Pomomusings

Riverside Church Pastor Resigns: Thoughts on Compensation & Stewardship

Adam — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:22:08 +0000

I do want to offer this correction from the comment below. According to this Open Letter from the Church Council at Riverside Church, Rev. Dr. Braxton’s total compensation was $460,000 – not $600,000. This is helpul information to have – though I think the underlying questions still pertain to the situation.

The Rev. Dr. Brad Braxton has resigned today from his position as Senior Pastor of Riverside Church (details here). Braxton has served Riverside for just 9 months before submitting his resignation. Many of you probably first heard Braxton’s name when the NY Times ran the story about his compensation package back in April of 2009. According to those who were labeled as “dissidents,” they said his package was over $460,000 and included:

Annual base salary of $250,000
Monthly housing allowance of $11,500
Pension and life insurance benefits
Entertainment, travel and “professional development” expenses
An equity allowance for the future purchase of a home
Money for a full-time maid
Private school tuition for his 3-year-old daughter

First, let me say that I have heard some really wonderful things about Rev. Braxton. He is a fellow FTE Fellow and was a part of an FTE Conference a few summers ago. I was also very impressed with him after watching this segment from a Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Report. I have also been to Riverside Church for worship before and know that it is an historic church for our country and would be quite the place to try to step in and begin to serve. It is also a congregation that has dealt with a lot of controversy in its rich history.

However, I’m guessing that this story is being used as a very complex case study in seminary classrooms all around the country, because I think it brings to the fore a lot of questions about terms of call, pastoral responsibility and stewardship, among other issues. Also – many who have commented on the situation thus far – have said that there are many issues of racism at work in this story, which is also very sad and brings up many justice-related issues.

As I asked around on Twitter & Facebook this morning, I’d say that *most* people felt pretty comfortable with Braxton’s compensation package. Some said it seemed fair compared to what other pastors of large churches make. Some said that it’s appropriate because it’s NYC, an historic congregation, the most prominent US church, high income tax in NY State, cost of living, etc. There were others who question its appropriateness, some thought it was ridiculous and one person said very eloquently that it’s “just too damn much money for a pastor.”

Sarah and I were talking about it this morning, and she feels pretty strongly that on a whole, pastors are generally underpaid. And I’d certainly agree with that. How many other professions are there where you can go to college, graduate school, attain advanced degrees and then struggle to pay off debt and live above the poverty line in some places in our country? So, I do agree with her that pastors are on a whole underpaid.

And again, I don’t know anything about the circumstances of Braxton’s family life and situation that all contribute to his salary package. And I believe that pastors (and youth pastors) should really be given more in terms of continuing education, travel reimbursements and professional expenses. Another interesting thing would be to know the median income of those who attend Riverside Church. Are these dissidents in the congregation people who are receiving similar compensation packages from their employers, and just think pastors don’t deserve to make that much money? Or is it in fact a race issue, and if it was a white pastor who was called to Riverside, would people still think a package of $460,000 is exorbitant?

There are clearly many things we don’t know – and so I want to offer the thoughts below with the knowledge that I may be missing a lot of the facts. However, when a compensation package for a pastor reaches close to $460,000 – even if the person is the Senior Pastor of one of the most prominent churches in the United States – I think there are some important questions that need to be asked.

Is it okay for a pastor to make $460,000?

I really don’t know. When I first heard that Braxton was being offered a $460,000 package – I was pretty stunned. As I’ve said above, there are more than likely a lot of things that I don’t know about the situation and all the details. Who knows, maybe $460,000 is not the actual amount. But, my gut still tells me that $460,000 is too much.

I don’t think that pastors need to necessarily live at the poverty line – and certainly they need to be able to provide for their families’ needs. I’m certainly not of the opinion that pastors don’t “deserve” to make a decent living. After all, one day they won’t be pastors anymore, and they need to have been able to save or provided with a pension to provide for their family and be able to enjoy their retirement. However, I think that even someone who is serving one of the most prestigious churches in the states, and someone who is living and doing ministry in New York City, can do this for much less than $460,000/year. It does sound like “just too damn much money for a pastor.”

I know that many of you will disagree with me. And let me say – I do agree with my wife and many others that pastors are underpaid, and I think they should be more adequately compensated for their life of service. Heck – I certainly enjoy some nice things (MacBook, iPhone 3G S) – and I don’t think that pastors shouldn’t be able to enjoy some nice things in life. And while this is easier to “say” than even come close to “living by” – but what about when Jesus said:

“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Again – for those of you about ready to leave a comment like this – I’m not going to go out and sell my iPhone today. But it seems like there is some tension between a $460,000 compensation package and Jesus’ reminder that our treasure will be in heaven.

Is it good stewardship for a church – especially in our economic climate – to offer their pastor a $460,00o compensation package?

I don’t know about this one either. I don’t claim to be familiar with Riverside’s annual budget or how they handle their money. I do know they are a church radically committed to social justice. And it seems a little odd that a church that committed to social justice and to fighting the injustices in our society would decide to offer their pastor such a generous compensation package.

What does it say about the church’s call to stewardship when they offer their pastor such a package?

I thought it was interesting that in this video, one of those who was not supportive of Braxton (for theological reasons – not related to his compensation package) said that some thought the compensation was fine because that’s what “other churches of our size” pay their ministers. And she said, “Since when does Riverside Church do things because OTHER people are doing them?” Riverside Church has always seen itself (and, rightly so perhaps) as a church that is leading the prophetic witness for radical welcome, hospitality and inclusiveness in this country. As a prophetic church, it seems that they might want to also be prophetic about their use of money – being away that poverty and issues related to money are what Jesus spoke the most about in scripture. Paying their Senior Pastor a compensation package that is equivalent to what some CEOs of corporations make seems to be moving away from their prophetic witness.

I could be wrong

I realize that I could be totally wrong about this. I also know that if the Rev. Dr. Brad Braxton and I sat down with one another, I would really like him – and hopefully he would see me as a fellow colleague in ministry. I do want to say that while there are some from Riverside Church who are claiming that he’s a “fundamentalist” – I can’t see where they’re getting that. With his connections alone to the Fund for Theological Education – an organization that I was a Ministry Fellow with and still stay connected to – I know he’s certainly no fundamentalist. So, my critiques of Braxton and the situation don’t have anything to do with his theology.

It’s just that in my gut, I feel that when a church offers a minister a compensation package to the tune of $460,000 – that’s “just too damn much money for a pastor.” What do you think?

Weight Watchers Update: Week 10

Adam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:45:17 +0000

Starting Weight: 164 / Current Weight: 158 / Goal Weight: 150

Okay. This is getting a little old. Although, after a week of travel and lots of eating out with my parents, sister and brother-in-law, I am still at 158lbs.

This week, we’re going to the gym every morning, and I’m doing all cardio instead of weights. Hopefully that, plus a little bit less eating out, will help me continue toward my goal weight of 150. My only question is, How many times can I get “back on the wagon?“

Sovereignty of God Blog Series

Adam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Later this month, I’ll be participating in a blog series on the Sovereignty of God, hosted by Tyler Braun of Man of Depravity. My post will go live July 22 but you can read all about the series and see the full list of participants here. This is how he describes the series:

The sovereignty of God is such a key theological subject that many other subjects hinge on. How much does God control? How much do we control? Did we choose God? Did God choose us?

(An example of this is how can we reconcile Jonah 3:10 and Isaiah 46:9-10)

These are the kind of questions I’ve been wrestling with and continue to do so. I’m hoping that this series can help bring some clarity to the subject from many people I respect.

This should be an interesting blog series, so I’d encourage you to follow along.

Grabbing Jesus…

Adam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:54:42 +0000

This sermon was preached at Asbury United Methodist Church in Livermore, CA on June 28, 2009. The lectionary texts I used in the sermon were Psalm 130 and Mark 5.21-43.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret…I’m not very good at waiting. I don’t know that the word “patient” is really the most accurate adjective that you could use to describe me. For those of you who are thinking to yourself, “Oooh, I think I’ll go and talk with Sarah about this…” – don’t get any ideas. I’ll just say…she would probably agree with this.

Waiting is just something that I’ve never been very good at – whether it’s waiting for the check at a busy restaurant, waiting for a package to arrive from FedEx or waiting on God – it’s just not something that comes very easily for me…so, when I read Psalm 130 and the passage from the Gospel of Mark – I figured these were probably the passages I needed to preach on – because they all deal with this theme of “waiting.” And both passages have very different perspectives when it comes to waiting.

The Psalmist begins with what seems to be a cry out of distress…“out of the depths…” The Psalmist cries out asking that God would hear the supplications and prayers being lifted before God…but while it begins in distress, there is a movement towards hope in this Psalm…while there are certainly Psalms of Lament – Psalms that speak of brokenness and despair…this Psalm moves toward Hope. We are told that is it GOD who will bring about redemption – that in God there is great forgiveness. The Psalm points to the redemption that God will bring to her people. As followers of Christ, we look toward the day of re-creation – when all things will be made new – when death will be defeated, when injustices will be wiped away…when faith, hope and love will rule over all of our insecurities and iniquities…we join in with the Psalmist and proclaim that our souls wait for this time…our souls wait for the Lord.

But we know it’s not easy to wait…and while we struggle with this waiting, we also know that this time of redemption, this time of re-creation is not here yet. We live in a world surrounded by injustices and death. Just this week three celebrities died: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. While the media wants us to focus on these celebrity deaths, we know that many others around the world have lost their lives to violence and injustice. We think of Neda Soltan – who has become an iconic symbol of the people of Iran – as they protest the recent election – and countless others have died in Iran, Thailand, Iraq, Palestine, Israel and around the world.

It is hard to live our lives “waiting” when we’d rather that God come down and redeem things now…when we’d rather God would bring about God’s kingdom sooner, rather than later. And yet…sometimes – for whatever the reasons – God asks that we wait…that we trust in God’s love and find our peace and hope in that trust and in the promises that God gives us all throughout scripture – like Psalm 130 – where the Psalmist offers us the hope that comes in waiting…

And then we have the passage from the Gospel of Mark – a passage that is really two passages sandwiched together. The story begins with Jesus by the lake – when Jairus – one of the leaders of the synagogue falls at his feet and begs him to heal his twelve-year-old daughter. Apparently she’s not well – and he has heard of Jesus’ reputation and believes Jesus can heal his daughter. So…Jesus goes with Jairus.

But immediately, we find ourselves in the midst of another story. While Jesus is following Jairus – a large crowd begins to surround him and we are introduced to an unnamed woman. The narrator of the story tells us that she been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 12 years. So for the entire life of Jairus’s daughter, this woman has been dealing with this health condition. Having gone from doctor to doctor…spending all of her money on treatments, experimental drugs and alternative therapies…nothing has worked. She continued to suffer. The word for “hemorrhages” is literally translated “flow of blood” and this is important to note. Because of the bleeding, she would most likely have been quarantined – or at the very least would have been viewed as one who was “unclean” – and her approach to Jesus would have been violating a taboo by even being out in public.

And yet she continues to approach him. After all, she has been waiting for 12 years…waiting for healing…waiting for redemption…waiting to become whole again. When I picture this woman – I picture her as someone who has tried to be patient…who has tried to “wait for the Lord…” – a woman who is at the end of her rope…standing on the edge of the cliff…and finally, she cannot wait any longer.

So she decides to do something about it.

And she grabs Jesus.

While the Psalmist encourages our souls to wait for the Lord – to trust and hope in God’s promises…the hemorrhaging woman cannot wait any longer. She has suffered pain, neglect, physical suffering, and the label of “outcast” long enough…and she believes that Jesus can do something about it…so she grabs for him. She knows that if she can even just grab ahold of his cloak – that will be good enough…that will bring healing and relief to her body.

Call it amazing faith…or perhaps utter desperation…but she does it. She grabs ahold of his cloak and immediately…she feels her body is healed. At that very moment, she knows that something miraculous has happened. While she may have wanted to silently sneak away after that…she is not the only one who has felt something…

Jesus turns around immediately and asks, “Who touched my clothes?” The disciples think it’s a ridiculous question – who touched his clothes? He’s in the middle of a crowd!? But the text tells us that Jesus felt that power had gone forth from him…and he wanted to speak with the woman…she knew she wasn’t going to be able to sneak out, and so she now comes and falls down before him, like Jairus, and tells him her story…

Interestingly, Jesus does not say, “See….you knew I had magic powers – and because you touched my magic cloak….you were healed!” Rather, he says “your faith has made you well…your faith has healed you.” While there was certainly *something* miraculous that happened in that moment…the woman played some part in it…her faith contributed to her salvation…

And then let’s not forget about Jairus…while the Psalmist encourages us to wait in the Lord, and while the unnamed bleeding woman could wait no longer and had to grab Jesus…poor Jairus is now FORCED to wait…and while Jesus is having a conversation with the woman – some people came from his house to let him know that his daughter is now dead.

Being forced to wait on God brought about the one thing he was trying to avoid….the death of his daughter. I can’t even imagine the frustration and defeat Jairus must have been feeling…after he had so much hope in Jesus’ ability to heal his daughter.

I feel like there may have been some who would have come up to Jairus and tried to remind him of what the prophet Isaiah said:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,  nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways  and my thoughts than your thoughts.

While this is certainly true…and helpful to remember during times when we are waiting on God, I can’t imagine it would have brought him much comfort. Jesus picks up on the emotions and fear of Jairus and says to him, “Do not fear…only believe.” He says that he must continue on and persevere with the same strength of faith that brought him to Jesus at the very beginning of our story…that he must continue to have the same belief that Jesus only needed to come and lay hands on his daughter…and she would be made well.

And when Jesus arrives – he takes the little girl by her hand…tells her to get up…and she gets up and begins to walk about…she is given new life. Again – another miraculous event…but one that begins with the faith of her father…faith that leads to the salvation of his daughter…just like the faith of the outcast woman who Jesus then calls daughter when her faith makes her well.

So what do we do with these texts today? What do they say to us about waiting…? I think they can give us some helpful examples of how some people in scripture responded to the idea of waiting on the Lord…

How many times have we found ourselves like the Psalmist…crying out from the depths…asking God to hear our prayers…feeling desperate for God’s ears to turn to our supplications? Sometimes the needs may be urgent….sometimes the situations may seem insurmountable…and yet…there are times when we must allow our souls to wait on the Lord. There are times when we must place our trust and our hope in the Lord and in God’s word to us…

And then there are times when we are forced to wait…when we come before God, fall down before our Creator in anguish and earnestness and ask God to heal us…ask God to intervene in our lives and in our world. How many times have we watched the evening news…put down a newspaper or sat in front of our computer screen and just asked ourselves, “Why God? Why are these things HAPPENING in our world?” These are the times in which we fall before God and then…like Jairus…sometimes we are forced to wait. And then sometimes the situations get worse…and things seem even more out of our hands…out of control.

It is during these times that we must continue in steadfastness to place our hope and trust in the Lord….that we must hear Jesus speaking to each of us, saying, “Do not fear, only believe.”

“Do not fear, only believe.”

And so we wait…

But then…but then there are times when we cannot wait any longer. Times when we just get sick of waiting…when the injustices in our world are too great…times when we cannot bear to wait any longer…

12 years.
12 years of bleeding.
12 years of waiting – and she could wait no more.

Can we really blame her for grabbing Jesus? Can we think that she would do anything else but reach out for Jesus in utter desperation?

Certainly there are times we must wait on the Lord…but there are also times when we must grab Jesus. Sometimes – when we see injustices both in our local communities and in our world – we must grab hold of Jesus…we must say that enough is enough, believe that Jesus can heal the injustices…and act on that belief. When we do this, we partner with God to bring about healing in the world…

I think it really is a grey area between waiting and grabbing Jesus…I don’t have any real clear sense of when we wait and when we take action – I think that’s up to each individual person and I think we have to be attentive to the way the Holy Spirit is working in our lives and seeing what directions she is pushing us in…

The catch is that even when we do stop waiting – and when we move towards radical action and move towards grabbing Jesus – we still need to listen to the Psalmist. Our hope must still be in God – knowing that in the end, it is God who will bring about complete restoration and redemption. We are certainly called to work with God to begin that process – and just as we saw with the bleeding woman and with Jairus – our faith and belief are key to what God is going to do in this world…but whether our souls are waiting in the Lord, or if we are earnestly reaching out and grabbing Jesus, our ultimate hope and trust must be in God, for with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with God is great power to redeem.

Weight Watchers Update: Week 9

Adam — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:27:04 +0000

Starting Weight: 164 / Current Weight: 158 / Goal Weight: 150

I really don’t have much to add from what I said I needed to start doing last week. I spent Tuesday-Saturday in Washington DC at a conference, eating AMAZING food all week. I tried to watch my portions, but also let myself indulge a little bit. And I came back only 1/2 pound heavier than last week. Not bad – but certainly not heading in the right direction. Wednesday-Friday we’re going to be with my parents, sister and brother-in-law in Chehalis, WA, and hopefully I can do a little better – but I won’t be able to get into a good routine until we get back. I hope to really hit the gym up (yah I know…where have you heard THAT before) when we get back, starting the beginning of July. We’ll see how that goes.

Denominational Loyalty in a Post-Denominational World

Adam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:20:03 +0000

I’ve been spending this week with a group of young adults discerning calls to the ministry. They are Undergraduate Fellows, Congregational Fellows and Ministry Fellows with The Fund for Theological Education. Both Sarah and I were Ministry Fellows back in 2004-2005, and we actually met at the Summer Conference. I’ve been able to stay connected with FTE through a variety of ways, most notably my face has been plastered all over their website and around the FTE office, I’ve been known as “thoughtful guy” because of the photo. So it’s been fun to be back at this conference, surrounded by and working with so many young people so passionate about ministry and the church.

However, one thing I’m always struck by at FTE events is that it really draws primarily from the mainline denominations. There are some non-denominational folks, but it is primarily people who are Methodist, UCC, Episcopal, Presbyterian…and very connected and involved with their denominations (this is a stereotype – but a fairly accurate one I think). I’ve never been one to describe myself as a “hardcore Presbyterian,” but there are plenty of people here who are extremely loyal to their denominations, and love the history, tradition and liturgy of their denominations.

And while I respect that and think that for many of them it’s a really wonderful thing…I can’t say that personally I really understand it too much. For me, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is really a place that I just kind of found myself through a variety of connections and networks. In an age that is increasingly post-denominational, I just can’t say that I have super strong ties to my denomination. Our slogan for Presbymergent is that we “loyal radicals” – I’d have to say that I definitely fall more on the “radical” side of that, as opposed to “loyal.”

At any rate – while there are some really amazing people here, sometimes I struggle with just HOW committed some of these folks are to their denominations. Now – I can hear what you’re saying, “Sure, what right do I have to comment on their choices…?” And I probably don’t. However, I think there is a bit of a naiveté about the “rest of the world out there.” I made a comment in a breakout group about how we live in a post-denominational world, and how the majority of folks who are de-churched or un-churched really don’t care about denominations. Someone disagreed with me and basically said that I was wrong, and that on the whole, people really DO care about denominations.

So I know it takes all kinds…and I don’t want this to be seen as an attack on anyone who is really commited to their denomination. I have many friends who are – and many people who are recent “converts” to new denominations are very passionate about their new found home.

However, no matter where we fall on the “denominational loyalty” spectrum – I think it’s important to at least be aware that many people today who we will be ministering to are NOT as passionate as we may be about our denominations. We DO live in a post-denominational age, and it would be unwise for us to think that people care about these institutions like they used to in the past.

So – what do you think? Am I full of crap? Do I just not get what it means to remain loyal to a denomination? How have you experienced the post-denominational world we live in?

MemberHub: Group Communications Solved

Adam — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:01:05 +0000

I want to thank this week’s sponsor, MemberHub. MemberHub is not a product that I use in my ministry – but after signing up for my free hub (which you can do too, here) I have to say that it looks like a really great product and something that many churches, non-profits and other organizations could really benefit from at the very least trying it out for their 30-day free trial for the paying plans.

I am initially often drawn to aesthetics of software or a web application – and MemberHub clearly does it for me. Their user-interface is really gorgeous and makes it both easy and incredibly enjoyable to work with MemberHub. It took me less than 2 minutes to set up my first Hub and then just a few more minutes to get it customized, add my custom logo – and then I was ready to go.

MemberHub: An Overview

This is how MemberHub describes themselves in their Overview:

MemberHub provides a single place where organizations can connect with their members. As a individual you can connect with all the groups that you’re affiliated with through online “hubs” and as an organization you can use MemberHub to connect with your members and manage the various groups that they are affiliated with.

To provide the best experience for administrators, organizations need more than databases or spreadsheets. They need their members to be in sync. MemberHub empowers organizations to manage members effectively and create community.

Build Community: Empower group collaboration and help members get engaged, with shared calendars, hub discussions, file sharing, and more.

Enhance Communication: Keep members in sync with automatic event reminders, and communicate instantly with e-mail and text messaging.

Manage Membership: Maintain an accurate database, manage sub-groups effectively, and track involvement, from anywhere, at anytime.

Below you will find some screenshots of the user-interface when I was logged into my hub, and some more detailed descriptions of some of the parts that I particularly enjoyed.

Above is what you see when you first login. This tells me that it’s my Youth Ministry Hub and you can see my Youth Ministry logo on the right. On the left are the primary sections of my hub:

Home Page: From the homepage, you can navigate around your hub, see your welcome message and any recent announcements.
Announcements: Broadcast email reminders and announcements (that can also be sent via text message).
Calendar: Create events (which can also send out reminders via email or text message) and manage your calendar.
Discussions: You can have discussions in this section – which can happen on the website or via email.
Files: Files can be added here to be shared with everyone on your hub.
Members: You can manage your members and invite new ones.
Photos: Have photo albums that everyone in your hub can view.
Whiteboards: Basically a wiki for your hub – a chance for some collaborative thinking, writing and editing.
Hub Settings: From the Hub Settings, you can manage Admins, Joins, Permissions, Profiles and Personal Settings. The settings are very easy to understand and you won’t feel like you are being inundated with too many options.

The first thing I did was spend some time inputting events into my calendar. It’s a great interface for adding events (same options available as when I create a new event in iCal). And you can create an .ics file from your calendar to share, which is great. The one thing I don’t think I saw anything about was importing calendars. It’s possible that they may have that option, but it’d be great to be able to import in my ministry calendar that I already have in iCal (or from a Google Calendar account as well).

Sending out announcements is extremely easy with MemberHub. You get 160 characters and if you make it an Urgent Announcement, the message will be sent via SMS to your members as well, which is obviously really helpful. Being able to expire announcements is also really great.

In addition to the Discussions section, the Whiteboards are great for collaborating, planning events with members of your hub, or other tasks that require multiple people to have access to the same file. You can edit the file, or leave comments under the document. I can see this being extremely handy for church (or non-profit) committees who need to work on a project together.

Managing Your Hubs

So all that sounds pretty good huh? But the real golden part of MemberHub is the Management Console where churches and other organization can go and manage all of their multiple hubs. When church admins log in, they’ll see 4 tabs – Overview, People, Hubs and Settings. This is where you can create and manage the hubs for all the different ministries and small groups. You can manage all of the information about those hubs and about their members as well. You can see below that you can Add people to different hubs, send messages and even “tag” people to make finding people easier in the system. You can set up Custom Fields on Members.

In the Management Console, you also have a ton of information and possibilities of ways to interact with your various hubs, including Broadcast Announcements to any number of your hubs. This type of management really has the possibility of saving your staff time and money because you’re actually empowering people and different ministries to get organized and everyone can find all of the information. Calendars, forms, documents, photos, member info….everything is right there in your hub. Accessible by everyone!

MemberHub: Worth Checking Out!

I think MemberHub is an extremely well put together product, and is definitely something worth looking into if you are in need of an organizational and communication tool for your church, youth ministry, non-profit or other organization. One of the things that stands out to me is their SMS-integration into so many of the functions of the site. I think more and more, any web application that is going to do well, should probably have some SMS-integration into its core, and MemberHub does that very well.

As you can see below, they have plans for groups up to 2,000 – and I’m guessing if your organization is larger than that, they will be able to work with you and could create you a custom plan. Go take a look and see what you think.

No related posts.

Wente Concert Twitter Concierge

Adam — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:07:50 +0000

A few weeks ago, James Taylor was added to the Wente Concert Series at the Wente Vineyard here in Livermore. Sarah actually called me and told me she heard it on the radio. So I put up a tweet that said something like “Wow, James Taylor just added to Wente Concerts. Wish we had $120/ticket to see him.” Well, that tweet got picked up by someone and then some phone calls were made, and then I just had my first meeting with the marketing/publicity folks at Wente yesterday. Starting this week, I’m currently serving as the Wente Concerts Twitter Concierge.

What this means is that I’ll be tweeting from @WenteCC and giving out information about the summer concerts, as well as live-tweeting from each of the shows. We have a really great lineup this summer, including: Heart, B-52s, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Blondie & Pat Benatar, Kathy Griffin, Steve Miller Band, Gretchen Wilson, Diana Krall, Elvis Costello & The Sugercanes, Chris Isaak, Sheryl Crow and James Taylor. I won’t be around for Heart, Frankie Valli or Elvis Costello and they’re currently sold out with Sheryl Crow – but other than that, Sarah and I will be at all the rest of the shows. It’s a very small venue and dinner is served with each show. We’re really looking forward to being able to experience these amazing concerts.

I love the fact that all of this just came about through one tweet. Ahh the power of social media.

Weight Watchers Update: Week 8

Adam — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:29:59 +0000

Starting Weight: 164 / Current Weight: 157.5 / Goal Weight: 150

So, I have 4.5 weeks to lose 7.5 pounds. That was the goal – to drop the weight by my friend Josh’s wedding. I’m not entirely positive that it will be happening. However, I’m still trying to keep positive about it. Last week was the first prolonged trip I’ve been on since starting Weight Watchers, and I found it to be quite challenging.

While I was at Montreat, breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served via buffet. And while I thought I was putting small(er) portions on my plate, once you went through the whole line and had tried a little bit of everything (that being my problem…) it was still a lot of food. And it was very hard to try and figure out points there. And I wasn’t able to get a whole lot of exercise while there.

We went to the gym yesterday and are going again today – but tonight I leave for another trip and I’m gone until Sunday night. And then Monday morning will be the weigh-in. I’m going to try and be better this week, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m finding it very difficult to “get back on the horse” as far as exercise and being very religious about counting points.

So, here’s to yet another week…it’s been awhile since I’ve actually LOST weight during a week…it’s either been gaining it slowly back or maintaining…and I’d love to be able to maintain a weight – just hoping for something less than 157.5.

Pomomusings RSS Subscription Drive

Adam — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:51:58 +0000

A few weeks ago, I was inspired by this “Subscription Drive” over at ChurchCrunch. It’s only been in the past few months that the RSS subscription here at Pomomusings has climbed to over 1000+ RSS subscriptions and about 33 email subscriptions. I’m so glad that so many people have found SOME reason for subscribing to my site. Perhaps you liked being pushed a little bit theologically, or you just want to see what’s going on in the life of the Walker Cleavelands, or perhaps you disagree with me on absolutely EVERYTHING and just need some blog to show your friends and say, “Well at least you’re not like THIS guy.”

Whatever your reason for subscribing. Thanks. And if you’re not subscribed to this blog yet, please consider Subscribing to our RSS Feed or our Email Subscription.

And if you are already subscribed, tell someone else about this site and why you think they should subscribe. Email at least one friend and encourage them to check out this site. Thanks!

Emerging Worship Environments

Adam — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:36:56 +0000

Troy Bronsink and I led a workshop called “Emerging Worship Environments” at the Alt7 Conference at Montreat this week. If you’re interested in downloading a PDF version of our presentation, you can do so here. Also, here are some additional resources that you may find beneficial if you’re interested in emerging culture and worship environments.

Books

The Starfish & The Spider
The Labyrinth: Ritualisation as Strategic Practice in Postmodern Times, by Jonny Baker
Alternative Worship, by Jonny Baker
Sacred Space, by Lilly Lewin & Dan Kimball
The Church Re-Imagined, by Doug Pagitt
How (Not) to Speak of God, by Peter Rollins

Websites

Community Supported Agriculture

Adam — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:16:22 +0000

Earlier this week, we went and picked up our first batch of food from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The photo above is what we got for our share this week. We joined our CSA (Terra Bella Family Farm) for a variety of reasons.

It’s always great to get fresh produce.
It’s important to support local agriculture and farms.
It’s fun to drive out to the farm, pick up the food and meet the people who actually grew it.
It is going to teach us to try to cook with some new stuff (scapes…? radishes? kale?)

There are probably plenty of other reasons to support local – but these are some of the reasons we have tried it out this year. Part of me really likes what we’re doing – part of me is waiting for “Joining a CSA” to pop up on the Stuff White People Like website (or maybe it already has). Now, I don’t see us going hardcore and pulling off an “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” type of lifestyle. But I feel like this is one way that we can do something small that will have both positive effects in our lives and in our local community.

For those of you who have participated in a CSA before? What was your favorite part? What was one thing you hadn’t eaten before that you really liked?

Is Theology on Tap Supporting or Limiting Ministry

Adam — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:46:24 +0000

It only seems appropriate that after one hotly debated issue related to licensing, it should be followed with another. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we were starting up a Theology on Tap through Asbury here in Livermore. However, the morning after I wrote the post, I received an email from an employee of Renew International who works with the Theology on Tap program. Her email basically said “That’s great that you’re offering that – you just can’t use the name “Theology on Tap” or any derivatives.” Thus began a conversation that talked about issues of copyright, fairness, derivatives and the like.

I don’t really want to rehash those – as I’m certainly no expert on copyright law. But I did want to share with you my followup conversation with Renew International concerning this issue.

I spoke with a representative from Renew International (which is a non-profit organization) and she said that the Theology on Tap program has been a well-established Catholic program, done according to very high standards for the past 30 years. They offer support, materials and a list of speakers who could come to your area – all for $150/year and a $75 renewal fee each year. I shared with her that while I appreciate the offer, I was not interested in those resources and just wanted to gather some folks together over some beers and talk theology. She said, “That’s great. Do it. Just don’t call it Theology on Tap.”

She made the comparison to Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” and said that if I tried to do a program like “Meaning Driven Life” or anything like that, “Rick Warren would be all over you!” (Apparently rick is okay with The Porpoise Diving Life though…) I just don’t think that’s a fair comparison.

I get where they’re coming from to some degree. I think they don’t want people “stealing” a Catholic idea and using it and possibly trying to convert Catholics. I think they have that fear. But “Theology on Tap” seems like such a generic phrase – why the hot pursuit of anyone who is trying to do ministry (not at all thinking about – or even aware of – the connection to the Catholic church)?

The official response from Renew International Theology on Tap is below:

Our work in getting groups registered for Theology on Tap is not about enforcing the copyright on the program; rather, we’re looking to create a high quality and consistent experience for those who participate in the events that go by the name “Theology on Tap”. For the last thirty years, Theology on Tap has come to encapsulate a particular form of ministry—outreach to young adults in their 20s and 30s in a comfortable setting, usually in a Catholic context. We want to make sure that peoples’ expectations of what Theology on Tap is are being met when they attend events promoted by this name. If we did not seek to create this consistent experience by working with Theology on Tap groups, we would be doing both you and us a disservice by not staying true to the intention of the program.

We are open and willing to work with those who are looking to reach out to young adults in a manner that is respectful of the Catholic tradition. We ask groups of other denominations to stay true to the mission and intent of the program, and to work through proper channels within their respective denominations.

We charge a modest licensing and membership fee which we feel is justified by the resources, publicity, and web presence we provide, including a step-by-step Manual on how to successful begin and sustain a Theology on Tap program. If any group finds it difficult to pay this modest fee, we try to work with them to ensure that this vital ministry can prosper wherever there is interest.

To give them credit, they do say that they will work with ministries who find it difficult to pay the modest fee. So I suppose I could say that, but we’re not really a struggling church. In the end, I think it’s simply a question of whether they really do want to further this ministry? Are they making it easier for churches to do ministry when they contact them and demand that they use a different name? Are they making it easier for themselves to continue with their ministry when they spend time on the phone talking to bloggers about this issue (which they did with me, but they said themselves they don’t really have time for this – let alone time for litigation…)? Or are their efforts to keep a tight grasp of the name simply doing a disservice to the ministry and to others who wish to participate in this kind of kingdom work?

I’d offer that it’s limiting ministry – making it harder for those who want to meet the needs of young adults in this way – and not furthering Christian unity. But I’d love to know if you think differently.

Is Email Evolving or Are We?

Adam — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:23:17 +0000

Remember the good ‘ole days when we used to dialup the local AOL connection and wait for that most wonderful…”You’ve got mail.” You know the sound I’m talking about…

I used to LIVE for email. I loved staying in touch with people – writing long emails and getting long replies. When I was in high school and college, my friends and I would stay in touch a lot through email. In college, my four best friends and I would write lengthy email updates to each other almost every week – we talked about all the deep stuff, you know: girls, God, school, struggles.

At any rate – I think you probably have some idea of what of what I’m talking about. Opening up my email Inbox used to give me warm fuzzy feelings. Now it’s just seems to be filled with tasks that I need to complete. Perhaps that’s just part of “growing up,” getting involved with more organizations, having a web design business, etc. But, it’s definitely changed. I was watching this YouTube clip of Tim Ferris being interviewed about email management by Loic Le Meur, and Loic said that your Email Inbox has basically become your Todo list that someone else decides on.

Occasionally I will get an email from a friend with no agenda, no question, no action item associated with it – an email in which they just want to find out how I’m doing. Those are rare – but I love getting those (and reminds me that I should write more of those myself).

So, email has certainly evolved…but so have we I’m guessing. In the world of Facebook and Twitter and instant gratification, we often keep up with our friends through these types of web 2.0 tools. And obviously, I’m a huge supporter of this – being a big Twitter user myself. But is this the same as getting a great email from a friend, or from picking up the phone and calling someone just to see how they’re doing?

So while I continue to rely heavily on email for my work and ministry, part of me wishes we could get back to those personal emails that we used to send. Others may wish that we could get back to those personal handwritten letters; I certainly remember writing 20pg (double-sided!) letters to a girl from camp I liked in 8th grade.

I’m sure we will continue to evolve as technology changes – but I hope we are all able to maintain some deep personal connections amidst all of the “friends” and “followers” we have.

Top 10 Reasons to Switch to WordPress

Adam — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:01:35 +0000

I spent all day Saturday at WordCamp San Francisco. This was my first time, and I’m really glad I went. I met a few really cool people and heard some really inspiring and informative lectures. But more than anything, it made me so glad that I switched to WordPress for my blogging platform over 2.5 years ago. There were many reasons that led to my switching at the time, but I think there are even more now. And if you’re a blogger, web designer, web developer or King of the Internets, and thinking about switching platforms, here are my Top 10 Reasons to Switch to WordPress:

Matt Mullenweg: Now, it’s not that Ma.tt is really the #1 reason you should use WordPress, but I was just very impressed with him this past weekend. Matt is one of the founders and creators of WordPress, and a real superstar in the open source community. He’s an incredibly humble and gracious person (not to mention he really pulls off wearing kick-ass Red Converse with a sportcoat) and it’s not hard to see why so many people have been willing to get behind his vision and work with him.
The Support Forums: The WordPress Support Forums are awesome. If you are ever in need of a quick-fix, they really are a great place to converse with other users.
The Thesis Framework: This website runs on the Thesis Framework. More and more, sites are choosing frameworks like Thesis or Thematic to run the code and structure of their sites. These frameworks provide a powerful way of designing, where you separate the code from the design, which saves a lot of time down the road.
The Logo Works as a Tattoo: At WordCamp, I got a chance to see Ed, who is the person who got probably the first ever permanent WordPress tattoo. I just don’t think Typepad or Blogger’s logos would work as well! And besides, if someone has the commitment and loyalty to permanently tattoo the logo on their body – it must be a good product!
WordPress.com: WordPress.com is an incredibly easy and powerful way to get started with WordPress. The design and variety of themes you’ll find available far surpass anything you’ll find at Blogger. I’m still surprised how many people just go to Blogger.com to start a new blog – while I think WordPress.com is probably the best free service available. They offer so much – and continue to make new things available through their .com service.
WordPress.org: WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress which gives you even more power and ability to customize your WordPress installation. In the future, WordPress.org and WordPress.mu are going to be combined into the same product, so it will be even easier now to start up a network of blogs if you want.
WordCamps: Where else can you go to a conference and hear amazing speakers who are on the tech/blogging/social media circuit (I heard top folks from Google, the CEO of Mozilla and so many others!), get a sweet American Apparel t-shirt and free lunch, and so much more for only $25? Probably nowhere but at a WordCamp. And WordPress is collaborating with people from around the world in putting on WordCamps.
VideoPress: WordPress continues to be in collaboration with others and keeps coming out with cool new stuff. VideoPress is going to be an extremely elegant solution for embedding video into your WordPress.com (and eventually WordPress.org) blog or website. Watch the video and see some of the great new things coming your way with WordPress!
WordPress.tv: WordPress has been working on putting together a great resource of video tutorials at WordPress.tv – not to mention getting to listen to a sweet English accent, but they are incredibly helpful and well-done tutorials.
Themes & Plugins: With the vast amount of WordPress Themes and Plugins, you can make WordPress be and do almost anything you want! More and more, web designers and developers are realizing that WordPress is an extremely powerful and customizable Content Management System (CMS) and WordPress is becoming the software of choice! Any installing themes and plugins continues to become easier and easier.

These are just a few of the many reasons that you should switch to WordPress for your CMS/blogging software and I’m sure there are many other reasons. What do you love about WordPress?

Mars Hill Graduate School

Adam — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:01:25 +0000

I want to thank this week’s sponsor, the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology at Mars Hill Graduate School. And just to clarify, Mars Hill Graduate School has no affiliation with the folks who produce the NOOMA videos at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids…and (especially if you are familiar with Pomomusings) you’ll know that it has no affiliation AT ALL with Mark Driscoll and his Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

I had thought about attending MHGS for seminary before ultimately heading to Princeton instead. But I’ve heard so many great things about Mars Hill Grad School, it’s a place that I would definitely think much more seriously about if I were choosing a seminary today. At MHGS you’ll receive an education that not only engages your mind, but your soul as well. MHGS students are invited to be readers of text, soul and culture in a way that integrates real world context with theological and psychological content. As co-creators of the MHGS community, students pursue an authentic and embodied encounter with God that leads to a greater awareness of our neighbors – both local and global.

By joining rigorous training with humility, gratitude and joy, students participate in each other’s transformation. MHGS is preparing pastors and counselors, artists and practitioners through an education concerned not in having all the answers but in asking better questions.

MHGS offers 3 degree programs:

Applications are accepted through the month of July for fall of 2009. Learn more about becoming a student here.

Another way to see what MHGS faculty, students, and alumni are writing and thinking about is to visit experience.mhgs.edu and stay connected and journey together.

Weight Watchers Update: Week 6

Adam — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:37:38 +0000

Starting Weight: 164 / Current Weight: 158.5 / Goal Weight: 150

So I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’ve plateaued – I’ve been sitting here at the 158/158.5 mark for a little while now. And while I was drinking my TAIslim stuff this, I had grand hopes of losing another couple pounds.

But…I suppose I can’t complain. This hasn’t been a very usual week, and I certainly haven’t been doing very good:

Little to no exercise
I only tracked my points 1-2 days out of the week
Big lunch of Chinese food on our anniversary
Ate out at the Farmer’s Market Thursday night
Had an amazing (but way too many points to count) dinner in San Francisco Friday night before the symphony
Had a Burger King Whopper Saturday night in San Francisco
Sunday lunch was potluck-style at church
Sunday dinner was our Youth Ministry Dinner (potluck style as well)

So I suppose I should be glad that I didn’t put a few pounds back on after that week. However, it’s time to get back on the horse. Despite my “bad” week last week, I had a few people from church say they noticed that I was losing some weight and that was very encouraging. So I need to get back to it. I still have 8.5 pounds to lose in about one and a half months.

Does anyone have any advice for how to break through the plateau of losing weight?

Countdown to Sunday: A Review

Adam — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:01:45 +0000

Since graduating seminary, I’ve had the chance to preach ten times. Last summer when Sarah and I led The Macrina Community, I would first write out my sermons in manuscript format. Then I would make an outline based off of the manuscript, and preach from the outline. It was an extremely small, intimate and casual group – so it worked well. Since coming to Asbury, I’ve gone back to manuscript preaching, but I make every effort possible to deliver it in a more conversational tone. However, I would like to move away from the manuscript sometime in the future.

All of this is just to say that I’ve been saving Countdown to Sunday: A Daily Guide For Those Who Dare to Preach, by Chris Erdman, for a time when I was actually preaching on a regular basis. I first met Chris at a friend’s wedding in Fresno, and we had been following each others blogs for awhile. I’ve met and become friends with even more people who come out of University Presbyterian Church in Fresno, where Chris serves as Senior Pastor, and people can’t say enough good things about him. So when he told me about this book, I knew I wanted to give it a read and share it all with you.

Countdown to Sunday is a collection of reflections on the daily life of a preacher and other essays that cover a range of things related to the preaching life. It is a book that isn’t necessarily meant to be read in a specific order, but I wanted to share with you some of my favorite sections, and a few quotes.

While this is not necessarily a “How to…” book, Chris certainly does offer some advice from time to time. In Chapter 5, “Preaching on the Run,” he writes:

Preaching is something lived. It comes out of who we are. Our task is simply to stay close to the text, stay close to who we are as witnesses to Jesus Christ (in all of our unique and God-breathed mystery and strength and necessity), and stay close to our people among whom we’re sent to host this text week in and week out…Now when my students ask, “How long does your sermon preparation take?” I answer, “A lifetime. No less, no more.”

The book moves us through (as you can imagine by the title) the week and each section begins with a very short reflection of what he focuses on for a specific day. A normal preaching week (if ‘normal’ is possible with the life of ministry) looks a little like this:

Monday: 30-60 minutes of simply spending time with the text. Becoming aware of patterns, words that stand out, etc.
Tuesday: Chasing words – examining closely the words from the scripture passage and becoming aware of key phrases and themes.
Wednesday: Reading the agenda of the text(s). Some time spent trying to figure out the mischief this text wants to do among us. How do these words want to form the people of God?
Thursday: Thursdays are for writing. Writing out the sermon, writing out extended thoughts about the passage…but getting words down on paper.
Friday/Saturday: These are days to listen…to put aside our thoughts of the passage and listen for where God is directing us – praying that we’ll receive a clearer sense of what the sermon will look like come Sunday.

Another reflection I really enjoyed was on Chapter 15: Preaching and War. He shares some of what it was like to be preaching during Lent, the spring of 2003, as US troops entered Baghdad and began the war that would continue on for years and years. Here is a short excerpt:

We will be unable to shake ourselves free of the gospel that declares that the world is saved – that we are made safe and receive the peace of a just world – through the ministry of the One who disarmed the violent without violence, who died before he would kill, who loved and refused to give in to hate. And we will arm ourselves only with this word of truth…But we, who are conformed to the One in whose name we preach, realize that preaching rightly done, does violence to violence itself. It mercilessly unmasks its arrogance and mercifully challenges our fatalism. Our preaching is war on war itself.

Finally, in Chapter 29, “Fear of the Other: Preaching as Disarmament,” Chris reflects on the moral issue of fear. Certainly in our post-9/11 world, fear is one of the most significant issues for people around the world, specifically Americans. American fear is what allowed Bush to get himself back into the White House. Fear is what causes Pro 8 to be passed in California, banning same-sex marriage. Chris speaks about some of these issues in his chapter and reflects on how the role of the preacher can help fight against this fear. He writes:

All weapons, save one, will find their way, regardless of every good intention, into death’s own arsenal. “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” is the only weapon we preachers can own, and it has nothing in common with conventional weaponry. God came preaching when there was only chaos. The prophets came preaching when political and military powers had made a mess of things. Jesus came preaching armed only with the Word. The apostles came preaching, naked except for their words.

What will we preachers do in a world so full of fear and violence? Will we come preaching, trusting the sacred power of these words become Word? Or will we trust the hard steel of the powers and cowardly arm ourselves with something more “practical”?

Chris’s book covers so many important issues related to preachers: wedding & funeral sermons, preaching during elections, street preaching, preaching in times of crisis and many more topics. Whether you’re a veteran preacher or you’re just graduating seminary and are just now entering into the life of preaching on a weekly basis, this would be a great book to reflect on the art of preaching. I heartily recommend this book on preaching, and hope that you’ll check it out today and pick up your copy. Seriously, pick up your copy today – we know you’ll just put it on the church’s credit card anyway…you can also join the Facebook group, Countdown to Sunday, here.

Welcome to Pomomusings

Adam — Sat, 30 May 2009 07:59:41 +0000

Welcome to Pomomusings.com!

If you are coming here for the first time today – it’s probably because we connected at WordCamp SF. Hopefully we got a chance to chat a bit, but if not, let me introduce myself.

My name is Adam Walker Cleaveland. I’m a full-time minister and a part-time web/graphic designer. I design almost exclusively with WordPress (and the Thesis Framework), and focus on individuals, churches and non-profit organizations. You can see some of my portfolio over on my Cleave Design site. I also designed the Cleaker WordPress theme that was pretty popular a few years ago (though it’s still downloaded a lot now).

I’d love to stay connected with you, so you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr & Vimeo. I’m probably most active on Twitter, so follow me @adamwc. Also, you should subscribe to this blog – there are a couple options over on the right hand sidebar. Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about me, go here, and if you would like to talk about advertising on my site, check out this page.

It was great to connect with you at WordCamp SF!