June 1, 2009
The hard part was over. I had the 30 pages of answered questions. I had preached the sermon, got the Bible Study ready, and passed the interview. I had taken the necessary classes from seminary and went through every hoop the Methodist Church had set before me, it was finally time to be commissioned. I answered my call in the summer of 2001, and it was finally now in the spring of 2009 that I have become Reverend.
So to say that Monday night May 25, 2009 was a big night in my life is a bit of an understatement. I knew this. I knew that I had family coming in from out of town to attend the commissioning (There was my new nephew Bennett that they came to see as well.) There was the barrage of handshakes and congratulations that were flying my way from an assortment of communities that I had been a part of. I knew this was a big night. Keep reading →
April 26, 2009
School is picking up, so blogs are going to be at a minimum the next few weeks, but I’ll do what I can. Today you get a theory. As I prepare for fatherhood, we are now in the 2nd trimester! Also, I am newly an uncle as of April 22nd! I have had a conversation with some about what to call the grandparents. I have learned that sometimes grandparents names just happen. A grandkid in their learning of this vast new world of language try to say something, a name just emerges.
However, I think that the name from grandparents come for our idea of grandparents. I never knew my mom’s dad. He passed away before any of the grandkids were born, but I did know my dad’s dad, Abraham Tiger. No middle name, just Abraham. Of course, I didn’t know him as such, to me he was and always will be Papa. When I think of a grandfather, Papa is forever ingrained in my mind. Just hearing the name brings joy to my heart. And when the time comes many moons from now, and if I have the choice, I will choose Papa.
I had assumed then that my dad would want to be called Papa. After all that was the name that I associate with being a grandfather, but my dad when he thinks about grandfather does not think about his dad, but about his grandfather who he called Granddad. Just like in my mind is a grandfather Papa, so in his mind is a grandfather Granddad.
My conclusion is thus: Grandparents names skips a generation. So, my grandparent line may be something like Granddad, Papa, Granddad, Papa. Just a thought. If you have any leave them below.
April 10, 2009
Occasionally, God gives me a song. The song varies, but God gives me a verse or a chorus that continually fills my mind and soul. One time the song was “From Sunrise to Sunset.” It’s is a catchy tune, “From sunrise to sunset help me not forget all that you do for me. From sunset to sunrise help me keep my eyes upon your glory.” What a good song to have in your head! God has placed a different song in my head during these final days of Lent: “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” The title of the song sounds like a fun song to have in your head, but this is the verse that God has graciously given me, “Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders, ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers.” Keep reading →
April 3, 2009
Now that I am a Reverend-Elect, I thought I would give some advice to all those candidates for ministry in the UM church who are going through the process to commissioning.
1. Plan ahead. It is easy to put your commissioning off. You are busy with Seminary. You have a family that needs your attention. You might be working one or two jobs. If you plan ahead though you can be disciplined with your time. Some conferences allow you to be commissioned half-way through, but they require you to have completed certain classes, know those classes and plan your schedule around them. Also, communicate with your DCOM and let them know your intentions. I met with them over the phone last Spring with the goal in mind to be commissioned this Spring. They would not had suggested it had I not initiated the idea. So, look over the process, put goals in mind and plan ahead. Same thing with finishing up your candidacy stuff. It could take a while to get in for the psychological testing. So plan ahead. Keep reading →
March 31, 2009
The letter was non-descript. 3 paragraphs of type with one hand written note: 11:00 A.M. That was the time of my meeting and one of the more crucial hours in my life. Though like some crucial hours in one’s life: I was prepared for it. Well, prepared in some ways, not as prepared in others. Prepared because I had done a lot of work for this meeting. Not just the sermon, the Bible Study, and the Theological questions, but more so the culmination of the past 8 years: going to classes, talking with family and friends, studying the Word, praying, preaching, being a youth director, going to Annual Conference, and a host of other things. I had positioned myself for an hour that I was prepared for. I was not fully prepared though. I did not know what questions would be asked, what perspectives would be brought, or how my nerves would react. My family and friends told me I had nothing to worry about. They are wise folks, of course, but I was anxious anyway. Keep reading →
March 26, 2009
“O let Him have the things that hold you.” After singing that line hundreds of time, it never hit me until today. I loved the “Spirit Song.” It was one of those songs that we sang at the traditional service that felt contemporary. There was something about singing out to God, “Come and fill your lambs,” that resonated with me. What a great prayer this is! I adopted a model of this as my breath prayer, “Come Holy Spirit.” During a good day, I will say that prayer many times. Other days, I don’t pray it at all. But yet, I still didn’t catch the line in the song that hit me over the head today. Keep reading →
March 23, 2009
There has to be a better way. That’s my conclusion. I don’t know if you are supposed to start a blog post with your conclusion, and plus if you are going to start it with a conclusion, then you probably should have a better one than this, but this is my conclusion, “There has to be a better way.” If this was Jeopardy, there would be a lot of possible correct questions: What do we do about our economic situation? What about a new design for Caprisun’s that don’t cause holes in both sides of the drink? And this question: What do we do when a United Methodist Annual Conference have a substantial inflow of new clergy without the matching outflow needed to fill all the spots? This is the situation of North Georgia and in North Carolina. To read about the situation in North Carolina click here, where there are over 2 dozen clergy who are appointmentless. Keep reading →
