Part of the requirements for my pastoral internship is that I complete some sort of project. Here it is. The Project The Church’s context: I noticed that the church is near a high school and many youth walk by the church on a daily basis. For several days I stood outside the church during the half hour or so youth were walking home and counted how many young people passed our building. So I put a Read More …
Sometimes church annual meetings can get long, dare I say boring, especially when the discussion descends into worry about finances/declining attendance etc. As a youth minister I would often make videos for the annual meeting, in addition to a written report, in order to break up the stream of talking heads. It was usually a much needed intermission. I wanted SHOW the congregation what the Youth and Family Ministry did during the year, not just Read More …
Rachel Held Evans posted on her blog a wonderful article, 11 Things I Wish More Pastors Would Say. As a Pastor in training, I think the flip side of the coin is also important. Here are 10 Things I Wish More Parishioners Would Say in no particular order. Pastors: What would you add to the list? What is something you have heard that was life giving? What is not helpful? Non-Pastors: How do you encourage your pastor? How Read More …
In Lent of 2013, I coordinated an art project @ Faith Lutheran Church of Castro Valley that consisted of the 14 Stations of the Cross. Each station was created on an 8X11 canvas by a member of the congregation. We had everyone from a 3-year-old to an 80-year-old participate with all skill levels. I placed the canvases on a table in the church entry with a sign up sheet. Attached to each canvas was the instructions Read More …
Starting a sermon with a joke that isn’t funny.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Intro I found myself this week day dreaming about one of my trips to Disneyland as a child. I remember going on the rides, eating the food, being scared of the darkness at space mountain, but most of all, I remember the electric light parade. I could recall the sound of the parade far off. I could see the Read More …
Year C (Proper 5 [10], Pentecost +3)Luke 7:11-17 Context: Jesus is in the midst of his public ministry. Location: Jesus comes from Capernaum (7:1) to Nain (7:11). Characters: (Principle) Jesus, Widow, Widow’s Son. (Other) Disciples, Large Crowd. Notes: 7:11- Jesus travels south from capernaum to Nain. He is becoming well known as evidenced by the large crowds following him, in addition to the disciples. But, the question is do they know who he is or are Read More …
“But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness.” (Psalm 5:7-8a, NRSV) Dependence is a difficult thing to internalize because we are constantly pushed toward independence. For Americans independence seems to be the highest ideal. It is sung about in our national anthem, it is spoken of in national debates, and it Read More …
On fridays I stay at home with my youngest son who is 2 years old. He’s pretty activity. On this day he migrated from reading books to making me food in the play kitchen to assembling a puzzle. In fact, he worked on that puzzle for a while. At first, I didn’t want to intervene because I could see the wheels turning in his head. But, if I’m honest, I was also learning some Read More …
This is a brilliant video about conversations between husbands and wives. Sometimes talking to my wife is like this for me. I want to fix here problem so badly, but all she wants me to do is listen. H/T Nicole H. for sharing it on Facebook. -jpserrano