

So, I just took this photo of me, and I'm starting to realize a change. I didn't realize ordination would make that much of a difference, but I think it's quite clear to see that there is now a halo that accompanies my head, just like those ancient icons of the Saints and stuff. Who knew, eh?

Yeah. I was planning on writing something right away about the whole thing, but time has gotten away from me. In fact, I'm not exactly feeling inspired to share the whole event right now, but maybe a few little tidbits from the great weekend that was.

First, it began with this new airline Skybus. Now, you've got to know that Skybus is first and foremost cheap. Secondly, it is cheap. And finally, it is cheap. It flies out of Columbus, and among other destinations, goes to LA (Burbank) and by the time my ordination date was set, was by far the cheapest ticket remaining. Well, that is without factoring the following costs: $5/checked bag (first 2, $25/bag after that) each way, $2/drink, $8-$12 food... and yeah, the flight out of Columbus was delayed by nearly an hour. Of course, they made up most of that time in the air and we landed only 15min late. But we wasted that time waiting in line with Budget rental car - ARRGGHHH! And then the shuttle took FOR-EVER!

Now, that was Friday, a long day with a 18 month old who had to sit on our laps. But Saturday was a new day, a day that had me and my father-in-law with an 11:30 t-time on a nice So-cal golf course. The day just happened to coincide with the 3rd round of the British Open and followed a very warm stretch, so the course was amazingly quiet. We actually got a chance to play as a twosome - nearly unheard of in LA, at least for me. I've been stuck with a group of five, but never just two. While I shot a rather ugly 122, and my father-in-law shot a disappointing score by HIS standards which was enough to kill me by more than 20 strokes, I had a wonderful time. If I could've kept from doubling par on about half my holes, and kept from three-putting on another four, I might've been able to break 100 - that'll be my Summer goal.

Then of course there was Sunday. Worship at Bel Air Pres, hearing both Mark Brewer preach and Richard Mouw (Fuller Seminary president) give a Christianity-culture address, and seeing a bunch of friends was nice. In-n-Out Burger followed, then the ordination service, a nice reception where I got to chat with a bunch of friends, family and colleagues - and a great evening with 3 friends & former ministry partners that included Italian & French food.

What followed that was a slightly sad and long day where I had to say good-bye to Bridgette & Brennan, board a plane and fly alone for the first time in my life, wait 30 minutes for my luggage, another 10 for the shuttle and add a 40 minute commute home from the airport, which by the time I wound down meant 4am before my head hit the pillow.

Essentially, Saturday and Sunday were great, bookended by days of slightly frustrating travel, which still made for one of my favourite and most memorable weekends ever.

Now, I'm home alone, watching and waiting as our new floor is installed - which looks beautiful by the way - and getting used to being an ordained minister. I heard this deft comment by Mark: "It's like a tell grooms when they get married and explain they don't feel any different - tough, you are!" Yeah, I am different, there's now more expected of me, and I need to step up to the plate and deliver...

Everything is New... well almost everything

Ok, so it's been a few weeks. We're in Ohio, I've started at the church. We finally have our internet & phone set up and I preach tomorrow for the first time since arriving. The learning curve has been steep, while the co-pastors have been great about attempting to give me no more on my plate than I can digest, it's not quite that easy. Truth is, I had four weeks from the time I hit the ground to prepare for their 4 week vacation, and my ordination service which is happening in LA on their last Sunday in OH before they leave. In that time I need to have a handle on things - to know enough about the history and uniqueness that is Liberty - essentially to keep from making any major mistakes. Easier said than done.

That has been my time in the last few weeks. Moving, transitioning, planning and very soon, preaching. About that sermon...

3 Monsoons & a Tornado

Yet again, it's been a little while since I posted. I'm rife with excuses - which include being away & preparing for a move, which is what I wanted to share. I have literally traveled through three monsoons and experienced a very real, yet very figurative tornado. Let me set the scene:

Last weekend we were in Canada for my step-dad's graduation & a family reunion. It was all a lot of fun and hopefully I'll get a chance to post on the photo album some pictures from the trip. On the way home we stopped in Syracuse for the night and a day and then ended up at home Sunday night. Then I rented a car and headed out to Columbus, OH for my examination before Presbytery.

The examination went very well. While I was bumped in the docket from before lunch until after, all of the questions asked of me were very cordial and it seemed like no one was fishing or baiting me into anything. None of them waited around for a follow-up to clarify and after I was asked a second time my opening question, this time by an older gentleman who was either out of the room or just missed hearing it the first time, they moved to arrest questioning and within about five minutes I was asked to return with applause where they had accepted me unanimously. But that's where the fun began...

I headed out after coffee with my Sr. Pastors and maybe that's where I should recap. I drove 4 hrs (Cambridge-Syracuse, NY) Saturday, 4hrs (Syracuse-Princeton, NJ) Sunday, 7 hrs (Princeton-Columbus, OH) Monday and now am embarking on a return - 4 days and 22 hrs of driving after it would be all said and done - or so I thought...

I headed out of Columbus, where it had been mostly a sunny & warm 20 hrs (little rain in the morning). But now, I headed straight into monsoon #1. I could see 10 ft in front of the car with the wipers going full speed, driving 32mph - putting a slight damper into getting home in 7hrs. It cleared up about an hour later and traffic picked up as well. But by West Virginia (I was traveling 70 to the PA Turnpike) I hit monsoon #2. Not quite as bad as #1, but when a transport truck passed me, making my visibility nearly nil, it was pretty insane. Wipers were still on full speed and it was a little stressful. But again, things cleared up and within an hour it looked like I had finally hit the other side of the storm. This of course was not quite to be. Because somewhere around the time I got to Philly or just outside, monsoon #3 hit and lasted until I got home. Again, not quite as bad as the first one, but the wipers were going full speed and the water shooting over the median from transport trucks making me hyrdoplane precariously close to other cars.

Those were my monsoons - but I survived. Then the tornado hit - our movers (packers) came yesterday. AMAZING! This was pretty much everything I prayed for when we moved in here three years ago. I just wanted someone else to pack & move us. It happened. We have to live in box city for the weekend until the movers load the truck, but if that's the only problem we have, I'll be excited. They were one in about 4 hrs - three guys and a ton of boxes and four hours (plus their lunch & breaks) later and almost everything was packed. There's a few minor stuff left for us to do (food & some clothes & bathroom stuff - we have to be here a few days ourselves still) but they did a fantastic job.

I may post once before we leave, but at the rate I've been posting, the next post might be from Ohio...

Puke City

I have to say, I love kids and I ESPECIALLY love my son. I love hanging out with him and it's been an especially neat opportunity that I've had this past year and a half to be his "primary" caregiver as Bridgette has worked full-time to put me through seminary. HOWEVER, I have to admit that i don't think I'm entirely cut out to be a "house husband." And days like today are a reminder of that.

Brennan woke up fine today (unlike yesterday when he woke up around 4:45am and was awake/asleep for the next three hours before he finally took a real "nap"). But after waking up and having a bottle and pooping up a storm, which I changed, at 7:30am Brennan proceeded to vomit up his ENTIRE bottle which resembled runny cottage cheese much more than the whole milk he had consumed not twenty minutes prior. So today, the day Bridgette had scheduled a BBQ birthday party with all our remaining friends here at PTS, I spent the day in various stages of lying around, soothing, cleaning vomit and attempting to get Brennan to sleep off his apparent virus.

It's truly hard to believe that a kid that cute could be that smelly and un-cool, but sickness does that to you, even if you ARE the cutest kid in the world. Anyway, that's how I've spent today, that and acquainting myself with this whole "Facebook" thing. Not sure if it's going to burn out like pogo-balls, blow up like the dot-com craze, be superceded like MySpace or be the real deal for years to come. We'll see...

It's Official!

First of all, I apologize for all of the lack of posting and cryptic news that I've been putting up in the last couple months. As I've come to discover, this whole process of finding/negotiating/receiving & finalizing a call is both long and tricky. Since the first interview it has been a 10 week process - and that is short. But yesterday, June 3, after preaching at the church for the first time, the congregation voted 172-3 to extend me a call as the Associate Pastor of Discipleship of Liberty Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio. GO BLUE!

First, an aside about those 3. At first, I was hoping for that wonderful "unanimous" stamp of approval on the thing. And when I heard the official vote read, I was a little disappointed. "You mean, there are at least three people who DON'T want me here? Who AREN'T happy with me, with my sermon, with the brief moment we shared yesterday morning at the meet and greet?" And then I was reminded of a very simple fact - 3 was the perfect number to keep me humble. Every time I think I'm cruising along, and everything is turning up daisies - or is it roses - who knows... I can look back at those 3 and remind myself - I'm not perfect. It's not about me. There are always going to be people who aren't going to appreciate what I do, or me as a person. There's always going to be people who don't like my style, my sense of humour, the fact that I'm Canadian or a Wolverines fan... So, I think those 3 no votes were perfect. It's no secret I need to be kept humble.

Anyway, by Wednesday we should be able to decide on a moving company and it looks as though we'll be heading out somewhere between June 22-27, the dates we close & take possession of our new house. I'll blog more on that later. We're REALLY going to miss our friends here at Princeton, but we also recognize what an amazing opportunity this is. We're actually moving CLOSER to my family in Cambridge, ON, Canada. We'll only be about 6 hours away - you can only imagine how excited my mom is to see Brennan more. The church itself, is pretty neat. Their sanctuary is an enormous Amish-built Barn. It's gorgeous - all the beautifully stained wood, the tree-stump pulpit... The Senior pastor - or should I say Senior PastorS - because they're a married couple who share, so co-pastor - are wonderful. It's going to be a really neat experience working in that kind of context. Ever since the news has been leaking out that this was looking like a serious possibility, once being extended the call from the nominating committee and on through, everyone I've talked to about this church and these pastors have been so excited for us. It just seemed like confirmation upon confirmation that this was a good place - a good call. And with Sunday's vote, it's confirmed.

The next steps for me look like this - for those of you keeping score at home: July 1 is my start date. I'll go to the floor of the Scioto Valley Presbytery for examination June 19. And I'm currently floating July 22 & September 9 as possible ordination dates back in Los Angeles at Bel Air Presbyterian Church. Then, we'd probably be looking at a service of Installation at Liberty In September or October. The sooner the better because John & Becky (co-pastors) want someone else who can perform the myriad of weddings that they have at Liberty - you know, with such a beautiful sanctuary, they're literally coming out of the woodwork to be married there.

So, I promise to keep you all more abreast of developments. The big reason that I haven't been posting a lot recently is simply that this stuff has been on my mind mostly, and I wanted to be careful about how much I put online without things being official. That's always tricky. Because once you hit "send" or "post" it's GONE. And you can't take it back. That's that but keep checking back in - as soon as I have the revisions made to my sermon digitally that I did by hand, I'll post that and I have at least one post to make about our HORRID experience traveling home yesterday/today. Aggrrhhh! And of course, we'll post info about our new house & all that fun stuff too...