Happy 25th to the Mac (with thanks to Laura Behling)

“As God is my witness, I thought Turkeys could fly…”
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! -ghp

Is the Congregation a Volunteer Organization?
Is the congregation a volunteer organization? This is an interesting question. It’s also a pertinent one, that many congregations, and congregational leaders, have to deal with this time of year as voters assemblies deliberate & vote on officers & administrative boards for next year. On the face of it, the question seems like a simple one with a simple answer. Of course, it’s a volunteer organization. Right? After all, we are a congregational polity, with supreme voters assemblies – i.e., we’re not led by professional church workers. I contend, however, that our local congregations ARE NOT volunteer organiza

Troubled (in a good way) Musings
I’ve been troubled lately. Not troubled in a bad way, like we are wont to assume when someone says they are “troubled”; rather, I’ve been more deeply contemplative and cogitative, resulting from something nagging at me. A pebble in my figurative shoe. A tiny itch in the back of my brain that just. Won’t. Go. Away. I hate it when that happens… I’ve been on the Board of Elders at my church for 7 years now. This year, I’ve been serving as the head elder. I like me my Synodical politics, having twice served as a voting delegate to a district convention & twice (if I make it through to next July in one piece) to the synodical

Same word, different meaning…
It’s funny how two people/groups can both use a particular word, even one with a simple meaning, yet end up meaning very different things by it. Take “growth” for example. Everybody wants growth. Everybody agrees that growth is a good thing. We like it when our congregations get more members. We like it when our church bodies get bigger. And why shouldn’t we? Even when we don’t fall into the “effectiveness” trap, wherein numbers = faithfulness/blessings, growth makes us feel good. What’s interesting, though, is when you get a congregation where there are two groups that “agree” on growth as a goal, but where they r

Once More Unto The Breach…
Well, I just got my ticket punched for a return trip to Humidity Fest 2010! At this evening’s Valparaiso Circuit Forum, I was again elected as the lay delegate to next Summer’s Synodical Convention in Houston. This pleases me, as I wanted to be able to finish the work that was started at the Houston convention in 2007, most particularly working to defeat the misguided attempts at restructuring the Synod via the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG). The full slate for the Valpo Circuit is: Pastoral Delegate: Pr. Dan Eggold – Immanuel, Valpo Lay Delegate: Me – Heritage, Valpo Pastoral Alternate