The Intro: At Westminster OPC, there are both offering bags and pews. I like these things for different reasons. Offering bags are much easier to be discreet about-- and since I haven't grown up to the point of writing checks (the fact that Idon't have a job or income to support a tithe notwithstanding... P.S.- I'm not sure if I'll ever enjoy writing checks... or are they cheques?), it's sometimes strange to see different values of pieces of paper floating along on a platter. But perhaps an offering plate seems much more like an offering... Eh. I like pews because they are much easier on the set-up and cleaning crews... but that might be because those are only things noticeable with practice. Well, that's not really the main reason I appreciate pews; I'm not that complain-y. I like pews because they are a little bit more flexible than chairs. If another family needs space, a family could squish a little bit. Plus, the pews I've sat in allow for the storage of bibles and hymnals and visitor cards and pencils and communion cups.
The Story: I didn't pass the bag to my mom (she writes a check monthly) or Calvin, because Iwas sitting in the aisle and no one sat beyond my family in our row. Calvin was going to give to the church. Gah. I sit in dust and ashes!
Resolved: to always pass the offering bag/ Lord's Supper (for different reasons), when there is a deacon/elder/under-Dunaway/servant on the other side to receive it.
I got to talk a little with Erin recently about the reasons (which she already knew) why some of her Christian sisters would discourage her from "cool jobs," like doctoring. [HAH. My computer agrees that "doctoring" is a word. No red squiggly lines! :)] I'm not going to discuss our conversation here, but it's crossed my mind that I might be required to sacrifice precious blessings also if I were to be a pastor. As a woman might sacrifice dreams of a career in saving lives or finding a cure to cancer in order to nurture love and protect her children from cancerous sins, so I might have to sacrifice love and protecting children from sin in order to proclaim Christ as the cure for mankind's spiritual cancer, which essentially kills and condemns from conception. I'm not going to discuss Paul's context for I Corinthians 7 here, but Ido not think as Roman Klusak (a Reformed Baptist friend in the Czech Republic), that this is a demand for pastors today, for the Great Commission is not necessarily mutually exclusive to God's first commission-- "Go! Make more of yourselves! Spread the love that created and named you!" (loose Joseph translation of Genesis 1:28 + Matthew 28:19) Regardless, I'll be grateful and loyal to God, for the lines have fallen in good places; my inheritance is good.
Resolved: to never (without permission) take another person's words and place them here without context, in such a way to humiliate or incriminate.
Resolved: to cultivate tact while remembering that timing must be defined! One cannot push off the inevitable forever.
Greek test tomorrow. safpuweahg. I don't know what I'm going to do for my Spring break. (I hate how "spring break" isn't connected to Easter any longer. Sometimes it's the little things...) The Pollard kitchen table is never filled, yet "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." It's that fourth chair, that broken chair, that always seems to be used simply as a place to set the cereal, or a bag of chips, or newspapers, which breaks my heart a little bit each morning.
Resolved: to, if I get to raise kids of my own, tell them that I love them often. (Assuming, of course, that I do love them! Mwahahaha.... yeah. That's not really funny.)
Resolved: to always be available to fostering or adopting children.
My uncle (Gary Herrema) was in surgery yesterday for a blood infection in his foot, and at least one of his toes was amputated. Please keep him in prayer.
The Story: I didn't pass the bag to my mom (she writes a check monthly) or Calvin, because Iwas sitting in the aisle and no one sat beyond my family in our row. Calvin was going to give to the church. Gah. I sit in dust and ashes!
Resolved: to always pass the offering bag/ Lord's Supper (for different reasons), when there is a deacon/elder/under-Dunaway/servant on the other side to receive it.
I got to talk a little with Erin recently about the reasons (which she already knew) why some of her Christian sisters would discourage her from "cool jobs," like doctoring. [HAH. My computer agrees that "doctoring" is a word. No red squiggly lines! :)] I'm not going to discuss our conversation here, but it's crossed my mind that I might be required to sacrifice precious blessings also if I were to be a pastor. As a woman might sacrifice dreams of a career in saving lives or finding a cure to cancer in order to nurture love and protect her children from cancerous sins, so I might have to sacrifice love and protecting children from sin in order to proclaim Christ as the cure for mankind's spiritual cancer, which essentially kills and condemns from conception. I'm not going to discuss Paul's context for I Corinthians 7 here, but Ido not think as Roman Klusak (a Reformed Baptist friend in the Czech Republic), that this is a demand for pastors today, for the Great Commission is not necessarily mutually exclusive to God's first commission-- "Go! Make more of yourselves! Spread the love that created and named you!" (loose Joseph translation of Genesis 1:28 + Matthew 28:19) Regardless, I'll be grateful and loyal to God, for the lines have fallen in good places; my inheritance is good.
Resolved: to never (without permission) take another person's words and place them here without context, in such a way to humiliate or incriminate.
Resolved: to cultivate tact while remembering that timing must be defined! One cannot push off the inevitable forever.
Greek test tomorrow. safpuweahg. I don't know what I'm going to do for my Spring break. (I hate how "spring break" isn't connected to Easter any longer. Sometimes it's the little things...) The Pollard kitchen table is never filled, yet "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." It's that fourth chair, that broken chair, that always seems to be used simply as a place to set the cereal, or a bag of chips, or newspapers, which breaks my heart a little bit each morning.
Resolved: to, if I get to raise kids of my own, tell them that I love them often. (Assuming, of course, that I do love them! Mwahahaha.... yeah. That's not really funny.)
Resolved: to always be available to fostering or adopting children.
My uncle (Gary Herrema) was in surgery yesterday for a blood infection in his foot, and at least one of his toes was amputated. Please keep him in prayer.
"As a woman might sacrifice dreams of a career in saving lives or finding a cure to cancer in order to nurture love and protect her children from cancerous sins, so I might have to sacrifice love and protecting children from sin in order to proclaim Christ as the cure for mankind's spiritual cancer, which essentially kills and condemns from conception." I'm alarmed by this sentence, not because of the woman part, but because of the pastor part. But perhaps I misunderstood. Do you really mean that?
ReplyDeleteI think you understood correctly; I think I'm wrong. But being a full-time pastor or a missionary is like being a superhero: all the weekends and evenings and vacations spent with a family the pastor is head over is time not spent pursuing the lost. And yet (because I've been watching Smallville) Superman proposes to Lois Lane, knowing that he could be saving lives. The creators of Smallville gave him these words: "You're not in my way; you're not my weakness, Lois. You're my strength; you're the only one who is always standing by my side." The pastors at the Timothy Conference said something of the same sort, but.... eh. I don't know!
DeleteSee, I don't think that's fair. I don't think a pastor is any more a superhero than any other Christian. We all have a responsibility to rescue to the lost. I think Corinthians makes it pretty clear that nobody's job is "better" than anybody else's.
ReplyDeleteAlso you forget something else: your children are the lost. Your wife probably has one of the hardest jobs in the church. If you take that view of your family, better to not have one. That's the best way to raise cynical, straying children. And they're just as much lost as anybody else. But not only that, they're going to weaken your testimony if you don't even protect them from sin. Your wife has to raise these kids (and as you know, it's the hardest thing to raise kids if the husband isn't around), and she has to look good for the church, and she has to take care of everybody, and if you're not supporting her with time; weekends, vacations, that's disaster.
It's not glorifying to God to neglect your family in interest of evangelism.
(But, btws! the person who I think does best at not neglecting his family and witnessing is Charlie Perkins. He manages to raise an Autistic son, take care of his family and be the coolest dad, but he also started in Cottonwood, he pastors his own church, and he has a finger in almost every Christian pie in Northern Arizona, including starting and leading Bible studies at universities, writing for newspapers, and organizing groups of people into pre-reformed churches. But he still has time to go out street preaching and knocking on doors. I swear, he knows every reformed person in Northern Arizona. I hope you get to meet him at some point, cause he's unbelievable.)
Yeah. I think (unfortunately) this will take me a couple years to accept-- but that's fine, since I probably won't be married or pastoring within the year :)
DeleteIn reverse: Pastor Perkins actually inspired me to take Greek!! (before I'd seriously considered the ministry) I met him pretty briefly at winter camp one year and (don't tell his kids this!) I was sort of hoping he'd be chosen to pastor Long Beach. That is really cool, though. I've got a great deal more respect for him now! It's amazing how much pastors (and pastors' wives! and pastors' kids!) do "behind-the-scenes" when they're not preaching.
Pastor Paul Viggiano grows exceedingly joyful whenever he baptizes/ leads a child through communicant membership, saying "It's slow, but we've got a steady church growth program!" wearing the biggest smile. He's also said that politicians break a greater vow than their office when they're found unfaithful to their spouses.
It's a weaker solution for me to propose (even to myself!) that a way to not be neglectful of being faithful to both a family and to evangelism (and of course, they're far from mutually exclusive; I think you hit the nail [I typed "hammer" three times there instead of nail before I figured out that doesn't make sense :/] on the head, Erin, that one's family is a part of one's testimony and witness of Christ's love) rather than just figuring out how to glorify God in both.
Researching Calvin's life has given me a new perspective, though, in that he married a widow and then lost their three sons in infancy and then her nine years later. I can't help but imagine the Christian bachelor thinking Calvin's words: "I, who have the air of being so hostile to celibacy, I am still not married and do not know whether I will ever be. If I take a wife it will be because, being better freed from numerous worries, I can devote myself to the Lord."
And it's so true that we're all evangelists as Christians! :) Where would we be, if my thoughts were true? Then no Christian ought to be married, which definitely proves my fears and thoughts wrong.
In conclusion: Paul lists "the husband of one wife" second as eligibility for being an elder (Titus 1; I Timothy 3), after being "blameless."
I'd like to be both someday! The life of John Calvin's been really getting to me, though. After all, Calvin echoed the apostle Paul, saying that he was satisfied with his sons in the faith, though his biological sons did not survive infancy. Gah.
Thanks a ton for the concern and admonishment, Erin! :) This just hasn't sunk into my thick skull yet.