Category Archives: Beginnings

Running and Prayer Update

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Running with son

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I have been unable to run pain-free since last spring and that I started a new round of physical therapy at Focus Fitness. (see MAT to PAT http://wp.me/p1e1iu-6A ).  Their staff is helping me to address the muscle imbalances I have developed by a series of exercises that activate weak or inhibited muscles.  Every day I attempt to do these awkward exercises, concentrating to keep the right form and to activate the appropriate muscles.  It is a definite mind-body exercise and I feel very foolish as I do them. 

Of course, last week, I had to try a short run to see if these exercises were having any desirable effect.  I hopped on to a treadmill and started first with a brisk walking pace and then pushed the pace higher to a slow jog.   I quickly discovered that my left IT band and right hamstring continued to complain.   I backed off the pace and stepped off the treadmill, disappointment hanging from my shoulders.   I had hoped for some instant relief.  But instead of running, I am back to the awkward exercises every morning and evening.

I continue to think there is a spiritual lesson for me to learn.  How often do I treat prayer as an instant relief button, hoping that God will magically answer my wish?  How often do I trust the process of praying patiently for God’s will to be done as I keep my focus on Jesus?  How often am I disappointed when things do not turn as quickly as I envisioned?

Also I know that many people feel awkward when they try to begin a spiritual discipline of prayer or scripture reading.   They are unsure whether their prayers are having the desired effect in their life or if they understand what they are reading.  Just like I needed a therapist to help me identify and work the weak muscles, a small group or spiritual mentor can help us begin a new spiritual journey. 

Is your spiritual journey flourishing, struggling or maintaining?  Where do you discover Jesus?

MAT to PAT

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To Run is to smile!

This week I started a new physical therapy session to see if my running injuries can be corrected.   In spite of eight months of rest, stretching and joint manipulation, I continued to have nagging muscle pain whenever I tried to run.  So after consulting with my doctor, I set up appointments with Fitness Focus in Mahtomedi.   There Shannon Maxiner and her team use Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) to address physical rehab.  To quote a MAT web site,

MAT looks at muscle tightness as a form of protection in the body. Weak or inhibited muscles can create the need for other muscles to tighten up in order to help stabilize the joints. MAT gets to the root of pain or injury by addressing muscle weakness rather than muscle tightness. This helps to restore normal body alignment, thereby, decreasing pain and reducing the risk of injury. http://www.muscleactivation.com/main.html 

I will keep you posted on my progress with this, but the therapy got me thinking about a spiritual form of muscle activation therapy.  Is it possible that we develop a spiritual form of muscle imbalance when we over or under commit our time and energy?   Do we over commit to congregational, community or work activities and neglect the compensating activity of prayer, reflection and conversation?  Or vice versa?  Would a lack of spiritual joy, passion and hope be a sign of this imbalance?  Could there be a Prayer Activation Technique (PAT)? 

One thing I have learned after one day of doing these new muscle activation exercises, they seem trivial and awkward.  I need to trust in the therapy and therapist that they will eventually produce results.  The same is true with prayer and other spiritual practices; you have to trust that the seeds you are planting in God will bear fruit for God’s kingdom.  God is good at taking small seeds and creating something new (Mark 4:30-32). 

What small steps have you take to restore spiritual balance in your life?

Prayer Helps

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Bishop N. T. Wright

I am preparing for a talk on prayer this evening and wonder if and when anyone uses the written prayers of others to guide their prayers.  I am convicted by N. T. Wright’s comments that, “we moderns are so anxious to do things our own way, so concerned that if we get help from anyone else our prayer won’t be ‘authentic’ and come from our own heart, that we are instantly suspicious about using anyone else’s prayers. . . . We are hamstrung by the long legacy of the Romantic movement, (which) produced the idea that things are authentic only if they come spontaneously, unbidden, from the depths of our hearts. ” (N. T. Wright, Simply Christian, p. 164-165)

I confess that I have at time been such an advocate of spontaneous prayers of the heart.   Yet I also know the value of written prayers that have guided Christian prayer for centuries.   Jesus, being a first-century Jew, learned memorized prayers such as the Shema (“Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one,” found in Deuteronomy 6:4)  and the Psalms.  He taught his own disciples his kingdom prayer, the prayer we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6 and Luke 11).  The prayer of St. Francis continues to “make us instruments of God’s peace.”   Martin Luther wrote short prayers for the morning and evening to be included in his Catechism.   AA groups use Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer to close their meetings.  Written prayers can give shape and structure to our devotional life.

One of my favorite written prayers I learned from the Lutheran Book of Worship, but it probably has a deeper history.   The prayer is part of the morning prayer service and I have used it at various time in my ministry, especially at the beginning of something new.

Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

What written prayer(s) have shaped your faith life?  In what ways?

Newcomer or Old-Timer?

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Snow shoes and Sauna mix well

This morning I visited my old running group for their annual mid-winter sauna run and brunch at a runner’s home.  It was my first time back since coming to Resurrection.  After our brief Bible study, most went for a six-mile run, while my friend Tim and I tried some snowshoe jogging on a nearby lake.  Gary, the host, loaned me his new shoe shows to try.  Tim and I weren’t fast, but we had a blast staying upright.   When we got back it was time for sauna, brunch and conversation. 

It was great fun seeing old friends, swapping stories and telling some tall tales.  Many of us have run together for more than eight years, so the stories have gained some embellishment over time.  Who amazed me this morning was a newcomer named Joe.   Tim had invited him after working out together at the Y.  Joe had never run with the group, only knew Tim (who did not run this morning) and had only a vague idea what would happen.   I like to think the running club provides great hospitality, but it always takes courage to walk into an established group, especially on such a social occasion.  Joe ran the six miles, enjoyed the sauna and brunch and smiled as we told our stories.  He plans to be back.

 As a new pastor in a young congregation, I sort of feel like Joe each Sunday morning.  I seek to fully participate, to learn names, and to listen to the stories.  People at Resurrection Lutheran Church have warmly welcomed me, that’s for sure.   I am excited to be with them.   Yet I am still the newcomer, without the history, the mileage that comes with time.  I want to race ahead, but right now it’s learning to be patient and consistently present.    

 I sort of wonder how the disciples felt after their first days with Jesus.  They knew exciting days were ahead, but each day held something of a surprise.  What was coming?   

Are you a newcomer, an old-timer, or somewhere-in-between in your faith community?  How does that affect your attitude and actions?

New Year Beginnings?

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Each Day Counts

As a child I remember waking up on New Year’s Day and walking around the house, looking for something new.   I asked my parents to show me something that was new and they would simply point to the calendar.   I was not convinced until I found a penny or nickel that had the new year printed on it.  Naturally that would take several weeks or months.

Perhaps that is why I have never been good at New Year’s resolutions.  Part of my reason is that our New Year’s celebration comes at such an odd time, in the middle of winter.  I would rather start a new resolution in the spring, when everything is budding and alive.   My physical exercise always seems to pick up a notch when I can run in just shorts and a fleece top: no mittens, hat, tights, or jacket.    And my devotional life seems to shift by the seasons as well.  In the spring and summer, I want to be more active, serving God in tangible, concrete ways.  In the late fall and winter, I become more introspective, contemplative, spending time in study and prayer  By New Year’s Day, Minnesota has already been locked into winter for more than a month.  

Plus church life rarely revolves around January 1st (with the exception of budgets).  The school year of September to June has a much bigger impact on the weekly rhythms of life in a congregation.  Christmas and New Year’s are a wonderful break, but immediately following New Year’s, it is back to the school year flow.  Furthermore, the church year of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Lent have grown into a significant part of my walk with Jesus.  The people of God have always focused on the birth of Jesus, not the start of a new calendar.   

So what do I do with New Years?  Treat it with the respect and joy that every day deserves.  The psalmist declares: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”    May each day of 2011 be filled with the joy of the Lord.

How does the New Year change your life?

Spin Class or Worship Newbie

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Spin Class Bike

 A couple of weeks ago, my friend Tim invited me to a spinning class.  Usually when I go to a fitness gym, I work out by myself.  I use a treadmill or an elliptical machine for my cardio workout and then some weight machines for the strength portion. I like having my own routine and control as I work out.  A fitness class always seemed a bit too structured and I did not want to look foolish to the other participants as I learned the routine.

Tim encouraged me to come anyway. He assured me that it would be a fun and a new challenge.  He told me to bring a sweat towel, water bottle, and my bike shoes; he showed me how to adjust the bike to my body; and he introduced me to some of the regulars in the class.  He and the instructor told me that I could adjust the workout to my abilities and not to expect perfection immediately.  As the class progressed, I discovered that I needed to relax and simply “flow” with the others, taking breaks as I needed them.  By the end I was enjoying myself.  Last night I went back for my second class with Tim.   Now I feel ready to go to a class on my own, though I still plan to “spin” with Tim.

I think many people approach their first visit to a congregation for worship in a similar way.  They wonder if they will do or say something wrong.  They fear that they will not be welcomed nor helped if needed.   It was the encouragement and assistance of my friend Tim that made my first class a positive experience.   In the same way, it is the job or call of each regular worship attendee to welcome and assist the newbies at worship.   What I especially appreciated about Tim was not only the invitation to the class, but the willingness to assist me in my first class.    I pray that I can be as hospitable when I invite someone to worship at Resurrection. 

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.  Hebrews 13:2

Have you had a memorable first time worship experience?

Installation Reflections

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The day before my installation, I sent my daughter, Suzanne, a picture of our family stove and a quick note that I was being installed as Lead Pastor at Resurrection, as a gentle form of humor.  Her comment was that I should have used an image from a better stove, like a Wolf Convection Oven. It was the one she used when working as a pastry chef at a guest ranch in Colorado last summer.   A Wolf stove is first class and will serve the people well for many years. A stove that will last.

As I reflect on her comments, I hear wisdom. Resurrection deserves and needs the best from its staff.  And I do want to serve the people of Resurrection for many years.   I know from my experience at St. Andrew’s that ministry and trust build over time.  There are rarely instant solutions or fixes, particularly when one is dealing with the intricate network of relationships within a congregation.   Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit that is often ignored in our instant culture.

I also know that the real power of a stove comes from outside, either gas or electricity.  I am praying that I will remain steadfast in remembering that all my power and all the power of Resurrection comes from outside of us.  As Bishop Rogness read yesterday, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to your through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.”  I Timothy 6:14

How do we together keep from neglecting the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Installation Prayer

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Almighty and Gracious God, as I am installed as lead pastor of Resurrection today,
I pray that the power of Christ’s resurrection will be evident among your people.

Together may we learn to trust you above everything else.
Together let us live the call proclaimed in your word.
Together teach us to serve the people in our community and around the world.

Though we cannot see the ending, nor fully comprehend the challenges, we place our hands in yours, trusting you to guide us into your future.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve among such hopeful, caring people. Thank you for being our Lord and Savior.  In Jesus’ powerful name I pray.  Amen

Beginnings

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Backpacking in Washington StateI feel like I am beginning a new journey as I start this blog.   My plan is to focus on how to trust, live and serve as a follower of Jesus Christ.  I will be reflecting on how the Christian faith impacts our lives in terms of body, mind and spirit.  For example, as a runner, at times I will write about some of my running experiences and how my faith interacts with my physical activities.  Or as a teacher-pastor I plan to write how we read and interpret scripture in light of our world context.  Or at other times I may simply write/pray a prayer as an expression of my trust in Jesus.

It will be somewhat eclectic and random as to what I will write, but for now I will start with a goal of at least three posts each week: one with a physical theme, one with a mental focus and one with a spiritual theme.  Of course, they may overlap at times.    As a Lutheran, I will be gracious about this plan.

My audience for this blog will start with the people of Resurrection Lutheran Church, who have graciously called me to be their Lead Pastor.  But I hope this blog will spread in many marvelous ways.  One of the joys of the internet is that it can touch so many lives with fresh insights.