The Lutheran Zephyr 2.0

As the Blog Fades ...

2009-09-15T16:18:51-04:00

If there's one type of blog post I don't really enjoy reading, it is the post that dwells on the task of blogging itself. As if personal blogging in and of itself isn't narcissistic enough, blogging about blogging certainly is. You put yourself out there on a blog, write on a regular basis, get some response. You bookmark the blogtracking website, and you begin to get interested in your blogging stats. Perhaps you even begin to time your writing and posting so that it hits the readers when they're likely to be online, rather than on Saturday night.

But then, for whatever reason, the blogging slows down, and aware that there might be 40, 50 or even a few hundred people out there who have noticed your blog, you decide to write about blogging.

Over the past four years I've followed that track and have arrived to this place where blogging seems increasingly irrelevant to my life. So add this post to the list of posts I've written about the task of blogging (click on that link at risk of falling off into a boredom-induced stupor), and the various posts I've written about the end of my blogging career (including this one back in May, this one last December, and this one in April '08, among others). Oye.

Blogging for me was an outlet, a way for me to dabble in issues of church and pastoral ministry while I was on the outside looking in. But now that I'm on the inside of parish ministry - ordained and serving a congregation since December - I find that my desire to blog has plummeted. For me, blogging was a prelude, a preview, an appetizer.

Well, the main event, the feature presentation, the main course has arrived. What I used to do on the blog I now do via email and in person with parishoners, at conference meetings with fellow pastors, every other week in my ministry of preaching, and in the planning and preparations for the ministry areas for which I am responsible. That is, the theological and ministry dabbling that this blog allowed me do I now do elsewhere ... in my call as pastor.

And though I love to write, I'm finding that I do plenty of writing in the course of my job, and don't need a blog to scratch that itch. I've been writing for my work within the congregation, and also some for Augsburg Fortress and the ELCA. It's been fun - a bit overwhelming at times, actually - but has also crowded out the blog.

Finally , I can see nothing but bad things to result if I were to blog about my parish. Broadcasting parish news on my personal blog, or referring to parish situations (even if I were to change some of the circumstances for the sake of the innocent) seems to be a violation of a pastoral trust that must exist between parish and pastor.

So, whatever ... this post is now annoying me. Perhaps this is a love/hate thing, one of those "it's not you, it's me" kind of break-up things, or simply an overly narcissistic thing that needs to end here and now. Whatever it is, this might be the end of it.

Until, that is, I have something else to share with the world. ;-)

Addressing the Churchwide Assembly in today's sermon

2009-08-23T10:40:42-04:00

"Does this offend you?" Jesus asks.

Many were offended this week in Minneapolis at the Lutheran Church's biennial Churchwide Assembly.
Many of the pastors and lay people who gathered this week in Minneapolis took offense at a church that seemed to be leaving them behind, going in a direction with which they could not agree, fearful that the church in which they had spent their lives was abandoning Scripture, tradition, morality.
Gay and lesbian Lutherans took offense at the prohibition that has kept them from ordained ministry, and a tradition that has not recognized their relationships.

In a sermon about a God who offends us, I speak about the ways in which we offend each other, just a few days after our Lutheran Church voted to fully welcome gays and lesbians into the ministry of the church. For the full sermon, click here: Our Offensive God.

Peace to you.

Why I Support Michael Vick

2009-08-16T16:02:12-04:00

I support Michael Vick's reinstatement to the NFL and his signing with my home-town Eagles. It's not because I think he can help the team (which I do), and it's not because I believe that folks deserve second chances (which I do), but it's because I don't like unwritten rules.

Ever since Michael Vick was charged with his crimes he has followed the rules, doing just about everything right. He plead guilty rather than feign innocence while dragging the public through a trial. He has done his time in federal prison. He has apologized countless times in court, in public interviews, and in private. He has been working with the Humane Society and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He lost contracts and millions of dollars, and he hasn't complained about it one little bit. And he accepted an unguaranteed contract to perhaps play various offensive positions, none of which are called quarterback ... the position at which he was named to the Pro Bowl three times.

Ever since being charged with terrible crimes, Vick has paid his debt to society and has followed the rules. But for many people following the rules is not enough. They seem to have another set of rules - unwritten rules - to which they expect Vick to adhere.

My question is this: what good is it to have rules if the rules are not enough? Is it fair to expect more from people than what the system - our system - asks of them?

Unwritten rules are heinous things. It is unwritten rules that maintain an infrastructure of racism and sexism in our country, rules that allow whites to act in one way but expect blacks to act in another way, rules that label outspoken men as "strong" and outspoken women as a certain word that rhymes with "witches."

Furthermore, unwritten rules render the written rules irrelevant, for what kind of return to society is possible for someone who is subject to unwritten rules that deny him employment or opportunity or second chances? What if every ex-convict were denied employment? What kind of society would ours be? If, owing to some unwritten legal code, we are unwilling to reintegrate into society an ex-con who has done his time, then perhaps we should get into the business of indefinite confinement or summary executions. Is that what we want? No. We are a nation of laws - written laws - and unwritten rules serve only to undermine the law and the system of justice it supports.

If you don't like folks like Vick re-entering society, then call your representatives in Washington and ask them to change the laws. But the written rules are all we got, and we had better work with them, or we risk undermining the justice contained within them.

Lutheran Blogs

2009-08-05T07:00:00-04:00

The Lutheran Zephyr 2.0 was listed among a handful of blogs named in the most recent issue of Seeds for the Parish, "the resource paper of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Seeds for the Parish is sent to all ELCA congregations and church leaders six times each year.

Getting a shout-out in Seeds for the Parish is a nice recognition of this blog, for sure. But this article is also a nice recognition of the many Lutheran blogs that contribute in a variety of ways to the church's life.

Reprinted below, entirely without permission, is the column from Seeds for the Parish about Lutheran blogs. Of course, you can access this column and the entire issue of the Seeds for the Parish in convenient pdf format here, or at the Seeds for the Parish website.

Please note that even though these blogs appeared in an official ELCA publication, "not all the resources and program ideas listed in Seeds for the Parish have received official ELCA review or endorsement." This blog has surely not been officially reviewed or endorsed by anybody ... please, don't confuse this blog with anything official. That might hurt my reputation! ;-)

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Lutheran blogs (reprinted from Seeds for the Parish, page 5, July-August 2009)

A quick Google search returns more than 51,700 results for “ELCA Lutheran Blogs.” There are bloggers from all walks of Lutheran life, from the 2009 Bishops Academy to a “Sarcastic Lutheran” in Denver. There is no doubt that Lutherans are blogging in unprecedented numbers. Listed below is a sampling of what is going on in the blogosphere.

The Lutheran Zephyr 2.0: “The semi-regular reflections of Chris Duckworth, a 30-something rookie pastor encountering God, faith, and mission. . .all over again.” http://www.lutheranzephyr.com

A Pastor in the Parish: “A Lutheran pastor seeks to reclaim the role of pastor as theologian. Excerpts and reflections meant to generate discussion and devotion are posted.” Blogger Brian Bennett is an ELCA pastor serving the congregation of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Morgantown, West Virginia. http://intheparish.blogspot.com/

One Mission Blog: Reflections on the ELCA’s Ministry of Publishing—Augsburg Fortress—from president & CEO Beth Lewis. http://www.augsburgfortress.org/blog

Music at Bethany: Maintained by the organist at Bethany English Lutheran Church in Cleveland. Focuses on Lutheran hymns, musical heritage, and liturgy. http://music-at-bethany.blogspot.com CORRECTED!

Grace Notes: Lectionary poems and daily meditations along with other thoughts and reflections of Pastor Dan Bollerud, from Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska. http://www.coslcgrace.blogspot.com

Protestant Blog Ethic: Lutheran singer/songwriter Jonathan Rundman reflects upon the media, show business, family and church life at http://jonathanrundman.blogspot.com.

The Seminarian’s Sojourn: A blog from the Office of Vocation, Admissions & Financial Aid at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, written by LSTC seminarians. http://www.seminarians-sojourn.blogspot.com

Sarcastic Lutheran: The cranky spirituality of a postmodern gal—written by Nadia Boltz Weber, the mission developer for House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. http://www.sarcasticlutheran.typepad.com

Name, Address, Home Church

2009-08-03T22:51:53-04:00

The guest book at my church - and indeed, at many churches around the country - asks for three pieces of information: Name, Address, Home Church.

Home Church?

This guest book assumes those signing it have a home church. But what happens when more and more people in our society are not church members, people who would have nothing to write in the "Home Church" column? Are we ready to welcome them into our midst?

I'm not sure.

If we assume that visitors have a home church, we assume that they already know how to "do" church ... that is, we assume that they already know some of the basics - the Lord's Prayer, the creeds, manner of receiving communion, how to share the peace, when to stand up or sit down.

But what if someone walks in our doors not knowing much - or anything - about our faith and tradition? Are we prepared to show them our faith, our tradition, our God? How do we as communities of faith share that faith with newcomers to it? How do we open up our traditions to those who have never experienced them?

For better or worse this is not a problem most of our churches have to face, however, as those visitors who do walk through our doors usually have some church background, and likely have something to write in the "home church" column in our guest books.

Still, I wonder ... what would the guest book look like in a church postured to welcome those completely new to the experience of church? Name, Address, and ... what?