The World's Okayest Pastor

I'm blessed, if you're reading this you're blessed. The more I do intra-personal work and the more I listen and read other's stories and share in their journeys the more I realize I'm plagued by first world problems. Oh my cell phone is shutting itself on and off - and it's borderline panic time. Gas prices went up again. I can choose to boycott various restaurant chains. We can fit about what color the new carpet should be. And while these seem like big problems - the fact of the matter is that it is a privilege to even have these "problems" in the first place. The fact of the matter is I, and dare I say American society, spend too much time fighting and debating these small problems. The reality is there are much bigger issues to tackle - poverty, hunger, lack of basic needs, lack of education, lack of health care, discrimination. To paraphrase the words of a wise Biblical Scholar - if people, the world, focused on these bigger issues then we wouldn...

I just got back from walking in the Des Moines Area Hunger Hike. I haven't done it in about 11 years because I lived elsewhere but I used to do it every year in my youth. This year I was there as a team of myself. I listened to the speakers and then it was off and walking. I started out trying to find my place in the pack - finding where I could walk my pace without being in the way of others. I found myself walking along side of a grandfather who was pulling his grandson in a red wagon. We smiled and acknowledged each other's presence and then continued walking along, joined for a moment in this shared concern. We we crossed streets I noticed something that renewed my faith in good and humanity. Not all of the places we crossed had dips in the sidewalk. The grandfather would start to slow down to gently pull the wagon with his grandson and folks would just come along and pick up the wagon and set it down so the grandson wouldn't be bounced out or knocked around. We'd g...

October is the month that celebrates many things: Ministerial Appreciation, breast cancer awareness, bullying prevention, domestic violence awareness month and many many more that I can't even remember at this point (ranking means nothing - it's just how things popped in my head). That doesn't count all of the days that are added to it - World Communion Sunday, Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, National Coming Out Day, etc, etc. It's overwhelming to me lately. I'm not sure why but this month, my life in particular, seems to be more busy. I'm living by calendars and schedules like never before. Plotting and planning seems to be constantly going on. What I've decided that it's all become busy work - ways to both intentionally and unintentionally avoid being aware to myself and others. But it's myself that I'm going to focus on. I've been avoiding dealing with my higher Self - the divine self who wants to come in and love me. It's easy to ...

This past weekend the Indiana region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination voted to remove sexuality as one of the criteria they will use to say they recommend a candidate be ordained into Christian ministry. What this does do is allow individual congregations more freedom in ordaining who they see fit to ordain - a move to being true to the history of the denomination where each church is free to make it's own decisions. This statement is neither for or against the ordination of homosexual individuals. And while I'm happy that this is a step in the right direction, in the effort to find equality, I want the denomination to get on board with this discussion. I want to see the denomination, like others, stop saying that it is going to discern the issue of homosexuality and the life of the church and bring the issue up in a serious, balanced manner for talk and debate at the general/national level. I honestly see that this is an issue that needs to be discu...

October is here officially, even though it's felt like it for awhile. The trees are changing their colors and the leaves are starting to fall to the ground. There's a beauty in this time of year even though it foreshadows death. The world seems to be slowing down - the days are getting shorter and shorter. The temperature is starting to drop - calling out to me to start taking time to slow myself down and to hibernate and prepare for the winter that's coming. But fall is also a time for good things - the weather is perfect for a drive into the country to find that cute little orchard, pick up some apples and bake so the house fills with wonderful smells. There's a sense of comfort from having a great warm beverage and being curled up with that favorite sweater, hoodie and/or blanket. October has been for me a historical time of change. I was ordained this time of year, I moved to where I currently am almost exactly a year ago today. I've started new jobs, left o...