nakedpastor

“Nowadays I’m resigned to seeing myself in a permanent state of imperfection and I even delight in it” (St. Terese of Lisieux).

I’m feeling really burnt out, tired and lethargic. The last four years of trying to make a living at this or that, as well as wrestling with the confusion about my vocation, has taken its toll on me. Now that I am a full-time pastor again, it’s almost like I’ve given myself permission to crash. And crash I have. It ain’t pretty! Thank God for a gracious fellowship here. Honestly! I took some of their advice and stayed home this morning just to relax. I watched a movie: The Secret Life of Words, directed by Isabel Coixet (these women directors… MORE!!!!), starring the absolutely amazing Sarah Polley and the just as gifted Tim Robbins. If you want to take a thoughtful journey into the painful complexities of human existence, the subtleties of love, and the resilience of some people, check out this film. It is art in motion. It reminded me of the importance and value of trust, vulnerability and confession in the context of love. It is powerful… something we try to encourage and nurture at our church. I’ve discovered, and this movie articulates it so well, that when there is an atmosphere of safety and trust, that the miracle of human transformation and healing can happen.

The men’s breakfast we had last Saturday morning was awesome. There were about 20 of us. Some men gathered earlier to cook and get the coffee going. We met in the loft of Dean’s garage, which he’d converted into a kind of man-lodge… rustic and comfortable with old stuffy chairs and couches. There were lots of eggs, toast, and meat. There was lots of meat: sausages, bacon, pork burgers and ham. That poor pig! There wasn’t much of him left. We decided we should probably call ourselves The Carnivore Club. We agree with the bumper sticker: If God wanted us to be vegetarians, then why’d he make animals out of meat? We hung out for a couple of hours laughing and talking about our concerns. We’ve decided to do this regularly and invite a guest-man in to talk to us. Perhaps.

“Zeal and a cause dissolved his timidity and loosened his tongue” (Fischer, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi).

When I was studying at the church this morning,

I noticed some movement outside my window. This is

what I saw. It was a gentle reminder of the care of

God. As the deer pants for streams of living water,

so my soul longs for you. Even the swallow finds a place

in your house to make her nest.

As a continuation of the post I did yesterday on science and religion and the heat that is rising between them, I want to thank Dr. King who sent this link to me
from the New York Times concerning science and religion. Very interesting! Harris and Dawkins make their appearance again, but this time received a rebuke from a fellow-scientist:
“His response to Mr. Harris and Dr. Dawkins was scathing. ‘I think that you and Richard are remarkably apt mirror images of the extremists on the other side,’ he said, ‘and that you generate more fear and hatred of science.‘”

This is the final version of Taste and See. The recording is rough, done homemade on my mac. We did it at church last Sunday, and it was well received.