Last week I took part in celebrating the life of an incredible man. He was the kind of guy who oozed fun and, at the same time, could have the best conversations with you. Pat Kiefer was one of the most amazing men I’ve ever met.
February 15th will mark thirteen years of marriage. When Karen and I got married, we were twenty-two years old and the world was at our fingertips. She had recently started a new job working as a child-care professional, and I was destined to make millions in the financial services field. We had a quaint cape-cod in north Dayton and ginormous plans.
Do you ever look at your family and wish you were better? You know what I mean. Maybe you wish you didn’t work so much. Maybe you wish that you ate more dinners at home, or ate a more well-balanced diet. Maybe you wish you did more educational family activities. I think that if all of us had a moment of truth, we could find something that we wish we did better for our family.
I hate preaching tough messages. I really wish I could preach sunshine and lollipops all the time. I don’t like preparing for tough messages; it always puts me in a weird mood.
I’ve recently spent a day away with the board from Centerville United Methodist Church (where I pastor). During this day, we revisited how God used the church in 2015, and then we refocused what we were called to do in 2016.
This past weekend I continued what is arguably the most controversial sermon series I’ve ever preached. While the first week of the series was sort of a “set-up” for what was to come, during the second one we finally dove into some issues that aren’t always easy to talk about. The tension in the room was palpable.
For the past two weeks the church has sounded more like a construction yard than a sanctuary. We’ve been pulling up carpet, scraping glue, and moving tile. We are in the midst of a facelift that will remove all the carpet in the welcome center and replace it with beautiful large tile.
So, do you ever get that feeling that you know you have to do something, and at the same time you know it is going to suck a little (or maybe even a lot)? I’ve been wrestling with that feeling since November, and it is all about this upcoming series.
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Christmas Eve Veteran, but it isn’t as if I’m a rookie either. I am smack dab in the middle of what most would call “journeyman status” as a pastor who is navigating the self-imposed stress of one of the biggest nights of the year.
Dear Church Family,
As 2015 winds down I think back on what an incredible year it has been. The amazing growth of the food pantry, paying apportionments at 100% for the first time in over a decade, and the new young families who have joined us for worship – all nothing short of miraculous.