In my last blog I talked about some of the things pastors fantasize about.

Here are fantasies I think church going folks must surely have.

• There will be no unkind words (or fights!) between the pastor and his wife or children on the way to church.
• The pastor will manage time well – after all, it’s the most important commodity I have!
• The pastor will remember my name.
• They will be a disciplined and principled person.
• My pastor will do original work – meaning no messages from sermon.com!
• They will have the discipline to not say everything that comes in their head.
• They will be secure enough (and many pastors struggle with some insecurities) to not need my affirmation all the time to feel successful.
• The pastor will be respected more than loved (though love is good).
• They lead without manipulation and love their flock deeply.

I guess those aren’t really fantasies are they? They’re reasonable expectations.

Leaping small objects in a single bound (on a good day), faster than a bullet that hasn’t left the gun, stronger than a Lionel locomotive.

Maybe I don’t have to be Superman, just faithful.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

I love words, part two.

The word “fantasy” (phantasia in the Greek) means “creative imagination, an imagined event or sequence of mental images”.  It also means “an unrealistic or improbable supposition.”

I might fantasize about playing basketball in the NBA.  Fun to think about!  ESPN highlights!  But the facts are: I'm 60 years old, overweight, slow, and at 6'3” tall I'm too short – an unrealistic or improbable supposition.

Walt Disney's 1940 animated movie Fantasia was a healthy fantasy that revealed the creative imagination of the writers and tapped the creative imagination of the watchers.

Did you know pastors have fantasies?

Here are a few of my reoccurring fantasies.

• Everyone will go to bed at a decent time on Saturday night so they will be ready for the Sunday morning service.
• No children will throw up on the way to church.
• There will be no unkind words (or fights!) in the car on the way to church.
• Everyone will bring their Bible.
• Everyone will be on time (never have been able to figure this one out – people are on time for work or appointments, but it's ok to be late for church).
• There will be no sleepers during this Sunday's message (it's been said that pastor's don't talk in their sleep – they talk in their parishioners sleep).
• Everyone will fill in the front chairs or pews first (never have been able to figure this one out as well – the best seats at a baseball game or concert are the front seats, right?).
• And my biggest and best fantasy of all is that when I am done preaching, people will say “No, please don't stop now!  This is so good!  Tell us more!”

I love what I do, but it's OK to fantasize, right?

Think I'll rent Fantasia tonight.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

I love words.

Titus 2:9-10  – Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

Notice the underlined word “attractive”.  The New Testament was written Greek and the word here is “kosmeo”, the origin of our English word cosmetic.  It means “to put in proper order” or “to make beautiful”.  A sidebar to this is the idea of modesty – so immodesty is something that's out of order or needs to be put back in order!

While St. Paul was writing about slaves and their responsibility to be fully trustworthy and honest – it applies to every Christ-follower as we make the gospel attractive or beautiful to those around us and that we have surrendered to the Lord so He can “put us in proper order” for His glory and purposes!

Take a look in the mirror sometime today and ask yourself – “is the Good News about Jesus and His salvation made more attractive/kosmeo because of me?”

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

I want to say thank you for the many cards, emails and personal comments that many have made about my upcoming sabbatical.  I feel truly blessed (maybe a little spoiled) to be given this opportunity for rest and sharpening.  I covet your prayers as I am away.  I feel a little like the apostle Paul as he wrote to the congregations and disciples encouraging them and praying for them in his absence.  Carry on the good work without me here.  I have tried to get everything covered for while I am away, but I probably missed something.

I told a friend that this time away could either be a time when the church realizes how much they need me or a time where they realize they could do without me.  I hope it is the former…although, part of my job is to equip believers for every good work.

It is in times like these that I am extra grateful for good people around me.  The office staff is a great help.  Susan & Jamie will have extra responsibilities while I am gone. They will probably be the go to people if I missed something (sorry ladies).  The Oasis volunteers have been such a blessing.  They realize that they will have more to do and more responsibilities, but are excited for me to get away.  Ministry leaders are doing a great job within their various ministries.  Really shows the importance of getting the right people on the right bus and in the right seat.  The computer techs are picking up some extra time behind the screen this month as well.  They have been doing a great job and are very reliable.

I am sure I am missing some people, but thank you for filling in while I am gone.

PB

(I will be taking a break from my weekly blogs for the next few weeks.)

There are two major tragedies in the news – the airliner that disappeared over two weeks ago and, closer to home, the mudslide in Washington State.

John Pennington, Snohomish County's emergency management director, said “I am a man of faith and I believe in miracles.”

Imagine the possible statements that might be made if our entire culture became totally secularized, with no reference to faith because there were no more people of faith.

Mike Smith, Richland County's director of emergency management:  “This is a great tragedy, but since there is no God and thus no reason to pray – it is what it is.  There's no reason to hope.”

Allie McAdams, reporting on 9-11 for WNBC news in NYC: “What we've witnessed today is the total worthlessness of organized religion!  Since the Muslim extremists flew into the towers, we should prepare for what the Bible believing Christians might do – because all religions are the same – a danger to society.”

James Horn, commenting on MSNBC regarding the loss of Malaysian Flight 370: “In the light that once a person dies – that's it, there's no afterlife, so what is the real purpose of tears and anger?  People should just focus on the living.”

You get the idea.  What a hopeless world this would be – especially in times when the Creator of the universe sends the Holy Spirit to comfort and give hope to the grieving AND uses His church to minister in tough and tragic times!

“God, give us more John Penningtons!”

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

As I was reading through the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18, a couple things stuck out to me about forgiveness.

1)      Don't keep track of the wrongs done to you.  1 Corinthians 13 talks about love not keeping a record of wrongs.  I think Jesus is saying here: keep forgiving your brother/friend when they mess up (we are all human by the way).  Not just 7 times, but so many times that you lose track.

2)      Forgive from the heart.  Don't keep bringing the offense up, but let it go.  Don't use that attack to bash them to your friends (gossip).  Let it go and move on.

Forgiveness might be a process, where we have to let things go again and again.  I think the enemy wants us to continue to pick up that offense and hold onto it – that, my friends, would be the root of bitterness.

So, to quote the Frozen movie… let it go!

PB

I thrive on sunshine.

I do better emotionally and am more productive when the sun is doing its thing where I can see and feel it.  The medical definition of SAD (seasonal affect disorder) is: symptoms of depression coinciding with seasons of shorter days and less sunlight. It's said that SAD sufferers are more likely to be women and younger persons. Other symptoms include a craving for sugary foods, such as sweets, candies, and refined carbohydrates.

This means my love (and craving?) for ice cream, chocolate covered donuts, a cold Pepsi (nectar of the gods), McDonald's iced coffee, and dark chocolate has a solid medical basis. I'm feeling better already and it's overcast as I write this!

Except that I'm not a female, or young, and from a dietary standpoint – I must have SAD year round because I like ice cream even more in the summer season when there's lots of sun.

The serious side of my blog is this:  although I AM more productive on sunny days, I must also be disciplined and know the Pepsi and donuts are going to have a greater appeal to me on overcast days (like the winter we are about to emerge from).  SAD is real and some people suffer far worse than I do, so my appeal isn't “just be more disciplined and you will be happier”.  It's not that simple.

But it is, simply, one more area of my life I trust to Jesus' care for me.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

I'm not sure if it's my “grandpa” age, but I find great joy in the children in my church.  Maybe it's because they have something I don't – lots and lots of life left!  It's also possible my joy in watching them grow is anchored in observing the simplicity of their needs.  I know parents tell their children not run in church, but I don't say that to my “little ones”.  Few things delight my heart more than watching two or three chasing each other across the platform while moms and dads talk.

Yesterday I found out that one of my young married couples is pregnant – with twins.  Double happiness!  My administrative assistant is pregnant and is due around Easter.  Watching the miracle of life somehow imparts life to me.

I can't prove it, but I'm sure the young couples and their children are keeping me young (er), even at age 60!

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

Many of the life's lessons are learned the hard way.

Sometimes we're stubborn or prideful and are the center of our own storm.      But much of the time life is a learning curve that has few real shortcuts.

Case in point – I have a small collection of O guage trains (mostly Lionel and Marx).  Did you know Lionel trains are worth more if they have the original boxes?  I didn't.  After I put my Lionel pieces on my display tracks I threw most of the boxes away.  I know what you are thinking – like the Geico commercial “everybody knows that”.  I later found that pre-war II Lionel boxes (no trains, just the box) were going for hundreds of dollars.  I found even my newer items were worth $10-15 more if the original box was included.

Which leads us to my main thought today:  you can only be where you are.  Meaning we can listen to the counsel of others and save ourselves a ton of grief, but much of what we learn in life is by experience.

What's primary is that we actually learn!

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

I have a large desk in my office and it's rarely as orderly and uncluttered as it should be.  I've tried working off a small note pad, using electronic devices (I have an iPhone and iPad), asking for my administrative assistant's assistance, color coding things, and prioritizing information by stacks and where they are on the desk. Not much success. Going paperless?  Not reality.

At least I don't do what a friend and college professor does.  He lets the paper work stack up on his desk, moves the stack to the floor, and if nothing critical emerges from the stack – it goes in the trash.  I think he has the “anything that's important probably isn't urgent and anything that's urgent probably isn't important” mantra down to a science!

I've heard it said that “a clean desk is the sign of sick mind.”

If that's true, then I'm in good shape in the gray matter department

Blessings!

Pastor Mark