Dreams Unlocked

I  met with someone from my church this week for lunch. Nothing new there. I do that 2-3 times a week on average. What was different this time is I had no agenda for the meeting. Halfway through our meal - I thought - this is a "lunch without an agenda". And I thought I need to do this more often. Usually, when I meet with someone we are trying to meet a need - I might need them for something in the church or they might need my counsel, support or friendship. I am trying to talk them into something. They are needing something from me. This is rather utilitarian, isn't it? But this meal was different - we just met .... because. And it was very liberating to simply spend non busy and non programmed time with another human being. our conversation wandered from family to church to history. It followed its own path and we walked along beside it. I recommend pastors take up this practice - meet with your parishoners without an agenda or a plan for their life. Simply, si...

"Let's go." Eugene Peterson's final words. I'm listening to the Livestream of the funeral of Eugene Peterson on a rainy day in Ithaca NY. I should be working on my doctoral dissertation but I'm tuning in to this service instead. I first encountered Eugene Peterson through the book "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" - a reflection on the Psalms of Ascent. It was an assigned book when I was at Canadian Bible College in Regina Saskatchewan. To be honest, it didn't have much impact on me at the time. Probably just got diluted along with all the other work I did as a theological undergraduate student. Fast forward to the early 90's and a pastor who was (and still is) a mentor to me: Brian Buhler. I was just starting out in ministry. Brian was a well-known pastor in my denomination. He was kind enough to meet with me periodically for lunch. Over one of these meals, Brian recommended the book "Under the Unpredictable Plant...