Help me finish this article - Church Medicine

A while back I was scanning through blogs and I noticed something I hadn't seen before on Tony Jones' site.  He refers to himself as "an ecclesiologist — that’s like a proctologist for the church."  While Tony's reference to himself as one who explores the dirty little secrets of the church is intended a bit humorously, it did strike somewhat of a chord with me.  Paul referred to the Church as the Body of Christ, having many members that function as different parts.  And Tony made the allegorical jump to comparing a field of church-related work to a field of medicine.  That got me thinking about what other fields of medicine might be related to other fields of medicine.  This week I'll be receiving my Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, and I've also been asking myself, "What sort of doctor might I be for the church?"  So I've begun constructing a chart to do some comparative analysis.  Once I'm complete I'll be turning it into an article.  But for now, I need some help completing this.

As you look at this chart you'll see some things you agree with and you'll probably also see some things you disagree with.  The intent here is not to offend, but to start the conversation.  So if something strikes a chord with you, either positively or negatively, please leave a comment.  You'll also see some blanks.  You might think to yourself, "Duh! How could he not get that?"  Well, at this particular moment I'm drawing a blank on that and would appreciate some insight.  And if something is missing, or you think something should switch categories, please leave a comment.  Thanks in advance for your help.

Medical Field / Specialty	Emphasis	Church Related Work
Proctologist	“Dirty” little secrets	Ecclesiologist
Optometrist/Opthamologist	Sight/Interpretation	Theologian
Cardiologist	Heart	Worship Leader
Pulmonologist	Spirit/Breath	Pneumatologist
Podiatrist	Feet/Walking	Missiologist
Psychotherapist/Psychiatrist Neurologist	Mental/Emotional Health
Gastroenterologist Dietician Dentist	Digestive/Dietary Health	Teachers/Bible Study Leaders
Surgeon	Surgical Healing	Conflict Resolution Specialist
General Medicine	Everyday Health	Pastor
Pediatrician	Child/Adolescent Development	Youthworkers/Teachers/Parents/Nursery workers
Cosmetic Surgeon	Outward Appearance	Televangelists
Geriatric Medicine	Aging	Church Historians Chaplains
Pathologist/Diagnostic Medicine Orthopaedist	Health Assessment/Disease Diagnosis Musculoskeletal system/Strength	Consultant
Oncologist	Cancer Treatment	Christ Jesus
Audiologist	Hearing/Understanding	Ecumenist
Obstetrician	Birth	Church Planter
Anesthesiologist	Inducing Sleep	Boring preachers/Nominal Christians
Immunologist	Disease Prevention
Speech Therapist	Message Communication	Evangelist
Hematologist	Life-Blood	Christians

Book Review - When Heaven Stands Open - Year B

Pastors regularly clamor after books intended to help with the formation of liturgy.  The weekly grind of writing sermons, calls to worship, invocations, prayers, benedictions, calls to confessions, and words of assurance is never-ending.  On a week with a funeral, a wedding, and numerous pastoral crises to deal with the task of composing all these words for worship can be a bit daunting.  And so the occasion arises, for some quite often, that outside help is sought.  However, it seems that when we pick up those books or go to those websites and scan through the liturgical elements offered for the day they fit within our contexts of worship as well as square pegs fit in round holes.  

Slemmons’ latest release is not just another book of pre-written prayers and worship resources.  It is much more.  For in these pages Slemmons has penned the best of many years of pastoral practice with faithful attention given to the scriptures.  What’s more, should you choose to use all of the elements for a particular Sunday, you’ll find that careful consideration has been given to ALL of the lectionary texts for each week, rather than just the one that is most convenient for the writer.  Additionally, Slemmons has carefully chosen his words.  The prayers are lyrical, yet substantive.  The communal resources are easily read aloud by a congregation yet have a certain depth of Christian spiritual reflection.

My only critique of When Heaven Stands Open: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship, Year B, is that pesky word in the subtitle - Reformed.  Should the title be interpreted so as to mean this text is only intended for, or only of value to, pastors and faith communities within the “Reformed” tradition, then use of the word is a egregious limitation.  However, should it be interpreted more broadly to imply that it is intended for pastors and faith communities that are in process of being reformed (as all who faithfully seek to be obedient to Christ will continually be) then the term has been appropriately ascribed.  Truly, Slemmons has composed a symphony of liturgical resources that provoke deep, meaningful, scriptural, transformative, soul-reforming worship of God.

It’s too bad that we are not yet at our transition to Year B, because I am looking forward eagerly to incorporating these elements into my own faith community’s worship.  Here’s looking forward to the release of other years, too!

10 Things I Learned This Weekend...hiatus edition

Ok, so I've been away from the blog for a while.  Get used to it.  I'm going to be away for another while, too, while my wife and I take a trip to Scotland and the Netherlands.  Before I go, I thought I'd resurrect my favorite series.  Here's 10 things:

10.  My latest pair of glasses has a weaker prescription than my prior two.  And I can see better.  It matches a prescription I got a few years ago.  So either my eyes are getting better (doubtful), or someone really wanted to sell me new glasses every year.

9.  The only thing shorter than the reign of Pope Benedict XVI (and his official twitter account) is the length of time the newest department store stayed open in Spencer.  Peebles closes in March.

8.  JC Penney is so desperate to reverse their spiral towards financial oblivion that they're willing to team up with Martha Stewart, (because her stuff sold SO well at Kmart).  Stewart, who served a prison sentence for insider trading, now finds herself in the midst of a lawsuit with Macy's.  Apparently, when they signed an "exclusive deal" with her, they expected her to honor the agreement.

7.  If a Postal worker accidentally delivers your mail to the wrong address or wrong box, and the sender didn't purchase delivery notification or insurance, you have absolutely no recourse.  (Unless the person who received your mail actually opens it up and cashes your check...in which case they are in trouble, but not the person who delivered it to them.

6. The best burgers in the world are made at The Burger Stand (at the Casbah) in Lawrence, KS. 

5. When a pre-teen girl cries and she says she doesn't know why she's crying, she really may actually have no idea why she's crying.

4. I have a friend who talks in their sleep.

3. Regardless of what their teachers may say, when given a computer and time to "study" a sixth grade boy will inevitably wind up Google-ing something that has to do with farts.

2. Regardless of what they may tell you, when given a computer and free time most middle-aged men will wind up Google-ing something that has to do with farts. 

1. And finally, if I have learned anything from being surrounded by so many Iowa State fans it is this: Don't feed the trolls.

The best pep talk...in the history of...history.

Worst Christian Book Covers of 2012

It's getting down to the final weeks of the year.  And that means most websites, blogs in particular, are going to be spitting out unoriginal year-in-review lists left and right.  But the Englewood Review of Books has come up with one worth sharing:  The Worst Christian Book Covers of 2012.  Number 12 and Number 1 are laugh-out-loud funny, especially if you read the captions.


Note:  ERB is known for having a terrible website design.  Don't bother with the jump if you're on a mobile.  Wait until you can visit on a pc so you'll be able to make some sense of this.

My next Faith Practices resource is available

Nearly two years ago I contracted with Pilgrim Press to be part of a collaborative writing team for the Faith Practices curriculum series. It's a church wide curriculum that centers on participating in different spiritual practices for faith formation. It is a multi-sensory, activity based, non-linear curriculum that incorporates art, music, and technology to enhance the participation experience. I'm pleased to announce that today, the second component I authored Discovering Gifts of Ministry: Living Practices in Daily Life was released today.

Faith Practices curriculum is available to your entire congregation through a one-time non-expiring subscription, available at www.faithpractices.org.

My new favorite anagram

I never noticed this before until a friend pointed it out....

B r i t n e y  S p e a r s

 

p r e s B y t e r i a n S