The Pastoral Grind

worship (Photo credit: vicki wolkins ) Commercial-Free Thanks... If you listen to music-oriented radio stations, you've probably heard the claim that such and such a station has the most "commercial-free music", or maybe a certain hour of the day is "commercial-free" hour.  Music without advertisement and lengthy conversations from ridiculous hosts, this is the airtime that I think most listeners would say they look forward to.  The same goes for sports' fans; we don't want to miss the action so some sports have media timeouts, or as is the case with soccer and auto racing, there are either no commercials during the action or a live view is shown on part of the screen during commercial breaks.  In both music and sports, the audience wants the most value for their time, and feel they have the right to see everything they would if they were in attendance.   With this kind of continuous feed when it comes to my interests, why when it comes to singing ba

Swoosh (Photo credit: monojussi ) Just do it (right)... Nike's slogan hurt me last week.  Caught in the midst of the pre-Thanksgiving break storm of papers, presentations, and readings, the days since my last blog post were piling up.  It was Thursday afternoon, and I finally had a chance to write.  I had brainstormed the idea of "fellowship" earlier in the week, and so I set out on the path to a well-written and thought out post.  I thought it looked good, but when I  later asked my fiance about it, her response was, You didn't say much .  Not used to such critique from her, I brushed it off for a little while, but when I went back and read what I had put out I realized just how right she was.  While I could go back and add to what I said, I need to allow the failure to be real.  I missed the mark, and it won't be the last time. I wrote last week because I desire for this to be engaged weekly.  While I'm in school I don't have a pulpit to preach fro

Coffee Break (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What's the deal with "fellowship"...  Over the last 20 years I have either heard or read the word "fellowship" on a weekly basis.  "Join us for a time of fellowship  after the service."  "Grab a cup of coffee or lemonade in the fellowship hall."  I currently serve on a fellowship committee.  As I sat in church listening to announcements a few Sundays back, I wondered what visitors understand  fellowship  to mean.  For Christians, this word is understood to reference any number of things where relationships are built.  The Lord of the Rings series may come to mind for many as well.  Does it still fit though? Those of you who know me well might be surprised because you know I like staying as strict as possible to original languages and the intent of the author.  For those of you who don't know me as well, here's a taste: 1)As I was considering attending seminary, the prospect of lea

Candy? Chips? We're Not Sure (Photo credit: nep ) Are you full... While I was attending college in northwest Iowa, I worked part-time at a Shell gas station.  Day after day, week after week, I saw the same people come in to get the same food at the same time.  For some it was a candy bar, others loved a particular brand of chips, and of course there were the older guys who would sit and talk in the corner, drinking their coffee and eating their donuts.  I can only imagine that many of these people were stopping in on their way home from work to pick up the same food that they would tell their kids 5 minutes later not to eat because it would spoil their dinner.  We can laugh about the dirty little secret that convenient store food is because we recognize it gives a boost at the end of the day, but we know these snacks don't completely satisfy us the way a full meal does. In John 4, we find the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.  After their interaction, she go