I have been preaching regularly of late, though I am not the regular preacher. A few years ago, as I thought about retirement, I was pretty sure I did not want to become an interim pastor, and I had lots of good reasons to steer clear of the title and the task.  With a little bit of semantical trickery and the indulgence of a kind congregation, I have been able to avoid the fate I did not want.  I am Moderator of the Session and “Transitional Coach.”  I preach two or three times a month and I am helping in preparations for a pastor search.  I hope to be out of a job by spring, Lord willing.

Don’t tell anyone, but I am enjoying it.  I like the kind congregation and the preaching and coaching is quite a bit of fun.

I am not sure it is wise to call preaching fun, however.  It is a task like no other and familiarity with it is a great danger. John Calvin called the pulpit “the throne of God, and from that throne he wants to govern our souls.” For Calvin, preaching and the sacraments were means of grace.  “Wherever the Word of God is purely preached, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults,” he wrote. Continue reading →

Three weeks ago I mentioned an experience with a (not so honest) used car salesman. More on that in a minute.

Becky and I are so happy to help our Afghan refugee friends as they settle into a new life in the United States.  Part of that help has been in coming alongside them as they navigate the processes and procedures of our bureaucratized culture.  Becky has dealt with all things school related and I have dealt with other financial and legal concerns, including the title and registration for a used car.

Three weeks ago, I thought we were close to the end of our two-month-long saga with assurances from the used car salesman that, better late than never, he had finally filed all the correct forms with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.  So much for assurances from used car salesmen.  It took three additional weeks, more emails, phone calls, and a face-to-face with the owner of the used car lot, but yesterday morning our friend and I went to the local BMV office with all the correct documents, and, yes, title and registration work was completed.  Finished. Done. Continue reading →

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:3

Becky and I were in Ohio this past weekend.  On the way home, we stopped at a rest area where a sign posted by the Department of Transportation offered the names of the governor and the director of the department.  Maybe we were meant to be thankful to Governor DeWine and Director Marchbanks for their kindness in placing the rest area where it was placed. It was in the perfect spot for us when we visited it last weekend.

But it seemed that Director Marchbanks not only wanted us to know of his great foresight in having the rest area right where we needed it, he also wanted to do a little bit of bragging about his academic achievements.  “Jack Marchbanks, Ph.D., Director,” the sign said.

I was tempted to google Director Marchbanks to learn more. Is a Ph.D. required of the directors of Ohio’s Department of Transportation?  In which field did the director earn his degree? Medieval Philosophy? Art History? Bureaucratic Management?  Rest Area Design?  Or maybe I would learn of the hardships and obstacles Director Marchbanks overcame to gain his Ph.D.

In the end, I decided that the details of Director Marchbanks’ degree really don’t matter. Continue reading →

Becky’s birthday in the third week of June always falls on or near Father’s Day.  This past June our children gave us joint birthday/Father’s Day gift subscriptions to something called Storyworth.  Storyworth’s promotional material says, “The recipient of Storyworth will get weekly questions meant to prompt forgotten stories. At the end of one year, Storyworth collects all the stories and puts them in a gorgeous book.”  So far we are nine weeks into our year and are enjoying the adventure.  Our questions to date include:

1. How did you get your first job?
2. What qualities do you most value in your friends?
3. At what times in your life were you the happiest, and why?
4. Have you pulled any great pranks?
5. What is one of your fondest childhood memories?
6. What is one of your favorite trips that you’ve taken? What made it great?
7. What is one of the bravest things you’ve ever done, and what was the outcome?
8. What’s the first major news story you can remember living through as a child?
9. Are you more like your father or your mother? In what ways?

Our children and children-in-law see each week’s entries, and, yes, we will have a couple of bound books to share with posterity at the end of the year.

I won’t post any of my responses to the questions here, but I can say Storyworth is living up to the hype on its webpage.  We are revisiting stories not told in a long time with new appreciation for how they may have affected us years ago – and still affect us today.

Whether or not our grandkids ever read our stories, it’s been a lot of fun.  I look forward to 43 more questions. Continue reading →

I’m always on the lookout for a good angle for the next Observations post.

Becky and I have been working with an Afghan refugee family as they settle into life in the United States.  It has been a rich and good experience for us.

Last Saturday I was at the BMV (what they call the DMV in Indiana) with our friend as we tried to resolve a registration issue with the car he had recently purchased.  How better to integrate into American life than by owning a car?  This was our second or third round at trying to solve our problem.  This BMV official was very helpful.  We would have to go back to the dealer who apparently had not filed paperwork properly.

It being a Saturday, I emailed our contact at the dealership  and received an immediate and encouraging response.  “I can supply you with an Indiana title correction affidavit form on Monday and that will be sufficient to process the title work.  We appreciate your business and your patience. We apologize for the clerical error on our end. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend sir.” Wow, “back to you Monday.”  Even a real apology. So much for those used car salesman stereotypes.  The honest used car salesman. That would make for a good Observations post.

Trouble is that Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday came and went.  More emails.  Follow-up phone calls and no title correction affidavit.

Yeah, never trust a used car salesman. Continue reading →