Valley View Inn, New Bedford, Ohio

About six years ago, I became acquainted with a wonderful thing called Pastors Retreat Network. I was desperately desiring some rest and renewal. It was not a vacation that I needed or just a few days away from the demands of ministry. I was tired, but more than anything I wanted to spend time with God. Through a friend or two who had told me about PRN, I went to the website (www.pastorsretreatnetwork.org) and discovered what almost seemed too good to be true. They actually provide a five day retreat for full-time pastors....FREE! The accommodations, food and hospitality are top notch. The two that I have been to: Valley View Inn in Ohio and Cedarly in Wisconsin are surrounded with such natural beauty that spending time outdoors *even in the winter* is a must.

Here is a little bit of what the website says:

But one thing is more important still—maintaining a right relationship with God.

Our five-day retreats are designed to help you do just that.

The experience will profoundly affect your life and ministry—by changing your heart and helping you regain your perspective.

Imagine the renewal and refreshment you will gain as you:

Rest, without having to keep an eye on the clock
Spend time in prayer and Scripture reading
Take a walk and let God speak to you
Enjoy a meal with your hosts and fellow retreat guests
Read a good book
Nap, talk, play, meditate, or simply enjoy the view
Contemplate, journal or discuss the day’s experiences
Enjoy a “date” with your spouse
Grab a new friend and explore the community
Our retreats enable you to enjoy relaxation, solitude and contemplation. But we also appreciate God’s creativity and humor. Laughter abounds and often serves as the release necessary for a deeper experience with God and others.

Step away from the demands of your calling and step into a special place where you can more clearly feel God’s presence and respond to His call.

This time, Will was able to go with me. As you notice in the pictures, we were snowed in and had a wonderful time reconnecting with God and with one another. Now, I do plan on sharing a few more things from our time away here on my blog, so stay tuned.

However, if you are a pastor, go right now to the website and select a time in the next few months that you can devote to your first love and the reason you became a pastor.

Making History!

What a great speech! A few things that I have been thinking about: 1. regardless of whether you voted for Obama, he is now our president. 2. We should pray for him and all governing officials. 3. The time is ripe for change and change is what we got.

Quotes of interest to me: "The world has changed and we must change with it."

"patchwork heritage is our strength"

"entering a new era of responsibility, cease it gladly, not grudgingly"

"less than 60 years ago my father would not have been welcomed in resturants not far from here, and now I am standing here..."

Would love to dialogue with any and all.....

A bit from "Letter from Birmingam City Jail" by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here are some words from King that have resonated with me for years, perhaps since I first felt a deep disappointment with the church. It has been 11 years. On the newly celebrated MLK holiday in 1998 I decided to pick up and read "A Testament of Hope" (the Essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.). I read it just about cover to cover and could not put it down. His courage to choose the way of Jesus and to preach love in the midst of being jailed, stabbed, threatened, and the like gave me great courage to do the same. This was one of the most difficult periods of my ministry. The church was causing me great disappointment and I found in King a friend on the journey.

"But despite these notable exceptions I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say that as one of the negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say it as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen...So here we are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a taillight behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher level of justice...Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment, I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. Yes, I love the church; I love her sacred walls. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, and the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, OH! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and fear of being nonconformists. There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the churches were not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society...If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century."

On-line friends and such

Today (Monday) should be my off day. I did not and have not been sleeping much at night. I am sure that my friend Joe would tell me that it is because I am not trusting God. Well, he may be right! I am praying-"casting," but haven't really left some matters securely in God's hands. He says that we sometimes think of casting like casting a reel in fishing. We cast and then draw it back and cast again. He says that THAT is what I do. I'm trying! I'm crying, doing all the things that have brought me a breakthrough in the past, but nothing for now.

Joe is a perfect example of one of these guys that is connected to everyone. He has been a confidant to me over the last couple years. I think he is to lots of people. I wonder if he has anyone to confide in?

He is in his 50's and is on the cusp of societal change. Even though I and others have encouraged him to join on-line social networks such as facebook, he has resisted as of yet. Perhaps he knows that as "facebook friends and social networking are not adequate substitutes for authentic friends" (L. Gregory Jones)

Can we have authentic friendships on-line? Can we find support and encouragement via wires and signals and images? Is on-line social networking creating a next generation who cannot build, sustain and deepen authentic friendships?

Here is a little bit more of an article by L. Gregory Jones (Dean of Duke Divinity School): "We long for relationships with people who know us so well that their lives impact and influence ours. Young people love the high-tech world of multi-tasking and interactive media, but like the rest of us, they long for personal intimacy...A sociological study found that between 1985 and 2004 the average American's number of close confidants declined from three to two, and that those reporting "no close confidants" jumped from 10 to 25 percent...Why does a lack of confidants matter? We are created for relationships, and we long for support and encouragement from those who know us well....confidants sometimes know us better than we know ourselves. They can and do check our propensity for self-deception. They challenge us, support us and encourage us to dream even when we have given up. Even when they call us to account, we are confident that they are doing so with our intersts at heart. Duke's Pulpit and Pew project uncovered a significant amount of self-reported loneliness and isolation among American clergy...This loneliness ought to sound alarms among those institutions and people charged to support and encourage congregations and clergy. If there is any place in American culture that ought to encourage deep and lasting friendships, it's the church, and our pastors ought to be catalysts who nurture others' friendships. Can churches be vehicles for both extending social networks and deepening friendships, for laity and clergy alike?"

Such great questions and such great observations. I'm going to post this and write more about this later. I'm getting tired. Maybe I will sleep?