Biscuits and Gravy good enough to make you slap your granny. Jeffe, my arteries may not like it, but my stomach thanks you. Good stuff.
Thanks to Jim and Jeff at Celebration Christian Fellowship for hosting us this morning. Did I mention that we had biscuits and gravy? Did I mention they were good? Oh yes, and we also had a really good conversation. Our conversations, as in the past few gatherings, have focused in two areas; Community opportunites and Church/Personal happenings. Here is a brief recap.
Community Opportunities:
1. CCF has started a new 1st Friday outreach event called "Encounter." In the words of Jim, if you want to chase after God then you'll appreciate this gathering. Its at CCF every first friday starting at 7:00
2. Puget Sound Christian Center has collection plates (donations not included) for anyone who wants them.
3. Ken Schmidtke of Youth For Christ joined us this morning and gave us an update on the Campus Life at Gray Middle School. Their first club had over 30 kids and their second club starts today at 2:45.
Church/Personal Happenings.
The stated vision of the South Tacoma Pastors is "As ministers in South Tacoma, we desire to develop trust between one another so that when God presents us with an opportunity or challenge that is uniquely suited for us to collectively engage that we would be united enough to faithfully do so." To that end, building trust, we've decided that at each of the next several breakfasts one of us will share our 'call story.' This will be followed by a time of questions and dialogue. Big thanks to Jim for sharing his this morning. It was really helpful to hear more about how God worked in his life to bring him to this place at this time. Join us next time to hear Rich Hamlin share his story.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 13th at 8:30 at Manitou Park Presbyterian.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
September Breakfast Recap
Another great time of donuts and discussion. Big thanks to Rich for hosting our South Tacoma Ministers breakfast this month at his church (Evangelical Reformed) and providing the donuts (from a donut place around 84th and South Tacoma Way, good stuff).
Our discussion this morning landed in two areas; the role of personal devotion in our lives and ministry and a discussion on the Luis Palau's 'Season of Service' in Portland. While limited in time, I was encouraged by how deep we were able to get in both of these discussions.
In regards to personal devotion, we shared some of our personal history with them, what role they played currently played in our lives, and where we might like them to be. One of the tensions that was named by more than a couple of folks was the tension betweend doing devotions because you were supposed to versus doing them because they were satisfying a hunger to be with God. We agreed that there is an art to finding the sweet spot of devotions. Another tension raised was the question of how to find space in the midst of raising kids. I felt a great amount of empathy from the folks whose kids are older than mine. I also invited the group to check in with me next month to see how I've navigated the desire to spend more solitude time with God. (I think I can expect at least Jeff to hold me accountable).
Our other discussion centered around an article in the Oregonian newspaper (http://www.oregonlive.com/hovde/index.ssf/2009/09/christian_volunteers_good_work.html) about the effects of Luis Palau's coordination of a Portland wide church effort to simply serve the city. THey called it a 'season of service.' We all agreed that there were a lot of appealing and impressive things about this joint effort; its collaborative nature, the fact that it met physical needs and the fact that they started by simply asking and listening to what the leaders of the community expressed as their needs. However, we also raised the question of whether this group went to far in divorceing the verbal message from the physical acts. This generated some good discussion that I think might be good to pick up on in the future. One side of the continuum says that we should 'preach the gospel and use acts of compassion as necessary.' On the other side sits the belief that we should 'do the the gospel and use words as necessary.' We all sit somewhere in the middle on this continuum, some closer to the first and others closer to the second. It was good to be able to talk about this even though we differ.
In conclusion to this second conversation, we agreed to think and pray about the question, "Is God leading us to ask the leaders of South Tacoma (civic, educational, business, etc.) what big or small things might they need help with?" I look forward to continuing that conversation. In addition, Rich handed out an article called "The Problem is the Problem" which might also help with some of our discussion.
At the end of our time, it was good to have more than a couple of minutes to simply pray for each other, our congregations and our community.
Our next meeting is set for Wednesday, October 14th at 8:30 at John's church Green Pastures on 66th and Clement.
See you then, Ken
Our discussion this morning landed in two areas; the role of personal devotion in our lives and ministry and a discussion on the Luis Palau's 'Season of Service' in Portland. While limited in time, I was encouraged by how deep we were able to get in both of these discussions.
In regards to personal devotion, we shared some of our personal history with them, what role they played currently played in our lives, and where we might like them to be. One of the tensions that was named by more than a couple of folks was the tension betweend doing devotions because you were supposed to versus doing them because they were satisfying a hunger to be with God. We agreed that there is an art to finding the sweet spot of devotions. Another tension raised was the question of how to find space in the midst of raising kids. I felt a great amount of empathy from the folks whose kids are older than mine. I also invited the group to check in with me next month to see how I've navigated the desire to spend more solitude time with God. (I think I can expect at least Jeff to hold me accountable).
Our other discussion centered around an article in the Oregonian newspaper (http://www.oregonlive.com/hovde/index.ssf/2009/09/christian_volunteers_good_work.html) about the effects of Luis Palau's coordination of a Portland wide church effort to simply serve the city. THey called it a 'season of service.' We all agreed that there were a lot of appealing and impressive things about this joint effort; its collaborative nature, the fact that it met physical needs and the fact that they started by simply asking and listening to what the leaders of the community expressed as their needs. However, we also raised the question of whether this group went to far in divorceing the verbal message from the physical acts. This generated some good discussion that I think might be good to pick up on in the future. One side of the continuum says that we should 'preach the gospel and use acts of compassion as necessary.' On the other side sits the belief that we should 'do the the gospel and use words as necessary.' We all sit somewhere in the middle on this continuum, some closer to the first and others closer to the second. It was good to be able to talk about this even though we differ.
In conclusion to this second conversation, we agreed to think and pray about the question, "Is God leading us to ask the leaders of South Tacoma (civic, educational, business, etc.) what big or small things might they need help with?" I look forward to continuing that conversation. In addition, Rich handed out an article called "The Problem is the Problem" which might also help with some of our discussion.
At the end of our time, it was good to have more than a couple of minutes to simply pray for each other, our congregations and our community.
Our next meeting is set for Wednesday, October 14th at 8:30 at John's church Green Pastures on 66th and Clement.
See you then, Ken
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
August Breakfast Recap
Thanks for the gathering this morning. With all of the needs and events going on in my congregation, it is good to step out of if for a while and sit with other folks who share some of the same hopes and burdens.
Thanks again to Danny and Grace Place for hosting our breakfast this morning. It really is fun to watch the place physically change so dramatically each time we visit. I feel like the change isn’t just physical, but sounds like it is also reflective of the spiritual change going on in many folks lives because of the congregation.
Our question for the morning was for folks to share a highlight of the summer and a hope for the fall. It was nice to hear what is going on in the various congregations and to hear the ways we both overlap (lower participation in the summer) and ways we are diverse. Jim and Jeff, I look forward to hearing about how the boot camp goes. Rich and I were talking afterwards how it would have been nice to have some more time to process some of that bold ministry. I think one of the benefits to an ecumenical group is the chance to share our diverse approaches. We each take different approaches to being the church, but it doesn’t mean we can’t learn, encourage and challenge one another. I look forward to more of this in the future.
Jeff, our prayers went and continue to go out to your father in law. As Jim mentioned in his prayer, we pray that in some way, God will use even this struggle for his glory. Certainly we hope that way includes a full recovery for your wife’s dad.
As the meeting started to finish, I shared a bit about an opportunity coming up where our church relationships might be able to help. As some of you may know, South Tacoma has been slated as the next community to receive a farmer’s market. Several folks have lobbied for this to come to our community as we are currently a place that has a shortage of gathering places where folks from the community naturally encounter one another and celebrate our shared space. A farmer’s market would be a great summer event for South Tacoma. However, there are struggles ahead. In order for this to happen, there needs to be enough community support for the vendors to sign on with South Tacoma. After serving churches in South Tacoma, you probably know that our community doesn’t have a reputation like the North End or downtown. We are going to have to work hard to get shoppers and appeal to the shoppers in the community. To that end, I would love to invite your church to send a representative to the next South Tacoma Farmer’s Market meeting which will be held on Monday, August 31st at 6:00 at South Park Community Center. If you have someone who can make it, just shoot me an e-mail with their name so that I’ll know to look for them.
At this point, I have ways that I think the faith community of South Tacoma can help facilitate the birth and life of a farmer’s market.
1. Provide people who will visit and shop at the market which we hope to open the first Sunday of July 2010. Laura the coordinator said that a market needs at least 200 people spending $25 each to make the market work. I think that comes to about $5000 a Sunday. A tall order until you realize that there are 22,000 people just in South Tacoma.
2. Provide a way for the ethnic diversity of South Tacoma to shine and be an asset. South Tacoma is one of the most diverse communities in Tacoma (60% white, 20%African American, 10% Asian-American, 5% Latino, 5% Native and Pacific Islander, these are rough stats from the 2000 census, I’d be willing to bet that our Latino population is much larger). Despite the fact that our community is diverse, many of our neighborhood meetings are not. I think the Farmer’s Market would be a great place to invite our Korean, Phillipino, African-American, Latino, etc. congregations to get their people involved.
3. Offer a space for our church folk to participate in the basic life of the community in a way that reveals God’s love. Sometimes the best form of evangelism is simply being a good neighbor. I think I remember Jesus saying something about that. For better or worse, many members of the community have negative views of churches. If many of us were to simply go to the farmer’s market, be kind and purchase goods, then who knows how God might use that.
These are just some thoughts.
Our next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at Evangelical Reformed Church where Rich is the pastor.
Til then, Shaloma in South Tacoma,
Ken
Thanks again to Danny and Grace Place for hosting our breakfast this morning. It really is fun to watch the place physically change so dramatically each time we visit. I feel like the change isn’t just physical, but sounds like it is also reflective of the spiritual change going on in many folks lives because of the congregation.
Our question for the morning was for folks to share a highlight of the summer and a hope for the fall. It was nice to hear what is going on in the various congregations and to hear the ways we both overlap (lower participation in the summer) and ways we are diverse. Jim and Jeff, I look forward to hearing about how the boot camp goes. Rich and I were talking afterwards how it would have been nice to have some more time to process some of that bold ministry. I think one of the benefits to an ecumenical group is the chance to share our diverse approaches. We each take different approaches to being the church, but it doesn’t mean we can’t learn, encourage and challenge one another. I look forward to more of this in the future.
Jeff, our prayers went and continue to go out to your father in law. As Jim mentioned in his prayer, we pray that in some way, God will use even this struggle for his glory. Certainly we hope that way includes a full recovery for your wife’s dad.
As the meeting started to finish, I shared a bit about an opportunity coming up where our church relationships might be able to help. As some of you may know, South Tacoma has been slated as the next community to receive a farmer’s market. Several folks have lobbied for this to come to our community as we are currently a place that has a shortage of gathering places where folks from the community naturally encounter one another and celebrate our shared space. A farmer’s market would be a great summer event for South Tacoma. However, there are struggles ahead. In order for this to happen, there needs to be enough community support for the vendors to sign on with South Tacoma. After serving churches in South Tacoma, you probably know that our community doesn’t have a reputation like the North End or downtown. We are going to have to work hard to get shoppers and appeal to the shoppers in the community. To that end, I would love to invite your church to send a representative to the next South Tacoma Farmer’s Market meeting which will be held on Monday, August 31st at 6:00 at South Park Community Center. If you have someone who can make it, just shoot me an e-mail with their name so that I’ll know to look for them.
At this point, I have ways that I think the faith community of South Tacoma can help facilitate the birth and life of a farmer’s market.
1. Provide people who will visit and shop at the market which we hope to open the first Sunday of July 2010. Laura the coordinator said that a market needs at least 200 people spending $25 each to make the market work. I think that comes to about $5000 a Sunday. A tall order until you realize that there are 22,000 people just in South Tacoma.
2. Provide a way for the ethnic diversity of South Tacoma to shine and be an asset. South Tacoma is one of the most diverse communities in Tacoma (60% white, 20%African American, 10% Asian-American, 5% Latino, 5% Native and Pacific Islander, these are rough stats from the 2000 census, I’d be willing to bet that our Latino population is much larger). Despite the fact that our community is diverse, many of our neighborhood meetings are not. I think the Farmer’s Market would be a great place to invite our Korean, Phillipino, African-American, Latino, etc. congregations to get their people involved.
3. Offer a space for our church folk to participate in the basic life of the community in a way that reveals God’s love. Sometimes the best form of evangelism is simply being a good neighbor. I think I remember Jesus saying something about that. For better or worse, many members of the community have negative views of churches. If many of us were to simply go to the farmer’s market, be kind and purchase goods, then who knows how God might use that.
These are just some thoughts.
Our next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at Evangelical Reformed Church where Rich is the pastor.
Til then, Shaloma in South Tacoma,
Ken
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
July Breakfast Recap
Big thanks to Danny Thomas for hosting our breakfast this morning. John (Green Pastures), Rich (Evangelical Reformed) and myself (Manitou Park) joined Pastor Danny at the new location of Grace Place at 3801 S. Union St. Grace Place along with the RDC food bank are sharing the bottom 40,000 square feet of the old Tacoma Sports Arena. Until 1982, this building filled the role of the Tacoma Dome hosting sports tournaments, boxing matches, concerts and religous gatherings. The building has also been a skating rink and most recently was the home of a printing company. The upper floor is used by Washington Energy Services while the bottom floor is being transformed by Grace Place into a sanctuary and food bank. It was really interesting to get the tour from Danny and imagine the space as it will be.
Our group of four had a really good conversation over a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. After discussing a variety of topics we dug deeper into the question of how our congregations are dealign with the passing of Christendom (that is the cultural shift initiated by the Emperor Constatine in the 4th Century that lead to Christianity being the dominant religion in the West.) Until recently, folks went to church in large part out of duty and obligation. The last couple of decades have seen that reason for church attendance diminish and left people wondering, "Why go to church?" It is not that people have become athiests, in fact only about 10% of the population would claim that title, rather people have been shifting away from organized religion to other forms of faith. You may have heard reflections of this shift when people say, "Well, I'm spiritual but I'm not religious." Now, given this reality, we asked one another how our congregations are confronting the shift in South Tacoma.
The conversation that followed was a bit too involved to summarize in a couple of paragraphs. It will have to suffice to say that each of our four congregations have both similar and different approaches. Danny and Grace Place focus on meeting the immediate physical hunger of folks and using that as an invitation to be a part of the worshiping congregatin. John at Green Pastures tries to empower his people to invite their neighbors into their homes for little family groups that eventually lead to a connection with the church. Rich at Evangelical Reformed holds closely to a reformed theology that he's seen draw folks. And me at Manitou? Well, I've chosen to try and help our congregation focus mostly on the youth of our surrounding community of Manitou. That is a very reduced summary of our conversation that I hesitate to post out of fear that the nuances of each person's answers will be lost. If it needs correction, I welcome it from Danny, Rich and John.
Next meeting. We agreed to meet again next month on Wednesday, August 5th at 8:30. Danny offered to host the event again and we agreed as it would afford others to come and see the progress of the building space. So, we'll meet next month at Grace Place at 3801 S. Union St. which is the bottom floor of the Washington Energy Services building.
Til then, grace and peace.
Our group of four had a really good conversation over a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. After discussing a variety of topics we dug deeper into the question of how our congregations are dealign with the passing of Christendom (that is the cultural shift initiated by the Emperor Constatine in the 4th Century that lead to Christianity being the dominant religion in the West.) Until recently, folks went to church in large part out of duty and obligation. The last couple of decades have seen that reason for church attendance diminish and left people wondering, "Why go to church?" It is not that people have become athiests, in fact only about 10% of the population would claim that title, rather people have been shifting away from organized religion to other forms of faith. You may have heard reflections of this shift when people say, "Well, I'm spiritual but I'm not religious." Now, given this reality, we asked one another how our congregations are confronting the shift in South Tacoma.
The conversation that followed was a bit too involved to summarize in a couple of paragraphs. It will have to suffice to say that each of our four congregations have both similar and different approaches. Danny and Grace Place focus on meeting the immediate physical hunger of folks and using that as an invitation to be a part of the worshiping congregatin. John at Green Pastures tries to empower his people to invite their neighbors into their homes for little family groups that eventually lead to a connection with the church. Rich at Evangelical Reformed holds closely to a reformed theology that he's seen draw folks. And me at Manitou? Well, I've chosen to try and help our congregation focus mostly on the youth of our surrounding community of Manitou. That is a very reduced summary of our conversation that I hesitate to post out of fear that the nuances of each person's answers will be lost. If it needs correction, I welcome it from Danny, Rich and John.
Next meeting. We agreed to meet again next month on Wednesday, August 5th at 8:30. Danny offered to host the event again and we agreed as it would afford others to come and see the progress of the building space. So, we'll meet next month at Grace Place at 3801 S. Union St. which is the bottom floor of the Washington Energy Services building.
Til then, grace and peace.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
May Breakfast Recap
As the rain continues to beat upon our churches downspout (don't you just love the NW?), a few of us gathered in the basement of Manitou Park Pres. to continue our SoTac Ministers gatherings. What follows is a very brief recap.
Kaj shocked us with the news that he and his family will be moving to Aberdeen in June where he will become the associate pastor of a relatively new Four-Square church there. The current head pastor only plans to remain for a couple of years and then Kaj will step into that role. After more than 10 years, Kaj will be moving on and we'll definitely miss him. One thing Kaj appears to have done well is 'replace himself' in the various roles he plays at PSCC and to that end Matty Broweleit will start joining us each month. Welcome Matty, feel free to bring the guitar.
Another shock came in the news that Asbury Methodist will be closing soon. Rev. Joy McDonald has been leading that congregation's ministry to South Tacoma for over a decade and I think it difficult to overestimate the whole that will be left as this centrally located church closes. We grieve for the loss of this congregation and pray that God will bring to that place another people who can continue to reflect the good news to all people.
We closed with a few announcements and a reminder from Chris Rambo of our reason for meeting. In response, I pointed to our statement that we hope, one day, to talk more about:
I hope that we can dig into this mission statement at our next gathering, which is at....
Grace Lutheran Church (across from the new Gray Middle School on Tyler Street) on Wednesday, June 3rd at 8:30.
See you then, Ken
Kaj shocked us with the news that he and his family will be moving to Aberdeen in June where he will become the associate pastor of a relatively new Four-Square church there. The current head pastor only plans to remain for a couple of years and then Kaj will step into that role. After more than 10 years, Kaj will be moving on and we'll definitely miss him. One thing Kaj appears to have done well is 'replace himself' in the various roles he plays at PSCC and to that end Matty Broweleit will start joining us each month. Welcome Matty, feel free to bring the guitar.
Another shock came in the news that Asbury Methodist will be closing soon. Rev. Joy McDonald has been leading that congregation's ministry to South Tacoma for over a decade and I think it difficult to overestimate the whole that will be left as this centrally located church closes. We grieve for the loss of this congregation and pray that God will bring to that place another people who can continue to reflect the good news to all people.
We closed with a few announcements and a reminder from Chris Rambo of our reason for meeting. In response, I pointed to our statement that we hope, one day, to talk more about:
"As ministers in South Tacoma, we desire to develop trust between one another so that when God presents us with an opportunity or challenge that is uniquely suited for us to collectively engage that we would be united enough to faithfully do so."
I hope that we can dig into this mission statement at our next gathering, which is at....
Grace Lutheran Church (across from the new Gray Middle School on Tyler Street) on Wednesday, June 3rd at 8:30.
See you then, Ken
Thursday, March 5, 2009
March Breakfast Recap
Kaj, thanks for hosting our last breakfast. The scones were exceptional.
We had a pretty good turn out with one new pastor arriving, Dick Tietjen from Grace Lutheran. Great to have you and your 25 years of ministry in South Tacoma with us Dick. In addition to Dick, we had seven other ministers/elders present: Jim and Jeff from Celebration Fellowship, John from Green Pastures, myself from Manitou, and Kaj from Puget Sound Christian Center and Bruce who is an elder/lay leader at Grace Lutheran.
We had planned to discuss two questions, but only had time for the first question which was, "What is a current struggle and joy in your ministry?" It was good to hear updates and opportunities from folks. One of the items we spent some good time discussion was John's question about how to best approach marginally involved couples seeking to get married. Thanks for raising that question John.
Since we didn't have time to get to the 2nd question, we decided to post it on the blogspot, (which is located at www.sotacministers.blogspot.com) and start getting comments on it. The question surrounds an initial 'agenda statement' for the group. It goes like the following:
We had a pretty good turn out with one new pastor arriving, Dick Tietjen from Grace Lutheran. Great to have you and your 25 years of ministry in South Tacoma with us Dick. In addition to Dick, we had seven other ministers/elders present: Jim and Jeff from Celebration Fellowship, John from Green Pastures, myself from Manitou, and Kaj from Puget Sound Christian Center and Bruce who is an elder/lay leader at Grace Lutheran.
We had planned to discuss two questions, but only had time for the first question which was, "What is a current struggle and joy in your ministry?" It was good to hear updates and opportunities from folks. One of the items we spent some good time discussion was John's question about how to best approach marginally involved couples seeking to get married. Thanks for raising that question John.
Since we didn't have time to get to the 2nd question, we decided to post it on the blogspot, (which is located at www.sotacministers.blogspot.com) and start getting comments on it. The question surrounds an initial 'agenda statement' for the group. It goes like the following:
"As ministers in South Tacoma, we desire to develop trust between one another so that when God presents us with an opportunity or challenge that is uniquely suited for us to collectively engage that we would be united enough to faithfully do so."
What do you think about this statement? What would you change? Add? Remove? Feel free to comment.
We decided to take April off from meeting and hold our next gathering on the first Wednesday in May which is May 6 at 8:30 at Manitou Park Presbyterian.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
March Breakfast Precap
Fellow Ministers in SoTac,
This is your day before reminder that we are gathering tomorrow morning (Wednesday, March 4th) at 8:30 at Puget Sound Christian Center for a time of eating, supporting and prayering for one another and this community of South Tacoma. Two months ago we asked the question, "Where are the weeds that need pulling and the seeds that need nurturing in South Tacoma?" Last month we asked the question, "What is each of our agendas in regards to this group?" In preparation for our breakfast tomorrow, let me invite you to think about the following questions:
1. Currently, what is a struggle in your ministry? What is a joy in your ministry?
2. Last month we articulated a rough focus for this group which goes something like this:
How do you feel about this statment? Are their things you would like to add? remove? totally change?
Looking forward to the scones, see you tomorrow. Ken
This is your day before reminder that we are gathering tomorrow morning (Wednesday, March 4th) at 8:30 at Puget Sound Christian Center for a time of eating, supporting and prayering for one another and this community of South Tacoma. Two months ago we asked the question, "Where are the weeds that need pulling and the seeds that need nurturing in South Tacoma?" Last month we asked the question, "What is each of our agendas in regards to this group?" In preparation for our breakfast tomorrow, let me invite you to think about the following questions:
1. Currently, what is a struggle in your ministry? What is a joy in your ministry?
2. Last month we articulated a rough focus for this group which goes something like this:
"As Ministers in South Tacoma, we desire to develop trust between one another so that when God presents us with an opportunity or challenge that is uniquely suited for us to collectively engage that we would be united enough to faithfully do so."
How do you feel about this statment? Are their things you would like to add? remove? totally change?
Looking forward to the scones, see you tomorrow. Ken
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Feb Breakfast Recap
Fellow Ministers in SoTac,
Great thanks to John and his talented church member who fixed some dang good crossaint sandwiches. Yumm. In addition, the Korean coffee is always a treat. Thanks.
Originally, I'd thought I would miss the morning as my wife is due on Feb. 5th. But as of the writing of this recap, the baby is still hanging out in the warmth of the womb. Thanks for your prayers.
The Word
While stuffying our 'cakeholes' we started to share any reflections we'd had from the Word. What followed was a pretty cool sharing of insight. Kaj shared about a passage from Acts 11:27 in which despite the prediction of a severe famine, the believers in Antioch took up a collection to help out those in Judea. Rich shared about some of his digging into the Psalms with Psalm 38 during which David 'fesses up' and then really experiences God's grace. John talked a bit about the ways God motivates us, stick, carrot and ultimatley love. I talked a bit about the questions I think we all ask in in some way. Is God real? If so, does this God have power to change things? If so, does this powerful God care anything about me? Psalm 62 gave me some hope in the answer to these questions. Each one of these reflections was like a gold mine and is impossible to recap completely here.
Agendas
Next, we started to answer the question, "What is our agenda?" I confessed, as I mentioned in the previous post, that if I have an agenda it is simply for us, as Pastors in South Tacoma, to continue meeting so that we might build enough trust between one another that when God presents us with an opportunity or challenge uniquely suited for us to collectively address that we would be united enough to faithfully do so. Okay, that is perhaps worded a little better than what I said on Wednesday. Others echoed this sentiment, but added a couple of other words to their agendas such as 'comraderie,' 'mutual support,' 'reminder we aren't alone,' and 'prayer.'
Prayer
We closed our time in prayer and I want to officially offer my apologies to Jeff for cutting him off at one short prayer. I was confused and I am sorry. I promise folks will be allowed to pray more than once next time. :).
Next Breakfast
Wednesday, March 4th 8:30 at Puget Sound Christian Center
Shaloma in South Tacoma, Ken
Great thanks to John and his talented church member who fixed some dang good crossaint sandwiches. Yumm. In addition, the Korean coffee is always a treat. Thanks.
Originally, I'd thought I would miss the morning as my wife is due on Feb. 5th. But as of the writing of this recap, the baby is still hanging out in the warmth of the womb. Thanks for your prayers.
The Word
While stuffying our 'cakeholes' we started to share any reflections we'd had from the Word. What followed was a pretty cool sharing of insight. Kaj shared about a passage from Acts 11:27 in which despite the prediction of a severe famine, the believers in Antioch took up a collection to help out those in Judea. Rich shared about some of his digging into the Psalms with Psalm 38 during which David 'fesses up' and then really experiences God's grace. John talked a bit about the ways God motivates us, stick, carrot and ultimatley love. I talked a bit about the questions I think we all ask in in some way. Is God real? If so, does this God have power to change things? If so, does this powerful God care anything about me? Psalm 62 gave me some hope in the answer to these questions. Each one of these reflections was like a gold mine and is impossible to recap completely here.
Agendas
Next, we started to answer the question, "What is our agenda?" I confessed, as I mentioned in the previous post, that if I have an agenda it is simply for us, as Pastors in South Tacoma, to continue meeting so that we might build enough trust between one another that when God presents us with an opportunity or challenge uniquely suited for us to collectively address that we would be united enough to faithfully do so. Okay, that is perhaps worded a little better than what I said on Wednesday. Others echoed this sentiment, but added a couple of other words to their agendas such as 'comraderie,' 'mutual support,' 'reminder we aren't alone,' and 'prayer.'
Prayer
We closed our time in prayer and I want to officially offer my apologies to Jeff for cutting him off at one short prayer. I was confused and I am sorry. I promise folks will be allowed to pray more than once next time. :).
Next Breakfast
Wednesday, March 4th 8:30 at Puget Sound Christian Center
Shaloma in South Tacoma, Ken
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Feb Breakfast Reminder
Fellow Ministers in So Tac,
First, the news, we have no news yet as our 3rd child has decided to remain in my wife, Erin's, womb for a bit longer. We aren't due until Thursday, so we haven't started to worry yet. That being said, I did have a death in the congregation and the memorial is on Thursday. So, you can keep us in your prayers for both of these endeavors.
Now the reminder. Our next breakfast is tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 4th at 8:30 at Green Pastures Presbyterian which is located at the corner of 66th and Junnett on the East side of South Tacoma Way. I just talked with John and he is getting all ready for us. Assuming that I will not be there, I'm sending a rough agenda for us to continue to talk about and so here it goes.
1. What interesting things are going on in your ministry or life?
2. What weeds do you notice in our community that need pulling?
3. What seeds do you notice in our community that need tending?
John asked me if I had an overall agenda for this group. It was a good question to which i answered yes and no. I don't have a specific agenda for this group to accomplish, but i do have a hope that we will come to a place of mutual trust amongst one another that when God reveals to us what he would like us to do together, that we would have enough unity to engage that work. So, in short, my agenda is for us to build trust between one another with the hopes that it will lead to a greater amount of God's shalom being reflected in South Tacoma. That's my hope. Perhaps that would be a good question to pose to the rest of the group. Do you have an agenda or hope for this group?
Grace and Peace, Ken
First, the news, we have no news yet as our 3rd child has decided to remain in my wife, Erin's, womb for a bit longer. We aren't due until Thursday, so we haven't started to worry yet. That being said, I did have a death in the congregation and the memorial is on Thursday. So, you can keep us in your prayers for both of these endeavors.
Now the reminder. Our next breakfast is tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 4th at 8:30 at Green Pastures Presbyterian which is located at the corner of 66th and Junnett on the East side of South Tacoma Way. I just talked with John and he is getting all ready for us. Assuming that I will not be there, I'm sending a rough agenda for us to continue to talk about and so here it goes.
1. What interesting things are going on in your ministry or life?
2. What weeds do you notice in our community that need pulling?
3. What seeds do you notice in our community that need tending?
John asked me if I had an overall agenda for this group. It was a good question to which i answered yes and no. I don't have a specific agenda for this group to accomplish, but i do have a hope that we will come to a place of mutual trust amongst one another that when God reveals to us what he would like us to do together, that we would have enough unity to engage that work. So, in short, my agenda is for us to build trust between one another with the hopes that it will lead to a greater amount of God's shalom being reflected in South Tacoma. That's my hope. Perhaps that would be a good question to pose to the rest of the group. Do you have an agenda or hope for this group?
Grace and Peace, Ken
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Reflections from Jan 7th 2009 Breakfast
Notes from 1/7/08 STM Breakfast
Wow, if it weren’t so obvious that Jeff is called to children’s ministry, I’d push for him opening a restaurant in South Tacoma. Man, that was great. Big thanks to Jeff and the rest of the Celebration staff for their wonderful hospitality. It reminds me of a friend who just published a book about hospitality. Her theory was that hospitality is the central Christian discipline. I know the disciples on the road to Emmaus was a key passage for her as it wasn’t until they invited Jesus in and broke bread with him that they recognized who it was. I can say it was good to sit and continue to recognize Christ in one another this morning.
So, as usual, I try to do a little recap of our breakfasts and so here it is.
Introductions and Interesting things in our congregations.
It was good to welcome a new church representative to our fold in Bruce from Grace Lutheran on Tyler across from the new Gray. It was also good to hear snippets of how God has been working in our various congregations. What follows are just a few of the things of interest that I can recall: Baptism of a sixteen year old neighborhood kid. A letter from a lady who causes a lot of trouble in the church expressing an apology and her gratitude for the value of the pastor’s work. A church who was dedicated enough to come to worship despite the deep snow. Going from biking leather to the pastoral care minister. The value of a retired gentleman’s gifts being used to establish a ministry through the internet. A young girl who is so thirsty for community and worship of God that she begs to stay for two worship services. A 16 year old girl who has been through rehab and is now plugging into the youth group. A church that is committed enough to pray and fast for the first 21 days of 2009. A chance to minister to the women of the church even when you have to say tough things. Becoming a church that simply wants to do the Father’s will. And a church that has taken a courageous step to sell some of their land to Habitat for Humanity and welcome new neighbors to their former church property.
Wow, and this was all in the matter of a bout 20 minutes. Breaking bread (or cinnamon rolls). Recognizing Christ
Weed, Seed and Pray
After folks refilled with coffee, we attempted to pick up our last where we left off our last conversation which was stirred up by the question, “If it didn’t have to result in new members, what kind of ministry might God call us to in South Tacoma?” Previously, our conversation led us to begin to look at places in SoTac where weeds are choking life out of people while simultaneously looking at places where seeds are waiting to be protected, nurtured and fed. I asked where we’ve seen either of these over the last month. What follows are a few of the thoughts:
- The seed of desire for relationships for single folks in the community. Jeff offered the hope that this group might lead to some of those folks meeting one another
- The weed of drug trade and gang violence that tends to focus around the corner of 56th and Lakewood and the apartments that surround it
- The seeds that will now be arriving at the new Gray Middle School just down the street and the weeds of violence, poor self-image, etc. that try to choke their growth
After mentioning a few of these things, Jim helped raise a great question that our group will need to continue to wrestle with. I will do my best to reframe it and then if you get a chance or want to post some of your thoughts, please do and then this can be apart of our conversation next month. The question focuses around what and how. What is our hope for the community? How will we as Christians work toward that hope? I work best in continuums and so I’ll use one to express the question.
On one side sits the folks who say that what we hope for is that the hearts and souls of individuals might be changed to follow Jesus Christ. How we do this is through building relationships with those folks and inviting them to experience that relationship with Christ through our (or another) church. I’ll call this side approach ‘one by one.’
On the other end of the continuum sits the folks who believe that what we are hoping for is that the systems and structures of a place might be changed in such a way that the place might more closely reflect the kingdom of God. How we do this is by personally challenging the powers (calling the city to keep our drains clear) and by mobilizing the people to work towards these changes (organizing block meetings). I’ll call this approach the ‘systems and structures.’
There are other ways to name this ministry tension. In the past it has been divided with evangelical sitting on one side and social gospel sitting on the other. In the political realm it is sometimes divided between conservative and liberal. How we read the Bible and what passages we hold as more central than others has a great influence on where we land on this continuum. John 3:16 is a great passage to support the ‘one one one’ approach. While Paul in Ephesians seems to support the ‘systems and structures’ approach when he writes, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”
So, I think I will leave my reflection there. I’ve posted this reflection on a new blog that I just created for this group called ‘South Tacoma Ministers.” You can find the blog at www.sotacministers.blogspot.com. To protect our privacy, I’ve restricted access to only those in this group. If for some reason you can’t get on, then just e-mail me and I’ll add your name to the list. If you so desire, I invite you to post some of your own thoughts on this reflection.
I continue to look forward to working together with all of you as we strive together to be faithful to God’s call upon our individual and coporate lives in this place of South Tacoma where he has placed us.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, February 4th at 8:30 at Green Pastures Presbyterian Church on the corner of 66th and Clement.
Wow, if it weren’t so obvious that Jeff is called to children’s ministry, I’d push for him opening a restaurant in South Tacoma. Man, that was great. Big thanks to Jeff and the rest of the Celebration staff for their wonderful hospitality. It reminds me of a friend who just published a book about hospitality. Her theory was that hospitality is the central Christian discipline. I know the disciples on the road to Emmaus was a key passage for her as it wasn’t until they invited Jesus in and broke bread with him that they recognized who it was. I can say it was good to sit and continue to recognize Christ in one another this morning.
So, as usual, I try to do a little recap of our breakfasts and so here it is.
Introductions and Interesting things in our congregations.
It was good to welcome a new church representative to our fold in Bruce from Grace Lutheran on Tyler across from the new Gray. It was also good to hear snippets of how God has been working in our various congregations. What follows are just a few of the things of interest that I can recall: Baptism of a sixteen year old neighborhood kid. A letter from a lady who causes a lot of trouble in the church expressing an apology and her gratitude for the value of the pastor’s work. A church who was dedicated enough to come to worship despite the deep snow. Going from biking leather to the pastoral care minister. The value of a retired gentleman’s gifts being used to establish a ministry through the internet. A young girl who is so thirsty for community and worship of God that she begs to stay for two worship services. A 16 year old girl who has been through rehab and is now plugging into the youth group. A church that is committed enough to pray and fast for the first 21 days of 2009. A chance to minister to the women of the church even when you have to say tough things. Becoming a church that simply wants to do the Father’s will. And a church that has taken a courageous step to sell some of their land to Habitat for Humanity and welcome new neighbors to their former church property.
Wow, and this was all in the matter of a bout 20 minutes. Breaking bread (or cinnamon rolls). Recognizing Christ
Weed, Seed and Pray
After folks refilled with coffee, we attempted to pick up our last where we left off our last conversation which was stirred up by the question, “If it didn’t have to result in new members, what kind of ministry might God call us to in South Tacoma?” Previously, our conversation led us to begin to look at places in SoTac where weeds are choking life out of people while simultaneously looking at places where seeds are waiting to be protected, nurtured and fed. I asked where we’ve seen either of these over the last month. What follows are a few of the thoughts:
- The seed of desire for relationships for single folks in the community. Jeff offered the hope that this group might lead to some of those folks meeting one another
- The weed of drug trade and gang violence that tends to focus around the corner of 56th and Lakewood and the apartments that surround it
- The seeds that will now be arriving at the new Gray Middle School just down the street and the weeds of violence, poor self-image, etc. that try to choke their growth
After mentioning a few of these things, Jim helped raise a great question that our group will need to continue to wrestle with. I will do my best to reframe it and then if you get a chance or want to post some of your thoughts, please do and then this can be apart of our conversation next month. The question focuses around what and how. What is our hope for the community? How will we as Christians work toward that hope? I work best in continuums and so I’ll use one to express the question.
On one side sits the folks who say that what we hope for is that the hearts and souls of individuals might be changed to follow Jesus Christ. How we do this is through building relationships with those folks and inviting them to experience that relationship with Christ through our (or another) church. I’ll call this side approach ‘one by one.’
On the other end of the continuum sits the folks who believe that what we are hoping for is that the systems and structures of a place might be changed in such a way that the place might more closely reflect the kingdom of God. How we do this is by personally challenging the powers (calling the city to keep our drains clear) and by mobilizing the people to work towards these changes (organizing block meetings). I’ll call this approach the ‘systems and structures.’
There are other ways to name this ministry tension. In the past it has been divided with evangelical sitting on one side and social gospel sitting on the other. In the political realm it is sometimes divided between conservative and liberal. How we read the Bible and what passages we hold as more central than others has a great influence on where we land on this continuum. John 3:16 is a great passage to support the ‘one one one’ approach. While Paul in Ephesians seems to support the ‘systems and structures’ approach when he writes, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”
So, I think I will leave my reflection there. I’ve posted this reflection on a new blog that I just created for this group called ‘South Tacoma Ministers.” You can find the blog at www.sotacministers.blogspot.com. To protect our privacy, I’ve restricted access to only those in this group. If for some reason you can’t get on, then just e-mail me and I’ll add your name to the list. If you so desire, I invite you to post some of your own thoughts on this reflection.
I continue to look forward to working together with all of you as we strive together to be faithful to God’s call upon our individual and coporate lives in this place of South Tacoma where he has placed us.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, February 4th at 8:30 at Green Pastures Presbyterian Church on the corner of 66th and Clement.
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