Wandering Elder

I am going to undertake something of a challenge this Advent and Christmas season (Advent begins this Sunday and Christmas begins on the 24th/25th - NOT the day after Halloween).  It has to do with being a follower of Christ. With Advent almost upon us, I thought it might be interesting to take the time to really read through the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) to listen closer to the teachings of Jesus.  While the Gospels aren't  the oldest documents in the New Testament (Paul's letters are), they are the heart of our Christian tradition and reflect three particular interpretations of Christ. Yet I find that as a pastor, I have taken very little time to truly study  the Gospels.  Not since I taught the Gospels to a college class have I really poured over them.  Seminary encouraged it, but once one gets into the local church, study and reflection take a back seat - a very far back seat - to the routine of putting a sermon together, taking care of church business

Why do we believe what we believe?  I mean, do we truly put thought into our beliefs and/or superstitions, or are they simply that which was handed to us at some point in our lives and we accepted them?  I hear people speak of being 'brought up' Baptist or whatever else, and then find that their ingrained beliefs from that time frame remain - no matter what. Why do we believe what we believe? When I was in 1st grade, I heard a story teller who said that if you place your shoes  in a particular place under the bed, you will have good dreams or (if you place them somewhere else) you will have bad dreams.  I took that to heart for years, until one day I realized I was doing it almost second nature.  Why?  Because I heard it that way and no one told me otherwise. I had a grandmother who was tremendously superstitious.  I always found it kind of funny, but she was tied into folk tales and beliefs that she felt had to be maintained.  What I find interesting now is that she neve

A few days ago, I purchased both the new Pink Floyd cd The Endless River  as well as the most recent offering from Yes: Heaven & Earth .  Upon making those purchases, I had some commute time.  Therefore, driving around the city, I put the Pink Floyd cd in. My heart leapt.   It has been 20 years since Pink Floyd released any studio material and there is always the fear that the 'new' release will fall flat due to the growing and perhaps unmerited expectations of the fans.  As Phil Collins once said of Genesis, "There is no reason to expect the next album to sound like the last one."  Eddie Van Halen echoed that comment by expressing in an interview that fans had the old albums and if they wanted to hear the old stuff, they could simply pull them off the shelves. I tried not to have any expectations - I don't know that that is actually possible - and put the cd in with as open ears as I could. And I found that, even in the 5:00 traffic, I was tra