MOVING ON
OK, I’m writing this ahead of time but if all has gone well, we are now living in St. Petersburg, Florida at a Presbyterian retirement community called Westminster Shores. We are undoubtedly still unpacking boxes and wondering what our future will be like.
I still intend to continue writing about keeping clergy healthy and writing some more fiction. If you are so inclined, I will be leading a workshop this fall for the Presbytery Pastoral Care Network’s annual conference. It will be held at First Presbyterian in Houston, Texas on October 27-30. The theme will be REDISCOVERING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY: Overcoming Isolation. We welcome anyone from any tradition who is interested in keeping clergy healthy. You can find out more information on the PPCN webpage, www.pastoralcarenetwork.org .
CHURCH PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT
Church people are different
They come together to worship God
They discuss how God wants them to live
They share their wealth with the less fortunate
They fight with each other with a smile on their faces
Church people are different
Unlike atheists, they believe God created the world
Unlike agnostics, they are certain about what they don’t understand
Unlike secularists they believe there is more to life than meets the eye
Unlike spiritualists, they believe faith is embodied in physical life
Unlike Jesus, they practice a limited form of forgiveness and grace
Church people are different
They pray that God’s name will be hallowed but join other golfers in bringing God’s name to bear on their golf shot
They pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” but continue to share the world’s skepticism about our future
They pray that God will give them this day their daily bread but still stress about their retirement packages
They hope that God will forgive their debts even if they continue to struggle with forgiving their debtors
They affirm that the kingdom, power, and glory belong to God but they fear that some superpowers may not accept that
Oh yeah, that’s what Pilate thought also.
So the good news really is that “we are saved by grace and not by works lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
