I moved to Oregon in 1994 from Texas. Texas was my home for my first 24 years and was the only culture I knew. In a country as big as the United States, it’s hard to imagine the vastness of different cultures. But when I moved to Oregon, I was in a bit of culture shock. This was not…
This post has much to cover, so let’s get to it. Clarifications After Sunday’s service, Chris Guastaferro sent this text to our elder group thread: “The example you gave about sick kids. I want to make sure I understand. Are we encouraging parents to attend even with sick kids? I’m sure I misunderstood.” My response was, “Haha! No.…
The last Sunday of 2024 was a memorable one. Preaching through the prologue of John’s gospel was an enormous task and treat. As I said in my introduction, that text makes me tremble because of its density and breadth concerning Jesus. Hearing our church worship at the end of the sermon was a joy because sermons should draw…
The last Saturday I wasn’t out of town or didn’t have a ministry event was September 2nd. Since September, I have traveled to Denver, Manila, Bend, and Orlando. In between, we’ve had local conferences and weddings. I realize I’m weak compared to many of you who travel a lot, but I’m happy to be home now for a while. I don’t have another travel week planned for ministry until March. It feels nice to unpack my bags and put my feet up finally.
I was reminded not to go through the motions and that God is evaluating our worship gatherings and my heart. I was struck by the fact that Colossians 3:16 shows people singing to one another, where we remind one another of God’s faithfulness and our hope in the gospel. I was encouraged to intentionally engage with the people of God in our gatherings by reminding them that they are part of the congregation, just like the worship team is part of the congregation.
These last two weeks have found our family in Ferndale, Washington, for a baseball trip with a 14U Babe Ruth team and at our church campout at Bastendorff on the Oregon Coast. It was a full two weeks with tons of memories made. It was nice to get away, and it was needed.
I was thinking about this recently as I took some time off. I could have done a better job taking time off over the last few years. I love to work. I love my job. I love my church, and I love serving the people that I mentioned above. When people love the church, it makes pastoring them easy. But it also makes you want to work hard.
