Posted in Life

Band boosters

Posted on by William Douthwaite

One of the things I’ve been doing in the community is volunteering with the band boosters at my daughter’s high school. It began as volunteering to help out at football games during marching season, then developed into coordinating some of the volunteers, to now coordinating a whole winter percussion show.

I’ve enjoyed doing this and have really learned a lot, not just about how much band has changed since I was in it, but about people and myself. First, it’s been an adjustment to be at and run meetings that don’t begin with prayer, like the multitude of church meetings I’ve attended. Not a negative, just a reminder of the secular world we’re in. Next, secular organizations have the same problems as the church does. A shortage of leadership, volunteers that don’t show up, and the constant challenge of communication within an organization. Third, these folks are hard-core fundraisers. They think of everything. Everything has a money making angle. Granted, this is what they mostly exist for, but they go for it. Finally, they are a nice bunch of people. Moms and dads supporting their kids in band and colorguard. Too often we assume that people outside of our church are evil. No so. They are committed, friendly, creative, caring, hard-working, love their kids, and are nice to be around.

Since my job involves a lot of church stuff with church people, I don’t get to be in that world very often. It’s been good for me, has kept me grounded, and I like it.

Posted in Ministry

Lenten series thoughts

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I am working on my midweek Lenten worship series this week. Good thing — Lent is just a little over a week away. I looked at a lot of published stuff for ideas, but wasn’t thrilled by any of them. I find it very hard to use someone else’s stuff. So I took out a harmony of the passion of our Lord and just read through it to see what catch my interest or imagination. I jotted down these images:

  • a kiss
  • hands tied
  • a slap in the face
  • spit in the face
  • hands washed
  • the tears of denial

Each led me to something we all deal with:

  • when you receive affection from someone who then turns on you,
  • when you feel like your “hands are tied and can’t do anything,”
  • when someone’s comment is a “slap in the face”
  • when you’re treated like dirt,
  • when you just want to be out of a situation, and
  • when the tears of failure come.

We find in Christ so many opposites, such as a God who wipes away our tears, who uses spit to heal, who washes feet, and binds up our wounds. I don’t have all the dots connected, but it’s coming together. I am thinking about tying it together with the theme Deal With It, but I want to let it simmer a little, and then I’ll taste it again.

Posted in Life

Rats the size of dogs

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My wife may have the opportunity to go to Haiti next month, helping with earthquake relief through Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod World relief. She recently received some descriptive information to help her prepare for the trip: there are rats in Haiti the size of small dogs.

In response, she reflected on our home in Baltimore, MD, during our vicarage year. Married three months, we moved into a row home in  the inner city which had been through some pretty rough times and refurbished on the cheap. The home included a shower where the bathroom tiles were held to the wall with a plastic garbage bag duct taped in place, a basement which I only dared venture into once the entire year, bars on every window, and rats in the backyard which we initially mistook for cats. “Is that a cat out there on top of the garbage can?” “I don’t think so. Cats don’t have skinny, hairless tails, do they?”

Twenty-five years ago it was pretty hard to figure out why God had us live in a place like that. Now, my wife’s reaction to “rats the size of small dogs” is, “been there, done that, bring it on.” So God was acutally preparing us for future ministry we never dreamed of.

Oh, one more thing: we also used to have a small dog the size of a rat.

Posted in Life

Hey, who filled up my calendar?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Uh-oh. I smell trouble. My schedule is getting out of control. Yesterday, I got out of a meeting because it would have meant being out eight days in a row. Tonight, I was trying to figure out a meeting time with a few people and couldn’t come up with any time in February. I know that sounds exaggerated, but now that we are into high school lacrosse season and winter percussion competitions, the majority of my evenings and weekends suddenly have commitments. And I was just congratulating myself on my time management skills. Down the drain, just like that.

It’s not such a bad thing, though. When my schedule is filled with time spent with family rather than meetings of dubious necessity, it appears that I’ve got a handle on at least some of my priorities. No self-congratulations here. Just thanks for the chance to be at games and events.

Posted in Life

Studying earth science

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Tonight is Earth Science study/review night with Olivia. The chapter is on the geologic periods of the earth. Now a lot of the material sounds familiar to me, but either I don’t remember it, or we just didn’t study it in the same depth as students do now.

Let’s see, I did biology in 9th grade, chemistry in 10th grade, physics in 11th grade, and didn’t take a science in 12th grade. So what did we study in eighth grade science? I don’t have a clue. But I remember my eighth grade science teacher, Mr. Smith. And all I remember about that year is combining hydrogen and oxygen in a metal tube and putting a static electric charge to the end to make it explode. Cool stuff. He also got our school an electron microscope from somewhere.

Anyway, it occurred to me that some might wonder how I can blend my belief in the six day creation account of the Bible with the chapter we’re about to review. For me, it’s never been a problem. Both look at how the world came to be, and if there are some things that don’t match up, we obviously have more to learn. I look at science as a gift from God to study and learn about the world and life he created. It doesn’t have to be a matter of proving one right and the other wrong. I learn a lot from both and appreciate the Creator even more. Math and physics are other disciplines that help me understand it as well. A lot depends on your assumptions. With a belief in God as Creator, I can see his handiwork in fossils, equations, and graphs. And I think that is really cool.

Posted in Ministry

Keeping in touch

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We got our first look at an iPad last week. There are lots of rumors about what the next iPhone will be like when it’s released this summer. The way we communicate is changing in real time!

This is a challenge for the church. In order to communicate with all the members and regular attenders of our congregation, we have to utilize everything available.

  • We send out burst emails (to everyone who uses email.)
  • We update via Facebook and Twitter and MySpace, depending on which social media is preferred.
  • We hand out a printed weekly newsletter at worship.
  • We advertise in print and broadcast media.
  • We mail out information.
  • We display large posters and banners about upcoming events.
  • We text those who communicate best that way.
  • We make announcements on Sundays.
  • And yes, sometimes we actually pick up the phone and call, even though it seems like we get answering machines more than real people.

How effective are we? It’s hard to put an actual number to it, but for a given event, it seems like about half the people know what’s happening. That doesn’t sound like much, but I’d like to know how effective other churches are at communicating. And what would it take to reach 75% or higher?

What do you do about those who only check their email once a week or so? Or those who have stacks of unopened mail at home? Or those who don’t actually read the newsletter they take home? Or those who don’t have an answering machine? Or those whom you only see in worship once every six weeks or so?

I would imagine this is a universal problem. How do you approach keeping in touch?

Posted in Life

Where did those feelings come from?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Over the past few days, I’ve been talking with someone who’s been surprised by feeling of rage, fear, and sadness because of things going on in someone else’s life. Simply trying to come along side a good friend, be supportive, and walk with them through some really difficult situations, they were overwhelmed with feelings that overflowed from the other person’s life.

In Galatians, the apostle Paul tells us to carry each other’s burdens. In Romans he says we rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. These are very reassuring words, because they remind us that we don’t have to carry life’s burdens alone. We have others, specifically our brothers and sisters in Christ, to help us when life gets too heavy.

On the other hand, we will end up with some of weight others have to carry will overflow onto our backs. That’s the hard part. Here we are, minding our own business and trying to be good friends, and suddenly, we’re hurting because of someone else’s pain. We’re crying because of someone else’s tears. And sometimes we’re filled with rage because someone else is suffering an injustice. Is it fair that we have to suffer for someone else’s mistakes?

Ah, you’re getting a taste of what Christ went through for us. Punished for our sins, rejected because of our selfishness, killed because of our unfaithfulness, Jesus knows all about unfair. Maybe we go through some of that so that we know him better. And like Paul also said, there’s nothing like knowing him.

Image: Anguish by Thomas Hawk at Flickr

Posted in Life

Lacrosse

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My younger daughter is playing high school lacrosse this year, her freshman year, just like her older sister did a few years ago. Women’s lacrosse is quite a bit different from the male version. While guys wear protective gear and go at it with sticks, women’s lacrosse is, in theory, a non-contact sport. It’s all about speed, finesse, and ball-handling skills. Once in a while there are some scuffles, but most refs keep that under control.

The season gets started in just a few weeks, so I’m gearing up to go to lots of games. I think it took me a full year to understand the game from the stands. The constant sound of whistles, the change of possession, and positioning players on the field left most of us parent spectators bewildered. Then, gradually, I not only began to get it, but I could even explain some of it to others.

We who frequent the games are a committed bunch. There are no big crowds like there are for football. Just a few families huddled in the stands since it can be a little chilly on those February nights at the beginning of the season.

Posted in Ministry

In and out of the hospital

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I just got back from visiting two of my members who are in the hospital. It’s unusual to have seen them four times; most hospital visits are very short. Thankfully, both are improving and should be home soon.

As I was driving home, I realized that in my get-togethers with my fellow pastors, both locally and denominational conferences, we don’t talk much about hospital and nursing home visits. We talk a lot about vision, attendance, programs, finances, buildings and staff. But we don’t say much about pastoral care. Is pastoral care still a prominent part of pastoral ministry today?

Reviewing one of my call documents, I see that the congregation authorizes and obligates me to, among other things, “visit the sick and the dying.” IOW, it’s part of my job description. This is no surprise to me, of course. It was modeled for me, I was taught to do it, and I’ve always assumed that hospital visits or visits to the sick at home would always be a regular part of my week. In my experience, these visits tend to come in bunches. There may be none for several weeks, then suddenly there are four or five people to visit. And then just as suddenly, everyone is back home and back on their feet again.

I generally enjoy going to the hospital, and always learn something new when I am there. After I return from a visit, I always ask my wife (a nurse practitioner) about what I saw and heard, and she teaches me something more about medicine. I am thankful that my mom (also a nurse) had me volunteer in a local hospital as a teenager. Because of that experience, I’ve never been uncomfortable in any part of a hospital. Plus, I get to see the healing power of God at work through doctors and nurses, treatments and medication, and spiritual care. It’s the same kind of thrill that those who witnessed Jesus’ healing miracles must have felt when someone could walk, see, hear, or speak again. When God’s at work, I don’t want to miss it.

So let me know if you’re in a nearby hospital. I’ll stop by.