Claimed, gathered and sent

In the church, September is always a busy time. People return who have spent time away during the summer. School and the church program year begins again. And in my case, three weeks in a row involved some travel and time away. There were several "firsts' for me as a pastor last month and they were practically back to back. Early in the month I attended the ordination of a dear classmate from seminary. This is the first time I have done so since my own ordination in July. This means I was able to "vest and process" (wear my own clerical garb and process in with other clergy). It also means that when it was time for the laying on of hands of my dear friend, I was able to do so with other pastors. I was able during much of the service to watch my friend's face and see the peaceful glow of God's presence in her life. I had the joy of performing my first baptism--of a 14 year old boy who was taller than I am. Ok, those of you who know me...no laughing. I kn...

How does a pastor preach on something she/he has struggled with, remain genuine and not dump their pain all over the pulpit? Yesterday's gospel text was Mark 10:2-16 and this is the message I shared with God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church, Portville, NY.             Jesus’ words in this morning’s gospel are anything but easy. His words are shocking. This is not an easy text to preach on and some ministers will shy away from this topic. Divorce is a very touchy subject in our country. Divorce has caused a lot of pain for the parties involved and especially for the children whose worlds are turned upside down by divorce. Some of us may not have personally experienced divorce, but chances are we have friends or family members who have suffered such pain. Divorce in one way or another has touched us all. For many years, I believed with all my heart that if two people were really committed to each other and God, th...