pastor
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As a kid, I don’t remember my Dad being called Father Tom. That doesn’t mean there weren’t quite a few people who did. Or used the more proper Fr. Downs. Sometimes it was Pastor, Preacher, or the grammatically inappropriate Reverend. Most of my life, as I try to recall it, my Dad went by his…
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Why I’m Lousy at Vacation
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2 min read
This is what I discovered this summer. I really am lousy at vacation. I knew I was bad at it. I just didn’t know I was this bad. I don’t like the time away. I don’t like the extra burden before I go and after I return. I have trouble disconnecting my brain from my…
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Build Systems or Leaders?
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3 min read
Which is more important: the system or the leader? Since arriving at St. Paul’s, which is a pastoral-sized congregation*, I’ve figured out that much of the structure of the church is based on specific leaders doing specific tasks, rather than systems. I’m not sure how to feel about this. *[a pastoral-sized congregation is what many…
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Not Free to Think
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5 min read
A short reflection on race, geopolitics, theology, and the role of the church in faith. Growing up in the church, I have long felt both at home in the church and like a resident alien. What some classify as evoking transcendent timelessness, I have often seen as dated and inaccessible. When exploring other ways of…
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You are not blessed with stress
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4 min read
Or why I might not remember your name Stress is not a blessing Something we’ve inherited from our Protestant ancestors is an anachronistic attachment to labor, stress, and a propensity to die early. Probably from a heart attack. Last I looked, there are only nine Beatitudes. I wouldn’t be surprised if some used book shoppe…
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Too polished
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3 min read
As I wrote yesterday, I participated in an online conference called The Nines, put on by the Leadership Network. The conference was free and open to anybody. I was relatively pleased with it, and given a different set of circumstances, I would no doubt have made more of an effort to watch all nine hours.…