https://www.ponderanewpma.com/BLOG RSSThu, 14 Dec 2023 14:19:32 GMTThu, 14 Dec 2023 14:19:32 GMThttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/agnostics-on-pointEvery religious person needs an honest agnostic friend. I don’t really have anyone in that category in my life. I have faithful Jewish friends and Christians on a wide spectrum of belief and practice. I don’t have an agnostic buddy to invite over for coffee. But I’ve found my trusted agnostic in a regular writer for The Atlantic magazine – Derek Thompson.All of us who are faithful Christians (of many varieties), who are Jews or Muslims or Buddhists or are faithful agnostics or atheists; doTue, 01 Jul 2025 02:23:56https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/agnostics-on-pointhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/twixmasAs I prop my feet up to write this Christmas blog here on December 27, I’m reading comments online like, “Christmas is done and dusted for one more year, but New Year's festivities are still on the horizon, leaving us all living in a sort of limbo of leftovers and lounging.” I’m having trouble with the words “dusted”, “done” and “limbo”, as if there is a terrible void between December 25 and January 1. The culture apparently is feeling just that, even to the point of creating names for this lullSat, 28 Dec 2024 15:15:39https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/twixmashttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/thoughts-and-prayers-christmas-editionIn our recent history with praying, we’ve seen a reversal. If someone of a religious persuasion said, “I’m praying for you,” in a difficult moment in our lives, we once sincerely appreciated it; believing as many do in the power of prayer. But especially in recent years, the tossing out of the phrase, “I’m sending my thoughts and prayers,” is no longer seen as powerful or as a sign of solidarity. It’s barely seen as sincere. In fact, it makes people angry.Nowadays, in the face of rampant gunFri, 20 Dec 2024 12:52:09https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/thoughts-and-prayers-christmas-editionhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/pondering-thanksgiving-2024Every Thanksgiving is unique among us. As a national holiday, we find our world and our country in different circumstances. Around our family tables, those present, or not present, remind us of the passing of time. Maybe a death has occurred during the year and the chair at the head of the table is empty. Maybe there’s a highchair for a new baby, maybe a person you don’t know very well is there because you discovered he had no family to celebrate with this year. But the reason to gather isWed, 27 Nov 2024 02:08:08https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/pondering-thanksgiving-2024https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/have-our-better-angels-flown-the-coopIt’s been over a week since election day. We were already divided in so many ways. Sure, that’s always the case. But division and diversity are different things. Being diverse is an enriching gift to any group of people. It keeps us out of an echo chamber, from keeping our own counsel, and enables us to grow as we learn from others. But when there is deep division, as now, we have shut down, we’ve stopped listening and learning, we moved from non-judgmental curiosity to despising each other. AtFri, 15 Nov 2024 00:33:35https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/have-our-better-angels-flown-the-coophttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/speak-their-namesMy study of the scriptures for this All Saints Sunday led me down a wonderfully informative rabbit hole. I started with the simple question, “When and why did the festival of All Saints begin?” This is an old church festival on November 1 each year to remember all the baptized, living and dead. Originally, it was a time for the Christian community to remember those who had been martyred for the faith. Their sacrifice and their witness continued to feed the persistence and encouragement of theFri, 01 Nov 2024 01:14:28https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/speak-their-nameshttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/june-justiceOn June 17, 2015, nine members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC were killed by a white man during their regular Bible study evening. Evanston, IL, where I once lived and where I’ve been pastoring for the month of June, holds an annual call for racial justice that occurs each June with a Race Against Hate. It commemorates the shooting of Ricky Byrdsong as he was jogging in his neighborhood with his children on July 3, 1999. Ricky was African American and was the coach of the NorthwesternMon, 17 Jun 2024 18:28:55https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/june-justicehttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/era-s-endMy Lutheran community here in Columbia, SC, is in shock this week. The city of Columbia has been home to the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary since 1911. Even though most people assume it has always been on its site on North Main St. forever. Not so. And now, we hear, the seminary is on the move again. In 2012, the seminary merged with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC. By the end of 2024, the seminary will be packed up and moved to its new home in Hickory. As the second oldestMon, 04 Mar 2024 03:03:04https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/era-s-endhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/quirkyThese days we can learn a lot about our ancestors and others from Ancestry.com, genetic testing, and other sources; but there are also pieces of who we are that greatly affect us and are mostly hidden from view.I suspect that psychologists see this very well, as do spiritual directors, and hopefully a lot of clergy people. I think some of us learn these things because we sit and listen to the stories of people’s lives and are allowed to ask deep and intimate questions. As a pastor, I sit withSat, 27 Jan 2024 18:39:02https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/quirkyhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/extreme-tolerantAs I sit and write on an increasingly cold day this December 13th, I remind myself that today is the day we Christians are invited to remember the girl Lucia from the 3rd C who famously put candles in her hair to light the way into the dark catacombs to feed hiding Christians. I thought of her again as I read my yearly Advent devotion book, All Creation Waits, a series of small accounts of God’s creatures who were created to survive the dark and cold of winter. Today I read about the little woodThu, 14 Dec 2023 17:04:00https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/extreme-toleranthttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/no-sidesDear Readers, it’s been a while since I wrote a new blog post. That’s partly due to a tough work schedule in my current congregation that needs a lot of support right now. But it’s also due to feeling overwhelmed by the politics in America, the war in Ukraine, and then the October 7 war between Israel and Gaza. How to speak, write, teach, or preach about the various ideologies, beliefs, theological positions, and justice viewpoints; is exhausting for one and laden with landmines for another.Sat, 25 Nov 2023 20:13:37https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/no-sideshttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/loving-the-church-like-a-toddler-with-a-kittenWe bloggers along with many a theologian, sociologist, historian, researcher, etc, have been commenting on the decline of the Protestant churches in America like others have been reporting on the melting of the polar ice caps. We list all the reasons that folks have jumped into the lifeboats and are floating away to Sunday breakfasts, coffee shops, yoga classes, sporting events, and even to other larger churches that seem a lot more authentic/cooler/spiritual than your little congregation.Tue, 12 Sep 2023 15:39:44https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/loving-the-church-like-a-toddler-with-a-kittenhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/for-a-time-such-as-thisThis July I gathered in Phoenix with other pastors and deacons across my denomination, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Was it super hot? Yes, it was! But being able to gather in air conditioning with so many fine colleagues was well worth it.I appreciated the Bible Study presented by Deacon Dr. Mindy Makant, of Lenior-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC (so basically a local for me!). She focused on the text of Esther 4:9-17, the only book of the Bible to never mention God even once.Fri, 04 Aug 2023 17:28:39https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/for-a-time-such-as-thishttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/summer-solemn-reproachesWe liturgical types are familiar with an ancient liturgy used on Good Friday called The Solemn Reproaches of the Cross. Imagine if the cross itself was your loving but disappointed  parent dragging you to the woodshed and scolding you along the way with words like:O my people, O my Church, what more could I have done for youthat I have not done?I planted you, my chosen and fairest vineyard,I made you the branches of my vine;but when I was thirsty, you gave me vinegar to drinkand piercedThu, 15 Jun 2023 14:57:18https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/summer-solemn-reproacheshttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/does-your-church-have-long-covidNow that I’m not required to wear a mask when going into a medical facility, I feel like the 2020 COVID pandemic is out of my life on a daily basis. But we know the effects of the disease linger. Some people who were sick are living with on-going symptoms such as: difficulty thinking or concentrating, headache, sleep problems, dizziness when they stand up, pins-and-needles feelings, a change in smell or taste, depression or anxiety. What a variety of symptoms. I hope you aren’t experiencingMon, 22 May 2023 12:34:55https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/does-your-church-have-long-covidhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/the-doubter-s-journeyWhile I was on vacation for the Second Sunday of Easter a/k/a “Doubting Thomas Sunday,” I did listen to my daughter’s sermon on this well-known story in John. Some parts of this blog come from that sermon. She and I are both preachers who move away from the “don’t be a bad doubter like Thomas” sermons. There are three key disciples, who in their confusion and fear, made some poor discipleship decisions: Peter who denied Jesus three times, Judas who betrayed him, and Thomas who is the show-meTue, 18 Apr 2023 00:03:25https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/the-doubter-s-journeyhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/innovation-s-funeralsInnovation is the vocabulary word I’ve learned to spell in many ways for the last year or so. Hanging my hat on the current church wisdom that the best antidote to instability is agility; means that constant innovation is our new strategy in mission. Agility mostly means we aren’t wed to one model of doing something. As I hear of more ways agile and forward-thinking church leaders and congregations are leaning into a culture of innovation, I am more and more energized for ministry and hopefulMon, 13 Mar 2023 22:47:07https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/innovation-s-funeralshttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/was-that-a-gun-shotOn the day before Valentine’s Day, I was at my local grocery store, Kroger in Irmo, SC. A lot of people were buying Valentine gifts, or should I say, a lot of guys were buying flowers, cards, and candy! As I was walking to my car I noticed that there were a few cars that seemed to be blocking the road in front of the store. By the time I was ready to pull out, it seemed to my ears, that about five cars were honking angrily at each other. That seemed unusual, especially in Southern culture whereFri, 17 Feb 2023 18:26:06https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/was-that-a-gun-shothttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/another-political-january-6thPolitics has attempted to outshine the Christian Day of Epiphany on January 6th for the past two years.  In 2021, January 6th became the way we spoke of the riot at the Capitol Building. In 2023, it is a day that Congress is in embarrassing disarray over the election of a House Speaker.The only thing I’m seeing publicly about Epiphany today is from the local news out of Tarpon Springs, FL. The only reason I’m even seeing that is because I’m vacationing near Tampa. Tarpon Springs is a townSat, 07 Jan 2023 13:34:24https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/another-political-january-6thhttps://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/christmas-a-seasonI remember someone who was undergoing chemotherapy treatments saying to me, “When I was diagnosed with cancer, suddenly the whole world looked different. Even color didn’t look the same.” I can only imagine the shock of having your life and the perspective on your life re-arranged by news that you have a terminal illness.We have other big happenings in our life that cause us to see everything in a different light. Some might name the birth of a baby or finding the love of your life as some ofSat, 31 Dec 2022 00:40:22https://www.ponderanewpma.com/home/christmas-a-season