Finding Home in Exile - Part 2

For a running start, see Part 1.

In the conservative evangelicalism of my youth, knowing ourselves to be in exile was encouragement to stand firm in our counter- (or sub-) cultural commitments and values, especially when we found them to be in conflict with "The World."  While in college, my reflections on the relationship between faith and culture were greatly expanded and nuanced by my encounter with the paradigms of H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture, but my experience as a person of faith has not become any less an experience of exile.

Left:  Summer Youth Mission Team c. 2001   Right:  The congregation where I was raised c. ~Present
Church communities and people from whom I now feel in exile in a variety of ways.

Already committed to Christ and his way, I fell in love with the Church in college: with church history, with Presbyterians, with the beautiful way God has woven us into communities, orchestrated our gifts, and called us to participate in the divine work in the world.  I've seen the glorious vision of what the Church could be, what it has been in some ways at some moments, and what it's called to be and become -- and it's absolutely stunning!  My heart sings, my bones ache, and my soul comes alive to pursue achieving that reality.

But because I love the Church so much, because I know what it can and should be, sometimes I hate the Church with a fierce passion as well.  I hate the way it reduces the life-giving freedom of Christ to life-constricting rules and oversimplified dogma.  I hate the way we silence questions and exploration because they threaten our easy answers and comfortable customs.  I hate the way we co-opt the language and image of Christ's values to hide and serve our own -- for example, through activities we name "outreach," "mission," and "evangelism," we simply seek to recruit new members to boost our ego-sustaining statistics and fund our budgets.  I hate the way we believe being "nice" is the ultimate Christian virtue, so we avoid disagreement and conflict like the plague, squashing it down and ignoring it until it squeezes out in nasty passive-aggressiveness or full-out vicious warfare.  I hate it!

Finding Home in Exile - Part 1

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ... seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."  ~ Jeremiah 29: 4-7

For many of us, the concept of exile resonates deep in our bones.  It captures all the various experiences of feeling off-kilter with the world around us, of being rooted in place in the midst of a bustling crowd or trying to move in a world frozen in place.  It strings together those sometimes half-noticed moments when our perspective seems out of joint with those of the people around us and we begin to wonder if we're a little crazy or if we're really living in the same world as everyone else.  It affirms the sense of trying to translate something untranslatable and living alone in a place where no one else speaks the native language of our heart.  It bears the feeling of being banished from home and the impossibility of returning, of abandonment, rejection, and non-belonging.  The concept of exile gives all these experiences meaning, and weaves them into a coherent narrative with a name and vocabulary.

New-Old Adventures

Hello everyone, thank you for reading, and for your great enduring faithfulness - I apologize for being so infrequent and sporadic in my posting!

The last year-plus has been a wonderful, full, and eventful one!

I'm very excited to be removing the adjective "potential" from the title of this blog - these are now no longer the "Pastimes of a POTENTIAL Pastor" and officially the "Pastimes of a PASTOR"!

I was called to be the Associate Pastor for the people who worship here:

The Presbyterian Church at Pluckemin - Photo courtesy of Dave Moore

The Presbyterian Church at Pluckemin (aka Pluckemin Church).
The people are even more lovely than the space where they worship.

Sanctuary during Confirmation Sunday - Photo courtesy of Tom Dodd

My responsibilities include Christian Education (with a focus on Adult Education) and Mission.  I also get to do all the other ministerial duties such as preaching - which I do approximately monthly - pastoral care, and participating in our higher governing bodies.

I also have the privilege of teaching and having fantastic conversations with our youth when they journey through Confirmation. We are blessed with a fabulous group of young people whom I adore, and they inspire me with their love for one another and willingness to engage deeply with each other.

I really do love this congregation, and I sense that God is on the verge of drawing them together anew to do something really neat and life-giving for our community and world.  This is extremely exciting for me, and I pray Christ will show me how to help lead, and live, and do this together with them!

Thanks for reading!

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Image from the Archdiocese of Malta webpage

Many of you may know that I have recently returned home from a month long trip in Germany to visit my brother James.  I have lots of thoughts about that trip which I look forward to sharing with you.  However, I'm not going to do that right now, though this post may, in a way, be an introduction to those thoughts.

My new desk-top calendar from PTS tells me that today is the "Day of Prayer for Christian Unity," and I decided to try to find out more about it (despite the fact that Wikipedia is down today in protest of the current anti-piracy bills before Congress).  It turns out today is the first day of a whole WEEK of prayer for Christian unity (Jan 18-25).  If you're curious, check out the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute for more info about it, and for study/reflection/worship resources visit the World Council of Churches page and download a copy of the "brochure" in the language of your choice.

I have felt the need for Christian unity very deeply in the last several months - particularly in my own denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA).  In the summer of 2010, our most comprehensive governing body made a decision on a controversial topic, that of course many feel strongly about.  And, because we're Presbyterian and develop momentum slowly (somewhat similarly, I suppose, to a reaction to poison oak or ivy), the implications, reactions, and responses have been emerging and picking up steam gradually since then.  Which means that I, as a theologically moderate Presbyterian, have had plenty of agonizing time to watch, seemingly helplessly, as the denomination I love and have been preparing to serve drifts deliberately into ever increasingly distant factions and devolves toward schism.

The Unexpected God

This was the meditation I gave for the Wabash Presbyterian Church's Women's Christmas Dinner.  Perhaps it contains a message for you too.

As we take a moment for reflection, I'd like to begin with a story.

Allow me to introduce you to Mary Anne:  Mary Anne is a typical Northwestern girl, of average intelligence and good looks.  She enjoys nature and loves people, and she appreciates an eclectic variety of music, and of course, a good cup of coffee.  And though she may grumble a little to herself when she's in a hurry, in general she's glad that she lives in an area where a quick trip to the grocery store can easily turn into an hour, or an hour and a half, because you're bound to run into someone you know.  She's deeply rooted in the beauty and quirks of the culture of this region. 

Return to the Blogosphere

Hello again dear readers!

Yes, I know it has been a shamefully long time since I've posted anything (my brother pointed this out quite clearly to me in a recent conversation).  I apologize, and I hope you haven't entirely given up on me...

What can I say? ... The past several months have not been the most fulfilling ones of my life...

I have several half-developed potential post concepts of a theological/reflective nature, but I've decided to use this re-entry post to show off my baking developments (perhaps my only celebratory achievement category).

Thanksgiving for Integration

Dearest Readers,
Please forgive me for so rudely abandoning you for the last two weeks.  I promise I'm not mad at you.  I hope you are not now mad at me...

I was in the midst of composing a post about the underside of in-between times, but then over the last couple weeks I ended up getting to spend lots of great time with several interesting people whom I love.

So, instead of depressed musings, here is a short reflection on the wisdom of creation - namely, the interconnectedness of our beings.

I have had my moments of discouragement this summer, with their varying levels of intensity and duration.  One's experience of in-between times depends a lot on the perspective we have at the moment.  For example, when I think of this time as an opportunity for reflection and to transition from the input of school to the output of work, my outlook is fairly positive. On the other hand, when I emphasize to myself the fact that I'm in my mid-twenty's, unemployed, and living with my parents, my outlook is not so positive.  Sometimes I am able to choose which perspective I take, and other times it seems more like it chooses me.

Anyway, I was in the midst of a more extended period of not-so-positive-ness when several people's schedules converged to line me up with multiple reunions with friends.  I will tell you right now, that was exactly what the doctor ordered... or would have ordered if I had gone to see her.  Speaking of which, I should probably try to do that one last time before my insurance runs out...

This fantastic picture from 2008 contains several of the people I got to see recently.

Everyone needs friends.  They're good for the soul.

I speak mainly from my own emotional experiences, but as I challenged myself to think more deeply about this claim, I have confirmed that this fact is compatible with my scientific research and reasoning as well as my theological convictions.  In the following I will attempt to highlight my most significant observations: