Ed Thomas, High School Football Coach

Just over a year ago Aplington-Parkersburg High School, along with much of the surrounding town of Parkersburg Iowa, was destroyed by a tornado. The community experienced tragedy once again this morning as longtime High School Football Coach Ed Thomas was shot and killed by a former player with a history of psychiatric problems.

I never met Ed Thomas but was aware of his legacy. Improbably his small town High School program has produced four current NFL players, earning him National High School Coach of the year honors in 2005. More importantly his former players talked today about the impact he had on their lives. According to Green Bay Packers lineman Aaron Kampman his effectiveness was grounded in his faith in Jesus. What a reminder that no matter what God calls us to do, we are working for the kingdom.

Last spring Coach Thomas spoke at Wartburg College during its Spiritual Emphasis week. Parkersburg is not far from Waverly, the town where Wartburg is located. In just over a month our family will be moving to Waverly as I begin my duties as Campus Pastor at the College. Sadly I will not have the opportunity to meet Coach Thomas, but his legacy will live on for years to come through the lives he touched.

Take a moment today to say a prayer for the Thomas family, his killer, and the Aplington Parkersburg communities as they endure yet another tragedy. And let Coach Thomas' legacy be a reminder that we all have important work to do for Jesus, whatever God has called us to do.

Young Adults and Mega churches

The prevailing wisdom about reaching young adults is that smaller types of "emerging" churches are most effective. But this study from Leadership Network comes to the opposite conclusion. Based on their data, the large program driven mega churches appear to be most successful. This certainly challenges some of my own theories about program driven churches. Could it be that young adults prefer mega churches and their programming over the candles and community of emerging churches?

I do have a couple of questions about the report...

1. Although the mega churches had the largest demographic of 25-44 year olds, that was also the largest group in the smaller church sample. We are always hearing about how few young adults actually attend worship, so how is it that in this study they are the largest group represented?

2. Is it fair to describe 25-44 year olds as young adults? Obviously the younger end of the range qualifies, but there is a huge difference between a 25 and 44 year old. I'd like to see that sample broken down further by age, marital status, and parents vs. non parents. We know that mega church programming attracts young families, but does it attract young singles or childless couples?

3. The study indicates that most of these young adults have been attending their mega church for less than 5 years. I wonder what the overall retention rate is like?

Goodbye and Hello

The following is a letter that went out today to the congregation at Community of Grace. I will be blogging about this more in the coming days.

To our Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I’m writing to you today with bittersweet news. I’ve decided to accept the position of Campus Pastor at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and will be leaving Community of Grace at the end of July.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the board, staff, and the entire community for the privilege of serving you as Associate Pastor these past three years. I particularly want to thank you, the members at Community of Grace, for your graciousness and love. Your compassion has meant a lot to our family as we have been far from our relatives the past three years.

For some time, I have been sensing that God might be calling me to something new. I believe that I have grown as much as I can in my present position and that a change of scenery will allow me to continue to develop my gifts and talents.  Having said that, this was not an easy decision to make. Community of Grace has wonderful people and an incredible sense of mission. We will carry that missional dna with us wherever we go, and will think of you often.

I’m excited about the opportunity to return to my roots in Lutheran Campus Ministry. You may remember that I worked in a similar capacity at another Lutheran institution (Gustavus Adolphus College) before coming to Grace. My passion for working with the Church’s future leaders is undiminished, and has in fact been enhanced by my time with you.

Please keep us in your prayers as we embark upon this new chapter in our lives. We are sad to leave you, but trust that God will continue to be faithful amidst the challenges of starting over in a new place. I pray that God will continue to bless each of you as well, and this Community of Grace.

Many blessings to you as you continue to bring God’s grace to the world.

Pastor Brian, Josie, Soren, and Linnea Beckstrom.

Father's Day Reflection

Jim Wallis from Sojourners just published this Father's day reflection entitled "A Calendar is a moral document". It's one of the best reflections on Fatherhood that I've ever read. 

Wallis has said many times that budgets are moral documents because they reflect what we as a society truly value. This same principle can be applied to our calendars as well. What we spend the most time doing reflects what we value most. 

Wallis' words give me pause as I think about the choices I make in my own life and how they affect my kids. We Dads have an important vocation (calling) to raise and care for our children. It's a challenge and a privilege.

How about you? 

Whether you're a parent or not, what does your calendar say about what you value most?

Change

Some interesting stats about change from an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

•China will soon be the No. 1 English-speaking nation.

•The 25 percent of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the total U.S. population. Translation: India has more honors kids than America has kids.

•We are living in times of exponential change. There are 31 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, the number was less than 1 billion.

•For students starting a four-year technical degree, half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

Ecclesiastes

I just finished reading through the book of Ecclesiastes in my daily devotions. I had forgotten what an interesting book it is. But my enjoyment of Ecclesiastes makes me a little nervous because of the company that puts me in...I once heard in a sermon that Ecclesiastes was Richard Nixon's favorite book of the Bible, and you know how things turned out for him. 

The preacher that informed me of Nixon's fondness for Ecclesiastes noted how ironic this was because Ecclesiastes is the "least religious book of the Bible". I'm not sure exactly what he meant by "least religious", but I'm guessing that he was referring to its preoccupation with the ironies of human life expressed in the writers constant refrain "all is vanity". 

The writer of Ecclesiastes identifies himself as Qohelet, a Hebrew word commonly rendered into English as "Teacher" or "Preacher". For many years scholars classified Qohelet as a pessimist. And it's easy to see why from statements like this one.

Vanity of vanities...all is vanity. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? All things are wearisome; more than one can express...What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, 8a, 9).

What a downer.

But more recent scholarship has questioned this indictment of Qohelet. They point out that there is also a somewhat optimistic voice in the book. Qohelet writes, 

Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that you are given under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:7-9)

I'm of the opinion that Qohelet is neither an optimist or a pessimist, he's a realist. The fact is that human life is full of contradictions and ambiguities. He resists the temptation to claim that life is predictable and safe, or even makes sense. He reminds us that life can't be reduced to a simple cause and effect...do good things and good things will happen to you. Life simply isn't fair sometimes, and Qohelet isn't afraid to tell us this. The meaning of life is often elusive and the ways of God inscrutable.

Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything. (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

I guess I've become comfortable with a certain amount of ambiguity and contradiction when it comes to my life of faith. I can be overly independent and certain of my convictions. Every once in awhile it's good to get a dose of reality from someone like Qohelet who reminds me that I don't have to have things all figured out. Because God is at work, with or without my permission.

Guns in Church

Really?