Spirit and Call

I've had this thing about having emotional vacations lately. I'm not quite sure what that's all about but anyway, I digress.

I'm in Charlotte right now, taking vacation from school and work and am loving it! I've been here for a few days and fly home tomorrow. I worked it so I'd be here both Wednesday and Sunday nights so I could see the youth and have a weekend to catch all my friends. Also, there was the serendipitous timing that this also happened to be the last Sunday for one of the associate pastors at the church. Pastor Jon had been my "supervisor" for part of my internship because he was pastor of family and youth ministry which meant, as the interim high school youth director/intern pastor I also reported to him. It was a great experience. He was caring, laid back, extremely personable, had great advice, and I was able to learn about from him. He had been at the congregation for over five years now and is moving on to a senior pastor call for a church in Dallas. I have no doubt that he will make an amazing senior pastor. So, I got to be present for his last day and his last sermon. And it was fantastic and feel so honored by the fact that I did get to work with him and it's sad to see him go. At the same time, I'm also excited for him to go on to shape the mission and vision for this new church.

I can't help but think about the story of Elisha and Elijah, two prophets in the OT. Elijah was one of the most famous prophets and his successor was Elisha. And Elijah was a big deal! He stood up to a very evil and corrupt king and queen and even to most of Israel who had given up their faith in God/YAHWEH for that of idols and other lower-case "g" gods. Elijah calls Elisha to ministry to be his successor and Elisha is no fool, he knows he has big shoes to fill. When Elijah prepares to go to heaven and Elisha is aware of this, he asks Elijah for twice the share of Elijah's spirit because he knows that he's going to have a tough job ahead of him.

I couldn't help thinking about this story when I thought of Jon. Whoever fills this role as a pastor at this church is going to have some big shoes to fill. And not only that, those of us who are preparing to go into the church, we're following the footsteps of some pretty amazing people who have great spirit, passion, enthusiasm, vision, compassion, faith, courage, and love. I can't help feeling a little bit intimidated as I think about my first call and following all the pastors that have come before me, who have acted as my mentors, who have influenced and encouraged me in my call. And I find myself praying for even half of Jon's spirit as I look to tackle a new call as well.

In the case of Elijah and Elisha, God does answer Elisha's prayer and he goes on to be another powerful and influential prophet. I hope and pray that God answers my prayers and the prayers of my friends as we look to our first calls and as we look to add to the road that has been placed before us by those who have come before us. And I also go forth encouraged because I know that there are other incredible, dedicated, and faithful people out there like Jon doing the work God has called them to do.

Here I was, expecting to have to write a long blog entry justifying my reasons for cheering for the Packers for the first time in my life and instead find myself pleasantly surprised to be able to cheer for a team that I actually like. Whew!

So, for those of you who aren't football fans or sports fans in general, I apologize in advance for this blog post.

The big game was yesterday in sub-zero temperatures. The team that I really wanted to see win, the Colts, were already out of the playoff scenario and ever since the season has picked up, all I've really wanted to see was the Pats lose. Yes, you heard me right, I was willing to cheer for any team just to see the Pats lose, even the Green Bay Packers. Now, this is a huge deal for me because being from MN, I'm a Vikings fan (unfortunately) which means by default, I hate the Packers. It's always been a huge rivalry, especially since the MN and WI are next to each other and you can always find MN fans in WI and WI fans in MN. So, as the shirts say, my favorite teams are the Vikings and whoever is playing against the Packers.

However, the potential Super Bowl between the Pats and the Packers present a conundrum for me. You see, I hate dynasties. It's just not my thing. That's probably why I couldn't get behind either Duke or UNC mens' basketball while I was in NC (also, because I didn't really feel like pissing everyone off by choosing sides but then again, I did cheer for NC State for fun to antagonize my friends). That's why I hate the NY Yankees. That's why I hated the LA Lakers. And that's why I'm not for the Pats. It's always more fun to see the upset, to be be surprised, to cheer for the underdog. And also, I just don't respect the Pats after that whole cheating scandal at the beginning of the season. I'm ready for something new. I'm ready to stop hearing about Tom Brady and start hearing about this younger Manning who has turned into a clutch player or see Favre go out on top because as much as I hate the Packers, I've gotten give respect to the man for playing one heckuva season.

So, last night I cheered for the Giants, not really knowing what to expect, half thinking that I was still going to end up cheering for the Pack for the first time in my life in two weeks. And then came the 47 yard field goal to win the game. It was nuts! And I can't help but get behind the Giants and Eli. I like his brother so why shouldn't I like Eli. And he's played like a real pro the past couple of games and showed that he can indeed be clutch. And wouldn't it be great to shut up all those Patriots fans who are already gloating about their perfect season? You better believe I will be in my red, white, and blue in two weeks cheering all out for the long shot, the underdog, the unexpected contenders with all I've got because well, I've got nothing to lose. Go Giants!

Things I'd Rather Be Doing...

...than writing this stupid ethics paper on advance directives:

-Reading all the crazy theories about the new season of LOST or better yet, re-watching season 3 of LOST on DVD.

-Blogging (wait a minute...)

-Reading my friends blogs

-Working on my Genesis to Revelation Bible Study

-Planning my trip to Orlando for a young adults conference in April which I found out that I will for sure be going to because my grant proposal passed today

-Planning my trip to Charlotte next week

-Obsessing over the upcoming Great Draft where are of us future pastors are assigned to an area of the county (What are the odds that I'm going to end up in Eastern North Dakota? 2-1?)

-Shopping at REI for a new winter hat because it's going to get effing cold this weekend

-Figure out what movies I want to watch this weekend when I'm hiding in my apartment from the cold

-Ironing my button down shirts so I can actually wear them in public while watching 3:10 to Yuma which I have bought but haven't had a chance to watch yet

-Crocheting a blanket with the beautiful new yarn I bought this past weekend

-Talking my friend into procrastinating with me so I can play Rock Band

-Catching up on the episodes of Project Runway I've missed

-Reading The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

-Playing my guitar so loud that I scare my roommate's cat

Writer's Block

Truth be told, it might not be writer's block, it may just be that I don't really have that much that could be interesting to report. Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks and some things I'm looking forward to:

-Finished up my Ethics: Medicine and Health Care class minus the final paper. It was a good class other than I was scared to death to be called on half the time. It reminded me of my senior year honors physics class where we had the "popsicle sticks of death" where the teacher would ask a question and draw a popsicle stick with one of our names on it and we would have to figure out the problem on the spot. At least with that you knew either you were right or wrong. With ethics it's always a bit more difficult. I also happen to be a borderline T/F in the Myers Briggs personality test which means that I make decisions using a pretty even combination of my head and heart. In other words, I can compartmentalize stuff when it comes down to making ethical decisions but I usually use both equally and come to my conclusion that way. For our ethics class I didn't have that luxury. Everything had to be carefully plotted out and explainable using logic. So, training myself to think in a completely new way was all sorts of fun. We'll see how this final paper on advance directives goes...

-Depending on how the playoff games go this coming weekend, I might have a long blog on football forthcoming. In other words, I might have to explain why I might be cheering for the Green Bay Packers for the first time in my life... Ugh...

-New season of LOST!!! The theories are already out there and I cannot wait!

-I'm taking an overview of the Bible class for fun (it is my senior year and I've already taken all my classes save one) and tomorrow I'm taking part in a drama on Esther. It's going to be an absolute riot. There's nothing like making a fool of yourself in front of your classmates.

Year in Review

What a year! I could pretty much leave it at that and it would seem right. This past year I have been in over 15 states (NC, MN, NY, NJ, PA, MD, SC, GA, FL, WI, IL, IN, VA, KY, WV, and some others than I know I'm forgetting). I spent the best eight months of my life as the interim youth director/intern pastor/young adults minister/jack of all trades at my internship congregation. I have gotten my butt kicked in a big way by seminary and CPE for the past four months during the semester from hell. I've learned what burnout feels like. I've written a 20 page approval essay, filled out over 12 pages of ordination and assignment forms, and officially been approved. I've toured NYC with a group of 70 high schoolers and then later by myself. I've been grilled on my views of homosexuality in the church by people who were in charge of deciding whether or not I was fit to be a pastor in the church. I've had my car broken into. I've redefined what home means in my life. I've put away my Midwest modesty and told a bishop face-to-face that I happen to be very good at ministry and essentially that he should be very interested in calling me to his synod. I've preached the best and worst sermons of my career as a "pastor." I've found myself surrounded by some of the best friends a person can ask for during this whole crazy period of my life. It's been one crazy year. And this coming year promises to be even crazier.

On the bill for 2008:
-An ethics class starting Thursday that's probably going to kick my butt.
-A trip to Charlotte to visit friends
-Floor tickets to the Foo Fighters in Feb.
-Helping a friend pilot a new worship service for his church
-A potential trip to Orlando with a good friend for a conference on working with young adults
-The "Great Draft" and Assignment where I find out where I will be doing ministry for the next 3 years of my life
-My final semester at seminary
-Preaching at the Chapel at Luther on March 7 (GULP!)
-My graduation
-My little sis' graduation
-Weddings in Fargo, Winona, and Miami
-A first call to who knows where?????

It's going to be a big and definitive year and I can't wait!