A Special Performance of "Rainbow Connection" from Kermit the Frog | The...

Sometimes soul-care comes from watching the Muppet's Movie.

Rick ><>

Weeks #4-5-6 of Being a Pastor in a Pandemic

A few more comments about life as a pastor in a pandemic.  Any notes of sarcasm are due to occasional feelings of being overwhelmed, which are pretty evenly balanced with bursts of creative thought that I had accepted were gone in my life. 

#1) I am enjoying staying in far more regular contact with other clergy in my District and Annual Conference.  Our district clergy meet weekly on Monday at 10 AM.  We used to have a couple of meetings a year, and one of the those was Annual Conference (yearly gathering of clergy and church reps).  It's been fun to share ideas as well as concerns. I find there are things I have not thought about, that others have, and vice-versa.

#2) Has anybody else made note that there is one particular business that is thriving in many communities, whose business model had them prepared to continue service during the Covid-19 crisis?  Sonic Drive-In.  Yep, my local Sonic.  Social / physical distancing has been practiced for years by Sonic.  Cars and trucks parked separate from one another.  The Sonic app gives you the ability to make an order, and never have to touch the "red button" to talk to anyone.  The order comes out in a bag, or drink carrier, and the car-hops seem to really be trying to reduce their handling of your order. 

I have to wonder, are there churches whose "business model" had them prepared to achieve success during a pandemic?  I know that a pandemic was way off the radar for probably all churches.  However, churches who were forward thinking enough to embrace technology knowing that younger generations favored communicating in new ways are ahead of other churches. 

#3)  Along those lines, and I've mentioned this before, I am still regretting not having focused in the past on learning more about social media and the technology available to support using it constructively.  There have been some great webinars on-line from various groups reaching out to "old dogs" like me with info about how to get up-to-speed, at least in becoming basically proficient.  Those hosting the webinars have been instructive and encouraging.  I plan to watch more of them, and perhaps pay out $$ to delve in some deeper learning.  Check out the Fresh Expression US, and Missio Alliance for info.  There are others offering good webinars as well.

#4) There are some younger clergy out there who are being very creative in addressing on-line worship.  I am glad they answered their calls to ministry.  Two in particular who I enjoy watching and talking to are Lance Marshall at FUMC-Fort Worth and Grant Palma at FUMC-Grapevine.  There are others, and we should share examples of their creative success.

#5) I am slowly coming to understand that what happens next, as we plan the appropriate stages that will help us open churches back up, is NOT a re-start.  I repeat, it will NOT be a re-start!

It will be a RE-SET! 

I find myself challenged several times a day to move toward and embrace an understanding that how I have "done" ministry for 30 years is not how I will "do" ministry in the time I have left to serve before retirement becomes a possibility again.  The two churches I am privileged to serve are going to be the same in some ways, and thats the good, or bad, thing about rural churches, and towns where community is value #1.  But, these churches will become different in other ways, especially in our understanding that our outreach is such broader that we ever anticipated because of social media, and live-streaming our service on Facebook, or posting them on-line.  We will be re-setting our course for the future, and we no doubt will be making many course corrections along the way.

#6) I wish I had a road-map for the future.  Mercy, I wish I had a roadmap for next week!  For those of us trying to find something real in all this . . . the reality is that the future that lies ahead of us is truly uncharted, an it will constantly evolve and change, probably at a faster pace than we want, or are accustomed to.  I am a settler who has to become a pioneer.  My skill set is probably that of a settler.  Skill set or not . . . it's time to start looking and wondering what is on the other side of the mountain we are facing.

#7) This may, probably will, sound like heresy . . . but I wonder about everything the church can accomplish in the future . . . and I wonder if our becoming LESS religious will be the key to our success.  What I mean by "religious" is our believing that certain things can only be done a certain way.  I believe we stand at the crossroads of a new day, where people who are pondering life as a Christian, where attending church is not as important as being taught different ways to pray, embracing spiritual disciplines individually and with friends, and how to witness their faith in mission to others. 

Time to roll up our sleeves and get dirty.  All of this offered in my humble opinion,

Rick ><>

Week #3 of Being a Pastor During a Pandemic . . .

I have come to the conclusion that I can't pastor the "future church" unless I made three decisions:
1) I decided that an old dog (me) can learn new tricks if I want to keep being able to eat.
2) I decided that I am NOT going to ride the Coronavirus wave and, once this is all over, just go back to the way we always did church.
3) I decided to be proactive, going forward with the understanding / belief that we are entering into a new normal. So many things I have taken for granted as a pastor . . . are gone, either for the immediate time to come, or forever.
I'm watching as many webinars for pastors, as long as they make sense, that I can. . . unfortunately, some of them are all saying the same thing, and interviewing the same people. I have little time for that. The better webinars, in my opinion so far, include:
1) Those hosted by Fresh Expressions US. They have established free "think tanks" to share ideas on-line. The content of the webinars is quality, and I've been taking lots of notes.
2) Webinars about the CARES Act. Apparently, churches may qualify for payroll and utility payment help as a not-for-profit business. I want to learn as much as I can a about this, just in case.
It feels like I am taking a crash course with lots of trial and error regarding social platforms like Facebook Live and Zoom. This afternoon I am inviting a few friends and staff to join me on a trial run Zoom meeting so I won't embarrass myself too badly when we begin using Zoom weekly for church meetings and studies.
I've also learned that when I post anything on the Facebook pages of the two churches I serve, it needs to be good quality content. I'm learning to write out a few notes to follow, especially when videoing myself, so that I don't wander or chase rabbits, which I happen to be an expert at.
I'm also learning that you need to post daily! Yep, every single day. Articles for families, devotionals, video announcements and invitations, updates . . . as well as other things that I'm sure I will learn about in the very near future.
Finally, I have rediscovered the telephone and what it means to call people who DO NOT have the internet or a smart phone. I know it's a risk, but I've "given away" my phone number so that folks can call me. A text message will work for some people, but for those who are really lonely, especially those who have been told/ordered by their adult children to "stay inside," a hearing a live human voice means so much.
I am glad that I have, for many years, believed the concept of "L3", or Life-Long-Learning. What I am having to learn, just on a novice level . . . is a bit overwhelming.
Is all this painful . . . YES. Will it all be worth it. ABSOLUTELY!
Rick ><>

Week #2 of Bing a Pastor During a Pandemic . . .

I wrote this late last week on my personal Facebook page. I wanted to share it here as well
1) I've pretty much been sitting full-time behind a desk looking at a computer screen reading emails and articles on how to pastor during a pandemic. So far I've "attended" 4 webinars on the subject hosted by Fresh Expressions US, Mission Alliance, and other groups. All of them good . . . and all of them suggesting the same thing . . . We are at a strange and difficult place . . . and what we all share in common is that we are all facing a future that we cannot map out. I agree with this 100%. The other thing they all mentioned . . . give yourself permission to fail. When I played baseball years ago, I was always the clean-up hitter. I was the power hitter, the home run guy. I tried to hit a home run every time I stepped to the plate. Now, the game is totally different, and we will be making up the rules as we go. We might as well embrace, now, that the rules will constantly be changing. We will learn from the failures and successes of each new attempt we take to reach out to people longing for connection during this time, and in the days afterwards.
2) I've been recording videos for Facebook pages for the Comanche and Gustine churches. Doing so is a bit terrifying. I just placed an order for new some sound / video equipment from Amazon to help do this better. Big learning curve ahead. Why didn't I embrace learning how to do this years ago? Because there was always someone who could do it for me. Not anymore. Sure glad I got my iPad Air last year. I'm learning how awesome it is . . . and I'm learning how social media can be used for good.
3) I'm reading the Bible and praying every day. I've been praying hard for myself and all of the clergy I know that we can be witnesses of peace, and examples of how to successfully live out lives of faith somewhere between cautious wisdom and anxious fear (worry). I've written over 70 pages in my Bullet Journal. I've been writing a lot on the computer as well. And I've written about 25 pages in my devotional notebook. I threw away a Pilot G-2 yesterday. I used up all the ink in it.
4) I find that I am honestly missing Mr. Rogers. Yeah, I'll admit it. Fred Rogers is one of my heroes. I've been reading a great book titled "A Visual History of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". I've been praying a lot that Mr. Rogers would channel himself and speak through me every time I open my mouth these days. Mr. Rogers, I truly miss you. I'm trying really hard to be a good neighbor. And, when I'm scared or worried, I am trying to look for the helpers. If you watched Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, you get that.
5) I've been on the phone a lot. Not checking the internet. Not checking email. Not texting . . . but talking to people by phone. There are a lot of lonely people right now, who don't have the internet or a smart phone for various personal or financial reasons. But then, there have always been a lot of lonely people. Now, it seems I have the time to realize it more. The cell phone can reach out to more people than Facebook can, but it takes a lot more effort.
6) And . . . I've been hearing the stories of people who cannot GO to church sharing how they are trying hard to BE the church. I am so proud of everyone associated with our churches in Comanche and Gustine. They are trying to take care of themselves, but they are also working hard at loving their neighbors.
I'm a proud pastor of some great people!
7) Finally, I think we are living in a time when we all have the opportunity to reorient our lives away from distractions, and learn once again to focus on really important things, that truly matter and bless our lives more than greed or possessions . . . family, friends and faith. Offered out of my humble opinion . . .

Rick ><>