Delayed Gratitude
Pete Alwinson March 04 2009 - 1 Comment
Did you say “Delayed Gratification”? Nope. Gratitude. Thanks. Attaboys. Confirmations that our ministry is on target and makes sense and is being used by the Spirit of God to bring about real transformation in people’s lives, specially when you have to say tough things to someone you love. I’m sure you get comments of gratitude and thanks for your sermons from time to time, like “Man you were on fire!”, “Have you been following me around this week?” (I always affirm that I have), “I was taking notes!” or “Good jokes pastor.” You might get positive comments every week, and that’s great. I don’t, but then Baptist preacher Calvin Miller said that if he gave 25 good sermons a year he was happy. That helped me be happy too with whatever I get. Steve Brown says that if you get 51% you chalk it up as success. I can live with that.
Back to gratitude. I like hearing that I’m getting through and that (more…)
Master and Commander, Again
Pastor Pete January 26 2009 - No Comment
I know, I know, it’s an old movie now. But I liked the movie and watched it the other day, again. Master and Commander starred Russell Crowe as the brash British Naval Captain John Aubry. “Lucky Jack” of the HMS Surprise. For a Presbyterian Pastor, any saying or title with “luck” or “lucky” in it always forces a self-righteous smirk to our faces. We know there is no such thing as luck because God is sovereign!
Still, I like “Lucky Jack” a whole lot. He’s my kind of guy. Remember the movie? Captain Jack Aubry uses all of his seafaring talent, skill and experience in leading his men in battle against the French Frigate Archeron. It was a mismatch for sure; the 29 guns of the HMS Surprise to the 47 guns of the Archeron. No way Aubry could defeat one of Napoleon’s finest. But with the use of creative maneuvers and deception, they not only defeated the Archeron, they captured it! Master and Commander! (more…)
War Stories
Pete Alwinson October 17 2008 - 6 Comments
When the smoke cleared, there were some bodies on the floor of the pastor’s study. He’d had it with these few elders who seemed experts in stonewalling progress while poking holes in his fragile ego at the same time. This had gone on for too many years. Sometimes pastors are pushed too far. This “pistol packing padre” had reached his limit and eliminated his ecclesiastical opposition forever…you should have seen the terror in their eyes when he pulled out his .45…
Well…it didn’t happen quite that way, but a well-respected, nationally-known Senior Pastor of a large, downtown Presbyterian Church said to me once as he was pointing to his office carpet, “A lot of blood has been spilt on this carpet.” Pastoral conflict. Sounds banal and bland. How about war? War may be a better word. Sometimes the pastor is involved in conflict that reaches war-like proportions. Agree? I’ll tell you right now, had I known how much conflict I was going to experience as a Senior Pastor, I would probably have never gone into the ministry. Now, I’d read the Gospels and Acts in Bible college and, of course, in seminary. I saw the conflict in extending the Kingdom of God in God’s Word; I mean, you can’t miss it! But I failed to appropriate it for myself! I was as na‹ve as could be when I first became a Senior Pastor, dealing with and absorbing conflict I never had to face as a Ministry Intern or Youth Pastor. (more…)
