Stump the pastor
I had an experience on Monday that was as enjoyable as I’d anticipated. Being the “buddy pastor” for the 5th graders and Kindergarteners at Concordia Lutheran School, I was asked to come in to answer some of the 5th graders’ un-answered questions. These questions had accumulated during the first two quarters of school. They had a special form for these questions, and they’d stored the completed forms in a cardboard box.
Where I’ve served before as a pastor of a parish with a school I usually referred these sessions as “Stump the pastor” day. I’d found that the questions were almost without exception quite thoughtful, and Monday that was certainly the case.
The questions ranged from those dealing with the creation of dinosaurs to why God ever created the devil, or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for that matter. They had questions about animals in heaven, and marriage there, too.
Mr. Hipple has been doing a good job with these boys and girls. They were well versed in Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, especially the meaning of the first article of the Apostles’ Creed.
It will be fun to see what questions get asked in the second half of the school year!
Reflecting...
I found myself a bit distracted as I walked the hallways of OSF this morning. Both on the way to visit one of our families being treated there and on the way back I had greeted people with a smile and the blessing “good morning!” The majority, and most of them employees of OSF, smiled and greeted me in return.
It was the ones who didn’t even acknowledge my greeting who distracted me. I was a bit miffed, I’m sad to admit. That seemed like a poor excuse for manners, or the lack of them.
But then I realized: (1) I haven’t a clue about how their day had been going. Perhaps their stony silence was the best they could muster; and (2) I do not need to let someone else’ reaction or behavior have any say in whether or not I’m going to enjoy my day. More on that in a bit.
But first, my feeling of being slighted fit in with the article I read from Tim Elmore this morning. He was writing about the outrage culture that we’re breeding on social media. People are working to stand out from all the noise with the use of hyperbole. When we shout, we feel that we’ve been heard. When we’re retweeted or reposted, we feel a rush of validation. And the use of emotional words increases the likelihood of retweeting/reposting by 15% to 20%. I could have fallen into that trap after my hospital visit this morning.
Elmore’s encouragement for leading kids in this culture can be summed up in these points: 1. Talk about the downside of hyperbole. It wears people down and causes them to tune out. 2. Limit your check-ins on social media. That’s always a good suggestion. 3. Choose to make emotions your servant not your master. When we reflect before we react, we engage our minds, and our emotions follow. 4. Recognize any compassion fatigue you experience. You cannot have an impact on everything. And 5. Act to improve the lives around you. Don’t just talk.
As for not needing someone else’ behavior to have a say in the enjoyment of my day or the peace I experience, well, that’s not entirely true. My peace, and my enjoyment of this abundant life, flow directly from the cross of my Lord Jesus, through the empty tomb He once inhabited. He did all of that so that I could know forgiveness and life. His impression of me – abiding love – is what gives life it’s meaning and purpose.
What's important in getting the point across is...getting the point across!
Part the business of being a pastor is communicating God’s story. One could argue the rest of being a pastor is applying God’s story, but more on that in another blog.
Years ago, I had a coworker who started off having a terrible time leading chapel for our school. She was so nervous about missing some of the points which the chapel talk sheet suggested that she felt she needed to read the sheet for chapel. That really lessened the effectiveness of the presentation. It was not as meaningful as when, later on, she worked to memorize a few key points so that she could have the eye-contact that can be so helpful in delivering a message.
Over the past few days I’ve been able to use the “shorthand” of a cultural referent a couple of times. That is, I’ve been able to further a conversation by merely mentioning a couple of characters in a television program to make a point.
One such instance was a comparison I was trying to convey when I said, “In Blue Bloods terms he’s a Danny to my Francis.” Since the person I was talking to was familiar with the television program Blue Bloods, he understood that compared to my rather deliberate way of going about things (Francis’ habit) the person I referred to was a bit more mercurial and sometimes willing to go a bit further than I would think it wise to go (Danny’s MO).
But on another occasion, I had to narrate the scene from a motion picture to get my point across. It was not a recent motion picture and couple was a good thirty years younger than I am. Still, the illustration was worth setting the scene, or painting the picture for them.
I guess my take-away from this consideration is that whether you can shave some time off with a referent or you need to take more time to tell the story, the conveyance of the truth is what’s at stake. Do what you need to do to get the point made. And the more eye contact you have (i.e. the better you know your material), the better you’ll be able to share what’s important.