Those who’ve been to our church know that I’m not hung up on being called “Pastor” or “Pastor Marc.”
I usually say that I don’t call you by your gifting: “hi Intercessor Joe” or “Hey there Mercy Sue.” So why would I expect you to call me “Pastor Marc” any more than I’d expect to be called “Leadership Marc,” “Giving Marc,” or even “Tongues Marc.” (Don’t even get me started with “evangelist” or “prophet”!)
Reading Todd Bolen’s blog today, I remembered an interesting biblical passage that always caught my attention. I even got into an altercation with Father Fred in high school over this. (I was picking theological fights even back then. What a nerd-y thing to do!)
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Last Sunday, we had an brave soul give the sermon at the Vineyard Church of Waterville. I make it a point to not be in the pulpit every Sunday. It’s healthier for the group if others are being raised up.
Before Janice spoke, I gave everyone a primer on how to be a good listener. I even helped them loosen up their smiling muscles and the muscles that help the head move up and down in agreement. You can hear the warm up routine on the VCW podcast.
Today, I read a post by Seth Godin that reminds me of my warm up exercise. Go and read his post Always On (everybody markets). He points out that we’re always sending a message. “And more often than not, you get what you put in.”
I’m intrigued by how conditioned people can be to coffee that’s so old it needs to be injected with something called “coffee aroma.” It gets that way in church too. So when the real thing comes along, where the Spirit is a living and equal part of the Trinity we worship, it’s a culture shock.
Some of the folks in our church are so cool. They decided rather than asking “What did you get this Christmas?” they wanted to ask What did you give this Christmas?.
Isn’t that great?
So for the last few weeks they’ve been having Knit and Movie nights where they knit scarves, hats, and blankets for our local homeless shelter.
So they’ve decided to have themes for each week of Advent. So on:
