"Leaning for the Tape"

The day began with an earthquake at 1:00 am this morning. I am sure residents of this part of the vineyard have gotten used to such events, but t'was special for me. Clothes hangers began rattling and then the bed started to tremble. It is one of those moments when one takes assessment of life and begins communicating with the Almighty.

It is now 8:01 am in Southern California and the professor is catching some light-hearted criticism for being late getting class underway. The point of the week has arrived where giddiness begins to take over, especially in a room full of pastors who are far too used to having a microphone in their hands.

Today's studies are not scheduled to conclude until 9:00 this evening. We make up for that tomorrow by finishing at noon. Then we disperse to the airports and all sorts of home destinations. I could not find a convenient Friday flight back to KC so I will hang out until early Saturday morning. Somewhere between now and then I shall search out what the preacher's gonna say this weekend at Atonement.

My mind and soul are swimming with new learnings and inspirations and challenges. One of the keenest learnings is how much there is yet to learn. Collections of this experience will bleed out into community life at Atonement over the upcoming months and years. Trust that I will resist the temptation to perform an information dump on you as soon as I hit the doors (or pulpit or classroom). But have patience with me if I seem more excited or antsy than is easily explainable.

God has a wonderful plan for all of us...and for Atonement. For sure. God's Spirit is alive and active in the world. For sure. Our endeavor is to connect ourselves to that activity...and often, perhaps most often, this holy activity is taking place outside the walls of the church. I look forward to stumbling with you upon the mystery of God's plan for us, over and over again.

See you in KC or wherever our paths next cross. Thanks for following along!

Pastor Joe

The Homestretch

Class goes well. Today's presentations had some teeth to them and stimulated engaging conversation. But it's time to come home, I do believe. There is nothing that makes one miss ministry more than spending all day talking about ministry!

Class Begins

There are twenty pastors in this doctoral class of all sorts of persuasions and tribes. In fact there are representatives from denominations I've never heard of. A priest in a long black robe sits at the back of class and attests to serve some Greek Church of Antioch in California. There is a missionary from Japan and several Presbyterians from the northeast. Interestingly, the preponderance of students are Midwesterners...even an independent church planter from Lees Summit and three pastors from Nebraska. There are four of us here representing the ELCA.

Fuller Seminary takes up several blocks in downtown Pasadena and we sit in an small auditorium type room in the basement of the main classroom building. There are outlets and ethernet connections for all students and the majority of us and pecking away on laptops throughout class taking notes (and checking e-mails and researching to see if the Dodgers or Angels are in town and...). Content has been stimulating, though not much new material today. This will become more challenging as the week progresses.

Relatives of all sorts are contacting me for meals and get-togethers so the out-of-class schedule is filling. I am looking forward to another visit and stay over with Pastor Stephen on Friday as Joann will be in the Midwest for a wedding. We boys will see what sort of trouble we can find.

Now I'm off to complete the bulletin to send back to the office. Rick is on vacation this week. Then I am to connect for supper with a Lutheran pastor from west Omaha. Abundant blessings to all!

(The attached picture of our professor, Reggie McNeal. I am sure that you can investigate him readily with a quick browser search. He is well published.)

Mosaic

The Los Angeles highways are nearly manageable early on Sunday mornings, so I made the drive from Lomita up to Pasadena in about 40 minutes, arriving at William Carey University and Mosaic about 15 minutes early. What I encountered there was extraordinary. (Note the link to Mosaic on this blog.)

I was one of the first to enter the auditorium. It was dark save a brilliantly lit stage and set of three large screens down front. Techno music beat in the background and announcements about upcoming Mosaic events, servant projects, Bible classes and small groups cycled on the screens. Soon the first musicians took their spots and invited those present to stand. As I turned I was amazed to see young folks streaming down all aisles. Within minutes the space harbored several thousand worshippers whose average age I would guess to be about 24. There were three songs offered...loud and energetic. Some sang. Others clapped. Others observed and prayed. A second band tag teamed and took the stage where a tremendously talented African American woman sang her version of Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter." I had never considered this song from a Christian perspective before. It was dynamic.

Erwin McManus then emerged for a time of teaching. He wore a white collared shirt open in front and untucked (In case you haven't heard, "out" is "in") and jeans with a hole in one knee. He sat upon a black stool in a spotlight and for 40 minutes (about the same length as Pastor Stephen's sermons), without a note, spoke about spiritual warfare. The young worshippers in attendance listened carefully, following along in their Bibles. An offering was taken to which only "followers of Jesus Christ" were asked to contribute, several more announcements were made and all were invited to a 10-minute party outside in order to get acquainted with the ministry. The Pasadena site is but one of four where Mosaic will "happen" this weekend. If you visit their link you can listen to a podcast of McManus' presentations...today's offering will likely be available soon.

Then, with the help of Google Maps, I made my way across town to Fuller Seminary and checked into my room in preparation for this week's class. With over 3,200 pages of reading completed and ten reports written, I am ready. Bring it on.

Despite the front desk clerks insistence that the wireless router on site was not operative, I have found a connection and should be able to stay in touch this week. I pray that all was well with worship at Atonement this weekend. I am sorry to have missed the opportunity to experience worship with both Rick and Alex Deasley at the helm. What a treat that must've been. It will be good to be with you again next week.

I see on CNN Weather you are in the middle of a heatwave at home. A good week to be in Pasadena, I suppose. Prayers I send you way and will surely accept any you have to offer in return.

Getting Reacquainted with My Watch

For five weeks I have been without a watch on my wrist. The only schedules to which I have had to attend belonged to Delta. These obligations have come infrequently enough that I could just pull the cell phone from the holster and gander at the clock. But now it is off to class and the wrist watch is again...well...on the wrist. I had not missed it.

Travel went well today. I was even unexpectedly bumped to first class for the Salt Lake City to LAX leg of the flight. Stephen and Joann Lien live only about 13 miles from the airport which is about a four day drive if traffic patterns are unfriendly. I hit them in good stride and arrived in time for a tour of their new home and a wonderful supper together on the back deck. It was 72 degrees with a light breeze. But then it's always 72 degrees with a light breeze here. Following supper I was treated to a ride in the convertible up the mountain to Ascension Lutheran, a lovely congregation that overlooks the Los Angeles valley where tonight lights twinkled like stars. Pastor Stephen has visions of evangelizing that valley. I suspect that, together with the Holy Spirit, he will.

My body doesn't know if it is to attend to Maine time or Kansas time or Pacific time. Right now it only knows that it is weary. A few more reports to write and print out tonight and it is off to bed. As much as I would like to attend worship at Ascension tomorrow I believe that I will beg out and head towards Pasadena to take in an emergent church worship service there. Joann helped to print pertinent information tonight, including a map and directions. The Lutheran service would be friendlier and more familiar. The emergent church service will be more educative and posture me well for Monday's class.

In order to grab something from my mailbox I dashed into Atonement this morning on the way to the airport. Nice that the building is still standing and all seemed well. My box was certainly stuffed. I didn't have the courage to check the office desk. But I am eager to get back to ministry as unusual. It is time.

I am not sure what sort of connections await me in Pasadena tomorrow evening. Surely a seminary as progressive as Fuller will have accommodations. If not, there's always Starbucks.

Once again, my thoughts and prayers are with you this weekend.

Back Home...at Least for A Moment

After I left the lobby computer two nights ago I told the front desk at the inn in Portland that we needed a 3:30 wake-up call. He asked, "am?" I suppose that it was a rather odd request given the fact that it was 1:00 am at the time.

Travel over the past few days has been rather uneventful. This is good. All the Delta connections were made easily (despite the incredibly long security check line at Portland). Our stay in NC saying "farewell" to extended family lasted longer than expected. So what's new? We left just before 9:00 pm last night and arrived in Overland Park at noon today, exhausted but thrilled to reconnect with the children and the growing number of animals at the house. Somehow we managed to pick up a few extra cats while away. Still trying to figure that one out. While the parents are away... .

So...some wash, a haircut, a few bills to pay, more reports to write and a suitcase to repack and I'm off again tomorrow, this time westward bound. The camera has enough miles on it for one month, so I shall not lug it to California. But I will intend to check in regularly to report on class and other 'happenings.'

Peace to you and many 'thanks' for the thoughts and prayers.

Well...I don't suppose Katahdin's going anywhere.

Just after midnight on the morning of our planned hike, after having managed ourselves to bed a bit later than expected anyway, we received a phone call from Lauren that she was feverish and ill. By the time we settled down again, the alarm clock was sounding. We decided that 6 hours of driving and 10 hours of climbing were not advisable after a sleepless night. So we bagged the trip until 'next time.' Perhaps that will be one year in late September when the leaves are in their glory, and God will whisper, "See, isn't this better?" T'is disappointing, but I trust that you were attending to us in prayer and there is purpose in this.

We are traveling for the next few days and postings may be scarce. Today we travel south to the Portland area to grab a hotel in preparation for an early Thursday morning flight back to Greensboro. A quick swing by the farm to pick up the bike and gear and books and...we're off on a 16+-hour drive through the night back to Overland Park. After spending my last day with Lauren (who is doing better now) before she heads off to Emporia State, washing clothes and re-gearing for the home stretch of this sabbatical, I take another early flight Saturday morning to LAX for class next week in Pasadena.

Blessings to you. Will likely sign in again in a few days. Perhaps I will have Pastor Stephen type "hello."

_____

It is now nearly 10:30 pm on Wednesday evening. We have settled into a nice converted inn in downtown Portland, but only for a few hours as our flight leaves the jetport at 6:00 am., about the time the folks at the Inn at St. John are laying out the continental breakfast. The feet and the camera are disappointed that the hike did not happen today, but the common sense knows that we made the right decision. Can't imagine starting out on the highways for Kansas after two nights of sleeplessness.

Heard from Pastor Stephen tonight. He called to say that the directions to his house which he had sent earlier were not correct. The exit comes at 1.8 miles and not 1.4 miles. Talk about precision! He suggested that I save the message and play it back en route. Probably the closest that I will come to having a GPS. It will be good to reconnect with this colleague and friend.

Here's hoping that Delta has it's act together tomorrow. I'll reconnect with this blog in a few days or so.