The Pastoral Call

Set Your Minds on Things That Are Above

6 Comments / Colossians, Personal, The Pastoral Call / By /

Hello friends, just a quick check-in today . . . in the last ten days I have seen a theatrical presentation of C. S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce; traveled to Decatur, GA, where our covenant group memorialized Steve Hayner; underwent medical testing to investigate my vocal trouble; camped near the ocean in glorious weather;  and otherwise got a lot of mental and spiritual space. My head and heart are so full of these events and their lessons, I need an extra day to sort it. I will say this much: God continues to clarify my call and give me a […]

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Colossians 1:23b–29: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

Leave a Comment / Church, Colossians, Teaching, The Church in Exile, The Pastoral Call / By /

I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. 24I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the

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When Church Has Betrayed You

3 Comments / Church, The Church in Exile, The Pastoral Call / By /

My studies of “the missional church” in the last seven years have heightened my awareness of those the church-growth movement used to call the unchurched. Sixty years ago, the people in this category were less likely to have ever gone to church to be exposed to the basic claims of the Christian gospel. They were probably in the minority in post WWII American culture, which in the 1950s was seeing the filling and exponential growth of church congregations nationwide. Consequently, attention to the unchurched was largely a ministry of evangelism. During this era, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Campus Crusade for Christ

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Out of the Silence

3 Comments / Death & Dying, Personal, The Pastoral Call, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

As I indicated in my last post on October 27, the Naegeli family is grieving the sudden untimely death of Matthew, nephew to my husband and me and beloved friend to so many. Some life experiences are simply off-limits to a blogger, particularly when one’s writing might only add to the pain a family suffers. And sometimes, there are no words. This is my one blog out of this sad journey, about what I experienced and how the Word was brought to life during Matthew’s memorial service in Albuquerque. This was a public event, attended by several hundred mourners who

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Suicide: When a Right Becomes an Obligation

4 Comments / Current Events, Death & Dying, People, The Pastoral Call / By /

[After two days of jury duty, during which I was not selected for a three-week trial, I am finally coming back to the topic of physician-assisted suicide. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers while I was otherwise occupied.] One of my deepest concerns, from a sociological and ethical point of view, about physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is the “slippery slope” argument. In a BreakPoint broadcast this week, Eric Metaxas addressed the broader issues with historical illustrations. The sociological equivalent of “give them an inch, and they take a mile” is a reality, as evidenced by the gradual acceptance and practice of

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Ministry without Power

2 Comments / Leadership and Spirituality, PCUSA, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines, The Pastoral Call / By /

As the church family awaits the celebration of Pentecost on Sunday, I have been reflecting on what it would have been like if the Spirit had not come as promised. From the testimony of the gospels and the book of Acts, we know that the disciples—waiting as instructed for “power from on high”—basically did nothing risky or bold in the interim. Unless you consider the nomination and election of a new elder to fall into that category . . . (see Acts 1:12:26). I have two personal experiences to share that gave me an inkling of what it is like

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Implications of Christ’s Ascension—Part II

Leave a Comment / Great Commission (Mt 28), PCUSA, Personal, The Missional Church, The Pastoral Call / By /

We left off yesterday in the story of Jesus’ post-resurrection, pre-ascension period with just a glimpse of the magnitude of the commission he was imparting to his disciples. The Savior, loved and followed, was patiently instructing them on the basics of his identity, his purpose in coming, the relational implications of his crucifixion (redemption and forgiveness), and the importance of making him known throughout the world. Peter in particular was singled out to “feed my sheep,” (John 21:15-19), but all were sent to become “fishers of [people]” (Matthew 4:19). Regardless of the particulars, the disciples heard their commission as a

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Ascension Thursday—Part I

1 Comment / Great Commission (Mt 28), Personal, The Missional Church, The Pastoral Call / By /

I am feeling particularly grateful for the discipline of writing this blog, mostly because I have failed to produce anything in the last week and am reminded of how it keeps me centered if I do. The good news is that my energy level is near normal and I have been busy re-entering my world, including going back to active duty (part time) at the church I have served. No excuses here, just an observation that the writer’s life is a lot harder to structure than you might think! Life happens, people call, requests come in, and whoosh! There goes

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Casting a Wider Net

2 Comments / Kenya & Uganda, PCUSA, Personal, The Missional Church, The Pastoral Call / By /

Ministry transitions are sometimes difficult to navigate. There is always the pesky need to “make a living” while following Jesus into the unknown. In the hour-long Q & A with almost 200 Ugandan pastors last August, one of the dominant themes was financial support for the pastors who desired to work in the ministry full-time. They were frustrated because the overwhelming demands of pastoral care and the need to work a job that would pay their living expenses clashed. The deep poverty of their parishioners—a pastoral care issue in its own right—meant that the community did not have the funds

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My SHAPE: Nothing Is Wasted

9 Comments / Lung Cancer, PCUSA, Personal, SHAPE for Ministry, Teaching, The Pastoral Call / By /

As [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22) When Jesus

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