The Craw

Days like these...

 Wow, these are interesting times.

An inspiring and thought-provoking little story.

Turning Japanese

Amazingly, as Joe Biden gets older, he appears more and more to be a long lost relative of mine. Couldn't be a facelift could it?

Christ Church, Santa Clarita turned 2 today. We are alive, healthy and looking forward to a new year.

Why I pastor a liturgical church

Well, first of all, a serious liturgical church is the type of church I’d like to attend as a parishioner but here are some other reasons: 

Grown-up men pastor Liturgical churches

Okay, I know that is extremely broad but in the circles I run in, conservative, Reformed, and liturgical, I’ve found a higher proportion of men who served in the military. I noticed that pastors like this like to do guy things (like shooting guns and gigging frogs) but they also seem genuinely competent in the arts. Real painters, musicians, writers and photographers, not just the Thomas Kinkade crowd. They like to read serious literature and they have happy families that don’t take themselves too seriously.

Unashamed men pastor Liturgical churches

Liturgical pastors aren’t afraid to be visibly identified in their community. They shun looking like 15 year old boys on a shopping spree at Hollister and wear an adult uniform (clericals) during the week. On Sunday they recognize the gravity of representing Christ, the bridegroom to the Bride (the Church) and dress accordingly. They wear the robes and stoles that the church has always had its minister’s dress in. They aren’t just one of the guys but profoundly, and unlike all the other gents in the church, ministers of Word and Sacrament.

Sacraments are served in Liturgical churches

I always felt uncomfortable at baptisms and the Lord’s Supper in my broad-tent Evangelical days. Everyone always acted like these “ordinances” were no big deal. Nothing’s really going on. If nothing’s really going why do them? Why not be like Thoreau and just rationally apprehend the sacraments in our minds? No need for water, wine and bread. But finally, I found in Protestant liturgical circles, a sense of mystery that I thought was only for the RCC and EOC and the magisterial understanding that something huge is going on when the sacraments are administered was still practiced.

The arts are real in Liturgical churches

Show me a liturgical church with resources and there you will find some serious church architecture. What is serious church architecture? Well, buildings rich in focused historic symbolism that is well thought through. Chrismons that are carved into the stonework, fish and loaves in the stain glass, red doors to enter in through the blood of Christ. A Eucharistic table front and center with a pulpit to the pastor’s right and a reader’s lectern to the left. A well placed baptismal font and a structure rich in nautical detail hearkening back to the Ark of Noah. Detail, detail built to last 1000 years. Can you find buildings like this where your local mega-church meets?

These are just a few of the reasons why I pastor a liturgical church.

Yosemite

I just got back with my three older kids from Yosemite. It was the first time I've been there. I need to get out on vacation more. BTW I have on my "don't ask me again are we there yet" face.

Some friends join us in camp for breakfast (no bears unfortunately).

Everything in Yosemite is super-sized and gorgeous. Here's my kids below El Capitan.

Just to give a sense of scale, here is one of my daughters standing above the pool at the bottom of Vernal Falls.

Dr. Doom

This is a very insightful article on the current economic situation of the U.S. What does the church do when we're not the big dog in the world anymore?