Occasionally, Meg will leave me with the girls, and in those moments the survivability rate drops significantly. Thankfully so far everyone has made it through unscathed… at least physically. Mentally you are never sure what you have done to your children. Along the path they are certain to inform you of all your mistakes… but I would guess the proof is in their adult lives.

Sometimes this image of a parent is how folks view the pastor*. That my role is to raise the congregation into adulthood (I guess the image is moving you from babes craving pure spiritual milk – to communion blood drinking adults?**). And this is true in some sense. I am the shepherd of the congregation – guiding you. But my central goal is NOT to take you to adulthood. Instead I am more like someone who works at an adoption agency. My role is to connect you with parents. Or more specifically with your Father.

And unlike me, He has a pretty good survival rate…

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* “how folks view the pastor” ~ I wonder how the church does envision the role of pastor. Of course we all can regurgitate Sunday School answers. But often our theology of words does not line up with our theological actions (like profess we should love our neighbor, but we actually gossip about them). I would guess the range would move from a low view (a cruise ship director or maybe an indentured servant) to a high view (sage with a special connection to God). Both are ridiculous…

** “blood drinking” ~ This sounds very vampire-esque, which should help the church’s appeal in the age of Twilight… My sister, a middle school teacher, told me about one of her students. The girl felt hot, as though she had a fever, and she convinced herself that she was becoming a werewolf (fever is the first sign in the twilight books – so I am told!). She sat telling the guidance counselor of her problem, how she was not sure what she would do when she turned…