We Got This… Whatever this is…
This week on the show we talk about Beardcast for 12.19.19 Inviting people to Christmas Eve Worship.
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
This week on the Beardcast we look at James 5:7-10.
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
This week on the Beardcast Matt and Zach sit down with Chris Wilterdink and we talk about a devotional book he helped create for the new Mr. Rogers movie. You can find the devotion guide here: http://www.affirmfilms.com/movie/a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood/
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
This week on the beardcast we sit down with Rev. Kellen Roggenbuck and his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Kellen-Roggenbuck/e/B072LRFV34?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1573747899&sr=8-2
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
https://soundcloud.com/beardedtheologians/beardcast-for-111419-with-rev-kellen-roggenbuck
This week on the Beardcast we sat down with author Matthew Paul Turner and talk about his Children’s books that have come out and one on the way. You can find all of his books here: MPT books on Amazon.
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
This week on the Beardcast we sat down with author Sarah Bessey and talked a little bit about her new book Miracles and Other Reasonable Things. You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Miracles-and-Other-Reasonable-Things-A-Story-of-Unlearning-and-Relearning-God/dp/1501155466/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1N6RQ7EU67W80&keywords=sarah+bessey&qid=1572533401&sprefix=Sarah+Bess%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-3
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
This week on the Beardcast Matt and Zach talk about Luke 18:9-14.
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
https://soundcloud.com/beardedtheologians/beardcast-for-102419-luke-189-14
This week on the Beardcast Matt and Zach talk about good reasons for retreating.
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
I have been a part of the United Methodist Church well before I was born. As I grew up with my church, I have had the pleasure of meeting many pastors as they rotated through every 4 years, or so. As a lay person, I have known for a long time that pastors did not have typical jobs or hold regular schedules. In the last few months, I have realized and appreciated this even more.
Previously, my assumptions of what pastors do included the following: attend church meetings, prepare sermons, lead worship at least once a week, lead study groups, lead camps, contribute to missions and social justice, officiate weddings and funerals, provide encouragement and act as a counselor and comforter to those in need. What I have learned is that these are the “basics” of the job. That’s right… if that wasn’t enough, there’s a whole lot more!
Since the beginning of the year, I have had the opportunity to meet, interact and befriend several clergy who were not my local pastor. I was propelled into developing new connections after being called to “do something more” than just within the walls of my local church but I was struggling to discern that calling. I spent countless hours talking with my senior pastor and several other clergy within our conference. While there were numerous attempts to find the right person for me to talk to, that appeared to be a challenge. What took me months to realize is that every pastor within our conference has unique gifts and specific roles within the connection. In other words, pastors are just one piece of a giant puzzle; albeit very important pieces. Most of the time, especially as laity, we look at the individual puzzle pieces and cannot see the entire complicated puzzle. Kinda like not being able to see the forest through the trees.
After being elected as a lay delegate to Jurisdictional Conference, I have witnessed first hand another side of a pastor’s job that I had never considered before. Beyond caring for their local church, they are involved with conference, jurisdictional or denominational committees, teams and other working groups. This means they spend hours on video conference calls with other leaders several miles or states away. They travel to have face-to-face discussions, attend leadership conferences, and share their perspectives while learning about others’. Their lives are filled with overflowing inboxes, frequent texts, endless phone calls and ceaseless alerts from other forms of communication. And all of this is on top of their personal lives!
With this new perspective, I can honestly say that our pastors deserve lots of appreciation and TLC from their congregations! Most people don’t like to toot their own horn and say “look what I do!”. So let’s take the initiative to shower them with an abundance of congregational grace, love and support. Instead of letting our gratitude rest in our hearts, let’s take action to care for our pastors. Let’s take care of them so they can in turn take care of others and do the work they are called to do.
This week on the Beardcast Matt and Zach talk about Pastor Appreciation Month.
You can find the Beardcast on Youtube, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox and wherever else you listen to Podcast.
You can also pick up some great BeardedTheologians gear here: http://www.zazzle.com/beardedtheologians
For many years October has been designated as Pastor Appreciation Month, and it’s probably the church’s best kept secret. In 1994 the Colorado Springs based Focus on the Family began to promote Pastor Appreciation Month across the country with varying results. In my almost 40 years as an active United Methodist pastor, churches and parishioners have recognized Pastor Appreciation Month on a scale of nothing, to cards, gift certificates to local restaurants, well wishes, and other affirmations of my ministry among them.
Now that I have been retired several years, I feel like I’m in a place where I can say to congregations, “Hey folks, this is Pastor Appreciation Month! How do you plan to honor your pastor in October?” In our United Methodist tradition each congregation has a Pastor-Staff-Parish Relations Committee that is in an optimum position to take the reins and honor the pastor of that congregation and encourage the members to do something special for their pastor.
Almost everyone knows that being the pastor of a local church (I know there are many other locations for ministry, but I’m focusing on the local congregation) is not a 9-5 job; it’s not a job at all. Being the pastor of a church is a calling much more than it is a vocation. In some churches pastors are “called” to lead the congregations. Whether a pastor is called, appointed, named, assigned, or in any other way brought to church leadership, she/he understands that it is a 24/7 call.
How many pastors have been called back from a family vacation because of a death? What pastor has not been called on the telephone at 3:00am to come to the hospital or to attend the death of a beloved member? And they go.
Pastors spend hours and hours preparing sermons, Bible studies, and special event presentations. There are always new books to read, study, and apply to one’s ministry. People drop in for a chat that turns into a very painful discussion that lasts a long time. And, of course, those committee meetings.
Pastors do not often hear “how good things are going,” but if there are problems in the church, I assure you the pastor hears about them over and over. A kind, caring word of affirmation of one’s ministry goes a long way.
Most pastors will not remind their congregations that October is Pastor Appreciation Month, not even tell the Chair of the Staff-Pastor-Parish Relations Committee the significance of this month.
Not me, not now. Since I’m retired, I am free to encourage, even urge, every congregation to be aware of Pastor Appreciation Month and to take some kind of action. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, like the gift of a Caribbean cruise (although, I am confident your pastor would be most appreciative), but more simple things like recognition of the pastor’s work during the worship services, encouraging congregants to send letters and cards of appreciation to the pastor, small gifts like gift certificates to the local book store or restaurants, a phone call expressing appreciation. Google it! There are lots of ideas online of ways to honor your pastor. The important thing is do something!
I will wrap up this blog with 10 suggestions to honor your pastor:
All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved. So how can they call on someone they don’t have faith in? And how can they have faith in someone they haven’t heard of? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the good news. [Romans 10:13-15 CEB]
Gorton Smith, retired and loving it, served as local pastor [Elder] and as a District Superintendent in the New Mexico United Methodist Conference for a long time. Now he plays the ukulele. Aloha!
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