Initiating Post-doctoral Detox

Just over two months ago I graduated from seminary, hopefully for the last time. Yes, definitely. Absolutely the last time. :)

What now? Many initiatives are underway at my church for summer ministries, with VBS taking place through July on Wednesday evenings and planning going on for August midweek ministries. Fall looms around the corner and looks to be a challenging, innovative (for me and my church), and very busy. I feel the pressure on several fronts, but I think I am weathering it well. As long as I can complete my post-doctoral detox.

It is hard to explain but school does something to me. There is an ever-present pressure to complete one more project, to delay one more personal goal, to place academics before family and friends so as to fulfill the expected benchmarks. I am so over it.

Ministry is not unlike school in this way. Maybe that is why my ministry and academic career went so well together, even though at times I had to set limits on ministry to accomplish academic aims, and occasionally vice-versa. Ministry also can place stress on family relationships and friendships. I do not intend to allow ministry to fill up what some assume is the void left by the absence of school. I intend to maintain my margin, picking and choosing carefully what I do  in ministry and how I do it.

Yes, I am initiating my personalized post-doctoral detox program.

• I will still read widely, but the authors and their works are of my choosing. And, I will decide whether or not to write any reviews. Oh, and most of the works will be novels. :)
• I will continue my pattern of placing priority on relationships rather than the priorities of church business. In other words, church work is important and will receive its rightful attention in the arena of my responsibilities, but within realistic limits. Yes, this means I will continue to opt out of some of the extra-curricular duties people have been asking me to do over the years. On the other hand, I will opt in to meeting specific needs so as to bless a person, or more often, do tasks which will never be seen in the light of day.
• I will continue to be a life-long learner, but primarily through non-traditional means. They say that curiosity killed the cat. Better than being bored to death through the fear of new experiences, hobbies, friendships, and so on. I plan to keep my mind active through rigorous study and activity, but primarily outside the confines of academic halls.
• I plan to enjoy the delights that God has given us through exploring new places, and revisiting the writings of antiquity in both the biblical Hebrew and Christian traditions, as well as their contemporaries.
• Mission will ever be on my mind in whatever I think and do.
• I plan to continue loving people in the context of my love for God. Perhaps this is my most daring statement, the one most difficult to attain. It is too easily made a slogan without substance. For I know the selfishness of my own heart, preferring to be around people who show kindness to me, rather than loving others even when they despise me.
• I appreciate my time in seminary. The detox I am undergoing is more an issue of correcting my own shortcomings, than a reflection on the academy. Perhaps the days following seminary will round out my perspective as distance gives a view of the broader picture.
• I will try my best to focus on being a simple, yet thoughtful (I hope), practitioner.
• Simplicity will continue to define my personal lifestyle, even as I deal with complex issues related to work and to ministry.
• Most importantly, I will endeavor to grow closer to God.

wondering about the way forward

 Thinking about the future. What surprises lay ahead? What tasks will I engage? My pursuit of degrees is behind me. During the process I have lived life fully. Yet new opportunities await, though some are veiled from my awareness for a time. In the meantime I continue my work as a warehouseman. And I continue to dream even as I live. Will the grandest dreams see fruition? Will hope enchant reality into a dance? May a new morning provide clues for the way forward….

and so it ends, only to give way to the new

I have reached the end of a journey. I now commence a new one. The commencement ceremony for Western Seminary was quite lovely and distinguished. It is fair to say I will not forget it.

I invite you to join with me in the days to come as the continuing story unfolds.  For the moment I rejoice and celebrate honorably. Yet, I am aware that there is great urgency in the coming year to implement the results of my research in cooperation with my pastor and the church we serve. That will be the true test of my efforts. This is why I chose the title Praxis of Nurture in Small Churches for my Doctor of Ministry dissertation. Praxis is truth discovered in action, as well as applied truth. As we work with parents to help them in the faith and life nurture of their children, there will indeed continue to emerge the interface of the theoretical and the practical. Thus, application will give rise to the correlation of new ideas and skillsets, and ongoing adjustments to the culture, while maintaining biblical fidelity and faithfulness to first order theological truths.

My priority will be to do what I can to partner tangibly with parents so that they experience first hand the benefits of our mutually negotiated partnerships. I must give thanks to Karl Bastian for his work in developing VIP (Very Intential Parenting). It is one part of the solution which I will be seeking to implement in the coming months. You may purchase the download for your church by logging on to www.kidology.org and going to the Kidology store.

when night approaches

The day is done. The banquet was lovely, with good food, skillful music, and delightful testimonies by six master’s level graduates. A full night of celebration among kind people. I sat at a table in the far corner of the hotel banquet hall, along with seven other people, three of whom are also graduating. The two girls to my right are from Indonesia and Japan. The couple to my left are from the Portland area where he serves at the mission and in his local church working with marginalized adult men. Precious people, all. It is a shame I couldn’t get to know them better. But I enjoyed the time we did have.

And so now night approaches with the promise of a new day, a day of celebration and joy, a day of reflection and hope. I look forward to seeing my family and honoring them for their part in my journey. I embrace the night knowing that God is not finished with me. A new chapter is about to dawn.

sending out graduates in prayer

Today we had the graduation rehearsal. We learned where we would sit and stand and walk during various parts of the ceremony. We received our regalia. We smiled for photos. We prepared to be sent out. Not figuratively. In actuality. We are graduates. We are being called by the heart of God to go all around the world. To urban areas and rural. To the powerful elite and to the poorest of the poor who have no voice. And to the entire spectrum of social strata in between. We are called to love them, laying down our lives and our ambitions in the process. So, please pray for us.

Pray that God will continue to crush our pride and prepare us for the gritty realities set before us in the marketplace and communities. Pray for boldness to speak in the face of political correctness, and to confront entrenched power brokers prophetically who are unjust toward others and poor stewards of that which has been entrusted to them. Pray for wisdom to know when and how to speak or write, and when simply to remain silent. Pray that we would be pure before God, not led estray to the temptations which so easily distract. Pray that we will finish well,  not in the world’s eyes, but in God’s eyes.

Tomorrow, during commencement, the leaders will ask each graduate to find a spot in the auditorium and to kneel facing away from the platform. This is symbolic of our being sent. They will pray for us. Will you join them? The hour is urgent. We cannot fulfill our mission apart from the power of God and his grace. While we have been prepared in many ways, we understand that it is not simply by our intellectual ability or growing skills that we will be effective in reaching the generations to come with the gospel of Jesus Christ, demonstrating God’s presence in the world and the hope of eternal glory. It is through God’s anointing and sustaining grace. So our need and desire for prayer is sincere. God is on the move and we invite you to join us in engaging his mission for the world.

to each their own celebration

I think it is fair to say I have a lot of experience graduating. This will be my fifth graduation in twenty-six years. Each was a milestone in its own right.

After my high school graduation, I went out to Shari’s in Newberg with a friend and we talked. I think I had hot chocolate. That was the extent of the festivities. I was simply glad to be done with public school.

After my college graduation I went out to icecream with my family. They had already eaten dinner, after arriving too late to include me due to car problems. I probably ate Mac and cheese that night at home. I went back to work at the wood products mill the next day. It took me two years to recover from burnout and to seriously consider that maybe God wanted me to minister in some fashion.

After my MA graduation, I stepped it up a notch and invited some friends and family to a meal at a decent restaurant. I made a point to thank key people, but especially my parents. I went back to work in the floorcovering store the next Monday. I had high hopes to pursue Ph.D. but a poor showing in my GMAT demonstrated that I needed to do much work to prepare to pass the GMAT. I still don’t see what relevance advanced algebra has for a student of New Testament. So I decided to pursue the ministry side of graduate education with an MDiv.

After my MDiv graduation there was a small gathering at my church and people stopped by to wish me well. I appreciated the gesture and continue serving at that church to this day. I went back to work the next monday, still a laborer in floorcovering. My Ph.D. dream was fading and I simply struggled to make ends meet. However when I became a Senior Consultant at a national distribution firm I decided to go ahead and pursue the DMin since it was more doable, kind of a mini-D.

And now my final graduation approaches. Tomorrow is my rehearsal during the afternoon. Then I travel to pick up my niece to bring her back to Portland and attend the graduation banquet. I take her home immediately following the banquet. It should be a lovely evening, primarily because I get to spend time with her. And then Saturday is the graduation ceremony. My family will need to get home right away following the graduation, so I will see them off and then head on home to prepare for my Sunday responsibilities. And then I will return to work as a laborer in floorcovering. I am thankful for my job and I am glad I have the privilege of doing something I enjoy.  As I have already stated in previous posts I have no intention of pursuing additional degrees. I am too tired and see no point of adding to my pedigree given my chosen profession as a warehouseman. Yet I will keep seeking to learn and write and think. I will hope and dream. And this time, in some form, I will try my hand at celebrating after a fashion. After all, it really is to each their own celebration. Mine just happens to be a bit understated in comparison to others who have gone before me.

the end is near

The end is near, in a manner of speaking. The end of my academic career is almost done. On Saturday I will put on the regalia, smile alot, and thank many for what they have meant to me over the years. I especially will thank my family. And there are some friends who can expect a phone call in the near future, too. After earning a BA, MA, MDiv and now, a DMin, I am ready to focus my attention elsewhere. Oh, I will still pursue lifelong learning. A lecture here, a class there, and research and writing to boot. But I am done pursuing degrees. It still hasn’t sunk in completely. It likely won’t until I actually have the degree in hand next month. Yes, you read that right. Next month. I couldn’t pay my entire school bill in time so receipt of the degree will have to wait until that happens, which is fine with me. It will just go on the floor with my other pieces of paper, so no hurry. When I complete payment and receive the paper then I know just where to put it, near the socks and the old computer monitor underneath the desk….but I digress. The end is near and I am grateful. Now I have an opportunity to continue applying what I have learned without the continued pressure of academic hoops.  I also will be in prayer concerning the dreams held down deeply in my heart. Maybe there will come a time to give them more attention, as well.

the clock is ticking

Another day has passed. Graduation is close. The clock is ticking. Soon commencement day will arrive. What then? Is it an ending or a beginning? Have I become an expert of a skillset which is destined to fade in relevance or am I learning how to be a lifelong learner, able to adapt to the ever-changing opportunities in the years ahead? This is one of the risks of pursuing higher education in the context of ministry.  We are tempted to place a focus on past accomplishments rather than current and future mission.

Don’t get me wrong. I am happy to be graduating and proud of the work which has been done in the process. I am proud of the work because I understand it has laid the groundwork for a new season which will benefit the families in my church and in the community. Isn’t that how it should be? The degree isn’t about me. Maybe at first it was, selfish as I am. But I am getting over it. It is about the families who participated in the study. It is about the mothers and fathers, the boys and girls, the grandfathers and grandmothers. It is about the believers I help pastor and the lost I seek to lead to Jesus. It is about changing our mindset concerning how the church relates to families by shedding the assumptions of distant generations and anticipating the needs of new generations. In the near term, this will involve initializing the V.I.P. (very intentional parenting) relationships in my church and sharpening the focus of our children’s and family outreach in the local community.

Therefore, I look forward to graduation so that I may celebrate for a moment, but prepare also for the days to come. Unlike many DMin graduates, I do not intend to let the dissertation grow dust or worry myself with how to get it published in some form. Instead I plan to apply the lessons learned and continue to engage in the praxis of ministry through thoughtful practice and reflection.

of endings and the horizon

In one week I will graduate from seminary for the third and final time. This week I will be posting thoughts on my experience and on some of my hopes for the future. As always, my opinions will always be my own.

There is an impression which some folks have about seminaries and their students which believes they hover on the precipice of irrelevance and naivite. There is probably good reason for this. I think that the two seminaries I have attended largely avoid this caricature. I hope that I am one of a growing number of students who can help break down that perception. In my personal experience, seminary students tend to be a jaded group of people. They have lived life. They have seen and done things. They get it. And in most cases, they want to make a difference in their world for Jesus Christ.

Graduation is an ending of a protracted period of intense theological study and practical application in real world ministry; it is the beginning of carrying that hard work forward into further lifelong learning and application. It truly is a commencement which unleashes motivated graduates into their contexts as viable contributors to the cause of Christ.

I don’t believe it is hyperbole to wax eloquent about the prospects awaiting the graduate, should they be so daring, so willing to risk security that they lay down their ambitions and take up their crosses afresh in following Jesus. Because of this, some will be mocked and ridiculed in the days to come by the very people they strive to love. Some will lose their jobs in the process and even be falsely accused so as to quell their budding ministries. Some will become disillusioned by the behavior of leaders and parishioners, but by God’s grace they will find help in their times of need. Some will inspire the planting of many churches. Some will go to unreached people groups. Some will translate the Bible into obscure dialects. Some will start families and work ordinary jobs. Some will write articles and books. Some will become novelists, homemakers and common laborers. Some will help dying churches find new life. Some will become homeless so as to live among and minister to and with the marginalized. In their own ways, they all will be witnesses to an ever-changing multiplicity of cultures. And when the dust settles and the memory of who they are and what they have done in following Christ seemingly fades of out time, Jesus ultimately will remember their names and say, “I am well pleased.”

coming up for air

I have been buried in writing the first draft of my dissertation. Moments from now I will be emailing it to my primary reader. The first three  chapters were already initially approved. I just finished the fourth. The process isn’t done yet as there are two more drafts to go before it is finalized. However, the initial push of getting it on paper is done. For that, I am grateful. I have long neglected this blog. I have no idea if anyone checks here anymore. But for those of you who have been praying for me, thank you! I really, really appreciate it! More to come soon. Be blessed!