Working out my salvation with fear and trembling – Philippians 2:12
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It is undeniable. We are in a time of crisis. I pastor a small church of about 90 and seminary never prepared me for anything like COVID-19. I don’t know the first thing about mobilizing volunteers to check in on church members to see how their health is and if they need anything like food, medications, or the seemingly non-existent toilet paper.
I’ll be the first one to admit I have little idea of what I’m doing.
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Today, I started my new job as an associate pastor.
Me.
The gal who knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that when she entered seminary she definitely wasn’t called to be a pastor.
The gal who grew up believing women shouldn’t be pastors.
Yet, here we are.
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When I write, I understand that words matter. Sometimes I struggle to find the perfect word to convey what I am feeling or thinking.
I come from the corporate world where words also matter. But it’s a little different there. No matter what company you work for, there will be a special vocabulary. Buzzwords and phrases. Taking things offline, one-off, piggybacking on something, push-back, if I’m hearing you correctly. The list is almost endless. Often, using these buzzwords show that you’re a good fit for your team. You’re seen as part of the “in” crowd. But use them too much and you may find yourself the target of a buzzword bingo sheet.
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Last year, I accepted that God was calling me to be a pastor. It was sudden and it was unexpected. Well, at least to me it was. And since then, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things as far as pastoring goes. My recent exploration of church size is one of those things.
But another big topic on my mind is pastoral care. If you don’t know what that means, you’re not alone. I didn’t until about two years ago. And as I prepare to take Introduction to Pastoral Care this semester, I’m willing to bet that even my definition of pastoral care will be refined.
When you think of a pastor, what comes to mind? Preaching. Weddings. Funerals. Hospital Visits. Yes to all of those things. Which of those is considered to be pastoral care? My answer?
Continue reading “New Series: Pastoral Care in Unexpected Places”
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I’ve thought a lot about church for the last three years. It all started with an evangelism class at seminary. My end of semester paper was titled “Reimagining Church: What If We Ran Church Like an AA Meeting?”
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One thing that you should know about me is my husband died by suicide almost four and a half years ago. It is possibly the one event that has changed my life more than any other. If you have been affected by suicide or the death of a spouse, you know that either of these things is traumatic on their own. But to have both happen simultaneously is a heavy load to bear. Continue reading “Grief and Its Effects”
The Clumsy Pilgrim 