Reflections of a Running Reverend

I have been in Western Jurisdictional meetings here in Portland, Oregon since Friday last week. It's been a long weekend of meetings. Fruitful and productive, of course. But long. We ended yesterday (Monday) late afternoon and I found myself with a lot of free time before my flight late this afternoon. Here's how I filled it: I slept-in a little, got caught-up with emails, made necessary phone calls and... went for a long run! There's nothing like a nice, long run to decompress after a long weekend of meetings. And it did just that- it helped me decompress. Runs always have that effect on me. That's one of the reasons why I run. It clears my head. It allows me to organize random thoughts. It helps me crystallize ideas. It helps me reflect. And that's why I am cranky on days when I don't get a run in. On today's run, I followed a trail that was parallel to the Willamette River on my right and the Portland International Airport on my left. Mid-run, I f...

Photo credit: Rev. Jim Doepken I have been asked by many to reprise my first Superintendent's address in my blog so they can review and share it in their local churches. I will do that. In fact my plan is to dedicate a blog post for each of the six points I focused on. But that series will have to wait until  I get back from vacation in August. For now, let me give you an abridged version for you to start reflecting on. In my address I shared six areas I am really passionate about in my ministry with you as your Superintendent. These were born out of a year of "walking" the conference; a year of listening to your stories, dreams and visions; a year of getting to know each church, each context and each ministry setting. I purposefully resisted casting a vision for leadership until I had gotten to know the conference a little bit deeper. These six areas come out of our shared dreams and visions. They are areas I will hold myself accountable to you, you to me and us to...

I ran a marathon here in Anchorage a couple of weeks ago. In the two weeks that followed the race, I have only ran a total of seven miles. I've given my body time to rest and recover. Today, I plan to lace up my shoes and hit the trails once again. My next race is in less than 6 weeks and I have to train. But I surely enjoyed the time-in-between. Now I feel that both my body and my mind are ready to run again! Summers are typically times-in-between in the lives of churches. This is a time when things slow down; when Sunday schools and choirs take a break; when worship services are combined; when meetings are more spaced-out. And while one may argue that ministry and mission doesn't really stop, that the need is always there and that summers present rich and unique opportunities to reach out to our communities (i.e. VBS, Summer Camp etc.), the reality is that everyone, church people included, need times-in-between to rest and renew. The work of...

My bib from doing the same race two years ago I'm running a half marathon this weekend. I'm using it as a training run for the full marathon I am doing next month. And as I have done in previous races, I will again be doing it as a prayer run. Half of a marathon. 13.1 of 26.2 miles. Halfway to a goal. In between. Midway. In this prayer run, I will be running for those who are finding themselves in some form or state of being in between... for those who are in between jobs... for those who are moving, from one side of town to the other, or from one state to another... for those in between school levels, those moving up a grade level... for those transitioning from being a student to working and beginning a career... for those in the middle of major projects in life... for those in the middle of medical treatments... for those in the midst of family transitions... for those who are in the midst of picking up the pieces and figuring things out after the loss...

Trees are budding and flowers are starting to bloom here in Anchorage. Its beautiful!  And because the flowers are blooming, the bees are starting to get busy. Notice the bees in springtime. They do not stay in one place more than they should. They spend time on one flower, do what they need to do, leave what they need to leave, take what they need to take, and move on to the next bloom. I think we can learn from these busy bees. A former District Superintendent whom I was recently in a retreat with asked how I was doing. I said the job has given me my fair share of joys and challenges.  I said I enjoy the time traveling to different ministry settings and seeing great things happening in churches and communities. Her response struck me. She said, " Yes, I loved that too! During those times, you get to be a bee spreading the pollen." What she meant was, that she was in a unique position where she can be the bearer of stories and best-pra...

Mother and Child by Rev. David Fison Celebrating Mother's day in churches is always a sensitive matter. We want to celebrate but we also want to be inclusive and sensitive. A couple of years ago, I was searching online for Mother's Day resources for the church I was serving and I came upon this poem from the blog, The Messy Middle by Amy Young. I found it very helpful for me and my congregation so I thought I'd share it with you today: The wide spectrum of mothering by Amy Young To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. ...

I saw this written on the chalkboard at a church where we had an Area Cabinet meeting recently. It made me reflect on the signs of life that I see around me. "What a wondrous time is spring, when all the trees are budding;  the birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming." (from the song "Pass It On" by Kurt Kaiser) Spring is upon us! The trees outside my office window are budding! Birds are playing on the branches, singing! Everywhere I look, I see signs of life. As I write this though, the death-toll from the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal has now reached more than 4,600 and rising. As I write this, riots continue to rage in Baltimore over the death of yet another black person who was fatally injured while being arrested. As I write this, a child in Africa is dying of malaria. Another one will die after 30 seconds. And then another... As I write this, death and devastation continues to happen in our communi...