Wrestling with the Church--part 5

It's been stimulating and fun hanging out with Seminary Students these last two days talking about the Church. It's amazing how people who follow Jesus and who are passionate about the Church see the Church so differently. One person really loves traditional, Liturgical worship. One person thinks the church needs to go with contemporary forms of worship. Another person says it's not about worship but about community and mission.

I met a young (younger than I am anyway) woman who is starting a unique kind of church in urban Denver. She's leading a mission to urban young adults, in what some refer to as an "emerging church." Without going into exactly what an emerging church is, suffice it to say that it will look very different than Grace does. Nadia is a very gifted, passionate pastor who will lead this new adventure of faith. It's hard for me to even put into words what she's up to, but the new community will utilize some forms of worship from the ancient church but keep it rooted in every day life.

The point is that God works through many different kinds of churches because one church cannot contain all that God is. Nor can one church possibly reach all kinds of people. So part of following Jesus on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of grace is to hear clearly from Jesus what kind of mission he wants us to build and then to stay passionately focused on that mission. One form of church/mission is not better than another. But one is best for us at this time in our history.

Minneapolis Musings--Wednesday

It's been a long, but good day. The morning started with a meeting at 8 am at Luther Sem with Mark Halvorson, an East Valley Pastor. We met to discuss our strategy for the day. Then we met with some of the staff at Luther who match interns with internship sites. Next, we experienced a great worship service that featured students from various parts of the world. The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent interviewing students. Lots of fun but left me a bit brain dead. Then dinner with the President of Luther and some of the staff who are helping us put this internship pilot program together.

While it doesn't sound all that exciting on paper (or on blog) it was a good, stimulating day. I love this kind of stuff--meeting students. Processing stuff with colleagues. Dreaming about how to effectively build the church. Now I'm going to bed as I have another long day as we wrap up this part of the process.

Good news on Bishop Steve's heart surgery--it went well. Quadruple bi-pass. Now the recovery begins.

Minneapolis Musings

Oi! Oi! Oi! It is cold here! In the 40's-50's with a strong wind! Oi!

Yesterday I met with 4 Ph.D students and shared the story of Grace, with a q and a afterwards. I'm staying in Downtown Minneapolis so it's fun walking around the city. Thank goodness for the skywalks as it's cold outside. Did I mention that? I had my first hot chocolate of the season.

This morning I spoke at Chapel at Luther. During lunch I met informally with a group of students to talk about the Story of Grace and answer questions. Tomorrow the real work begins. But I've really been enjoying the contact with Luther Sem and the students!

My daughter Alycia and I walked over a bridge that overlooks the I-35W bridge that collapsed. They've done such an amazing job of cleaning it up that you'd hardly know there was a bridge there, let alone a collapsed bridge.

Christmas officially began for me today as I walked through "Holiday Lane" at Macy's, downtown. I love this time of year.

Monday Musings

From Minneapolis:

Yesterday we had one of those "too bad you missed it" kinds of services for those of you who missed it! Sometimes it's hard to put into words what you are feeling/experiencing during a worship experience but something was up. Candy did a fantastic job of sharing her faith story. If you missed it, you can hit our website to listen to her story (it's on podcast as well). It should be up today.

After worship yesterday I headed to the airport to catch a flight to Minneapolis--which was delayed by over an hour! We had two rather bumpy parts on the ride, in fact, some of the bumpiest flying I've experienced. A few days ago, when I checked the forecast, they predicted a high of 47 degrees for Sunday. It hit 83! Today is starts to cool off, hopefully.

I'm here to speak a bit at Luther Seminary and to interview some student pastors to bring down to our Synod for school year 2008.

I'm getting a chance to hang with my daughter and her boyfriend for a few days which is really nice.

Oh, and the Cards are now on top of their division 5 games into the season! Perhaps hell is finally freezing over.

Lessons from a Bike

This morning I went out for my usual Friday 30 mile bike ride. (For those of you who care about such things, I usually ride the canals from 75th Ave and approximately Bell to about 24th St. and Glendale and back, This morning I was greeted with perhaps the strongest headwind I've experienced in 2+ years of bike riding. Here's some perspective. The last time I did this 30 mile ride I averaged 17.5 miles per hour on the way out--the first 15 miles. Today--15.9 miles per hour! But the reward was the trip back home. I hardly needed to pedal at all. My average time for the entire 30 mile ride was 17.6 miles per hour. You can do the math--because I can't--to figure out how fast I was going the last 15 miles!)

Anyway, about 9 miles into the ride I hit 6000 miles on my odometer. That's a lot of miles on a bike, usually riding the same 20-30 mile route again and again.

Several years ago I wrote a book on self-care for pastors using running and marathon training as the metaphor. I thought it was probably my most helpful, significant book. Nobody else did, however! :)

So, to celebrate 6000 miles, here are a few lessons I've learned from biking: (We'll see if anybody besides me cares about this particular metaphor for life!)

1) When headed into the wind, move to an easier gear, put your head down, and keep pedaling. You'll get there eventually and the extra effort will make you stronger.

2) When going with the wind, sit back a bit and enjoy the beauty of an effortless ride.

3) Keep your eyes open for glass, bumps, stones, and other potential hazards that can blow a tire or cause a fall.

4) Be especially diligent for bikers/pedestrians taking up the entire road, who are paying no attention as you sail through.

5) Get the iPod out of your ears and enjoy the time listening to nature around you and the thoughts and moods in your heart and soul.

6) Be extra diligent for drivers who usually could care less if they run you over. They will always win. But you're probably in better shape!

7) While keeping your eyes in front of you, don't forget to take in the big picture. Looking only at the pavement robs you of the sky, plants, mountains, water, etc., around you.

8) Life is always better when you get outdoors and exercise!

9) Keep your bike in good shape. That will keep you in good shape.

10) Enjoy the ride, but remember to wear padding in certain areas!

Awe and Wonder--2

Aren't dogs the best! How can you look at a dog and not believe in the wonder of God's creativity and love!

Awe and Wonder

I was out for a 20 mile bike ride this morning. I get out about 3 times a week. This morning, near the end of my ride, I saw a roadrunner. I never grow tired of seeing one. That roadrunner was a reminder to take a moment to give thanks for the beauty I was enjoying all around me--the partly cloudy skies, the breeze, the mountains ringing the Valley, the trees, and all the other wonders I was riding by. It's so easy to take such beauty for granted.

No matter what we are going through, God calls to us 24/7 with a gentle, but awe-some reminder that he loves us--that reminder being creation and the outdoors.

It's also easy to take for granted the wonder of the human body--the ability to ride a bike for 20 miles. Not everyone is physically able to do so, or can afford to do so. So I am grateful!