On Friday night we attended a wedding rehearsal dinner at Cattleman's Steakhouse. Isaiah sat next to me and was eyeing my steak.
Month: August 2008
Back to School
We started school here on Monday, which means that I began catechism classes again this week. On Tuesday, I started with my intro to catechism class. I basically try to impress on the students that our study of the catechism is bigger than them. I tell them about my grandfather, who studied the same catechism before he was confirmed in 1922. I show them some of my old catechisms, the oldest of which is copyrighted 1881. I tell them about how seriously he took that catechism instruction when he and his wife were deciding which church to join after they moved to their new farm, away from their home churches. He made his decision based on the church's adherence to the teaching he learned from his catechism instruction. I tell them about how his study of Scripture and his familiarity with the catechism even into his old age made an impression on his grandson who spent quite a bit of time with him. I show them pictures of Grandpa and me when I was a toddler, on my 7th birthday, at my own confirmation, and at my high school graduation. But my
pictures from college and Seminary graduation, my ordination don't include Grandpa since he died before I reached those milestones. But to a large degree, the reason I am where I am now is because a 13 year old was taught Luther's Small Catechism, and because he took that instruction with him into life. I tell the kids that I pray that what we learn in this class will last long after 8th grade, even long after their life is over.
I have nine students in 7th and 8th grade this year. I think it will be a good year, though it's always a challenge to start with a group of new kids. But pretty soon I'll get to know the kids more and that will help. But I've really enjoyed teaching catechism and I'm looking forward to this year.
Tomorrow I will also start teaching hymnology, too. That's something that I'll have to write more about later. It deserves its own post.
Alamogordo
Yesterday we went with the kids to explore a little of New Mexico. We drove up to Alamogordo, which is about an hour and a half northeast from here. There we found a nice playground, a model train ride, and a zoo. From there we drove to the White Sands National Monument and got to see and play in the sand a little. It was quite a hot day, so we couldn't do as much as we would have liked. We'll have to go back that way sometime when the weather is a little more comfortable. This was the last chance we'll have to take day trips like this for a while, since Hannah starts school on Monday. If you want to see more pictures from the day, take a look at our album on Picasa or MobileMe. I'm writing this from my phone, so I'll come back later and add links to the sites.
Tools of the Trade
For some years now, I have been interested in technology. This is not a surprise to those who know me. Part of it, I'm sure, is just a fascination with new and shiny tech gadgets. It's something that I like and something that I enjoy. But I've always tried to make it more than just a hobby. I have always tried to evaluate each technology for its usefulness in the things that are really important to me. And then I've tried to make the best of use of the technology for those things.
The past several weeks have opened new doors for me in this. After waiting for months, on August 1st I received my iPhone. I could write about how close I came to getting one on the first day, or how the phone arrived just after I left for Minnesota, or how complicated and convoluted AT&T makes the whole process. Or I could write about how much I love the phone, how well it works for me, or all the fancy and fun features.
But let me just tell you about today. Today I visited one of my shut-ins for the first time. I had never been to her house and she lives on the west side of El Paso. So I simply pulled up her contact info on my phone, tapped on her address and instantly had directions to her house. On the way there, I stopped at Target to pick up something for my wife. The item on the store shelf was not what I was supposed to get, so I used the camera's phone to snap a picture to email it home, called home and had Sara see for herself. Once I arrived at the house, I visited with the member. When I was telling her about my family, I was able to flip through some pictures of the kids on the iPhone's screen. On the way back around the mountain, I plugged in the iPhone to the car stereo and listened to an episode of Issues, etc and the WELSTech podcast. When I'm in the car, I use a bluetooth headset for phone calls. If a call comes in, the music pauses and I can take the call with a click. Today I spoke with a classmate on the way home later in the day. This evening I drove up to Chaparral, NM, for another shut-in call. I make most of these appointments while I'm in front of my computer at church. But all of the contact details and calendar events automatically sync with the iPhone. So when I'm out and about, it's all with me. On the way home from this evening's visit I gave my Mom a call and we chatted about the day.
My point is that this phone has already proven to be an extremely valuable tool for me. Like I said before, my goal is to use the technology for the things that are important. Visiting the sheep is important for a shepherd. The phone numbers and address of the sheep is a nice thing to have at my fingertips, as well as my plans to tend to them (calendar). It is true that many other devices also perform many of the same functions as the iPhone. Here, again, I could mention things about simplicity, design, user-friendliness and reliability. But the point really is that it is a tool that helps me to do the job of serving these people with the gospel. I think it's a good tool. I'm thankful for it.
Worship, Music & the Arts
Late last night I returned from Minnesota, where I spent the week at the Nation Worship Conference. For several days now I have been thinking about how I could possibly describe the event. It’s so hard, because the experience of being at this event is really quite overwhelming. It was more than I could even take in while I was there. How could I capture it and put it into words? I can’t re-create the powerful sermons. Even a recording couldn’t reproduce the sounds of the instruments and voices. It’s hard to summarize the content of the many interesting and informational presentations.
I think that eventually there will be photos and video recordings of some of the services, concerts, and presentations available and you may be able to get a glimpse of what it was like. But it won’t match the experience of being there.
Would it help for me to say that it was like a foretaste of heaven? A multitude of Jesus’ believers gathered to hear Jesus’ Word and to join in communion with him and praise him by proclaiming the wondrous things he has done? But as good as it was, it wasn’t heaven. Yet it, just like every time we gather for worship, was a foretaste. And that is true whether it was 1200 people led by pipes and strings and brass and percussion or if it is 100 people in a city in the southwest. When we gather around Word and Sacrament we are as close as we get to Jesus this side of heaven—intimately connected to him through his means of grace.
But it is precisely because our worship is such an important event (even when it’s a smaller group with more modest accompaniment) that we give this event our attention. That’s what makes it so important to learn about worship and music—so that in our worship the gospel predominates, the people of God can participate, the history of the church is honored, and that the best gifts of God are employed.
I am very excited about the contents of the new Supplement that was highlighted at the conference. There are many wonderful hymns in this publication and I’m looking forward to making use of them.
The two images in this post are from previous conferences. I’m actually in both of the pictures. While I enjoyed participating the services in past conferences, it was kind of nice not to have any real responsibilities at the conference so that I could just attend. It was really nice to visit with so many people, including many classmates, some members of former congregations, and most of my siblings. Some of those I knew were coming; others were an unexpected treat.
A Shepherd's Story 