I think Peterson has written it to be deliberately provocative… and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

I’ve been thinking a lot about pastoral ministry lately and wondering… “What does a typical pastor do with their time?”  I get the impression that it’s more than a full-time job… people ringing up, elders meetings, church admin meetings, bible study groups to visit, etc… most of which would have to fit in around the 9-5 jobs of the majority of the flock.  Then there’s preparing a sermon for Sunday morning.  So I have a bit of an idea… but I’m also quite interested in the time breakdown.

What’s the biggest part of the job, task-wise and time-wise?
How often does the list of things that need to be done, change?
How does someone take on the role while still feeling as though they’re maintaining a sense of structure and balance in their approach to their work and also their life?
How can someone safeguard themselves against the risk of getting too comfortable?
How easy would it be to lose sight of the reason you’re there and pursue other interests?
Once you’re in the job, could you pursue other interests while keeping up appearances with the church members so that the salary continues?
How do we measure success in pastoral ministry?

I guess those are big questions and largely depend upon the person and the circumstances of their ministy context.  Does anyone have any smaller questions or personal reflections?

Natasha says:
shooting was a blast

I renewed my level 2 first aid in Marysville. Allow me to summarise:

• Call an ambulance if there is a serious medical emergency
• CPR. Tilt head back, give 2 breaths into lungs followed by 30 compressions to the chest aiming for 100 per minute.
• For everything else, the bigger the wound, the bigger the bandage (and don’t push down on any bones that stick out).

I should probably mention that Joash and Tash were my company for the weekend. They did the course with me. So that explains most of the opening sentences. Surviving a weekend at ESA while hanging out with two quality people and running on less-than-usual sleep… it wasn’t quite enough for me to break my caffeine ban… but I was tempted.

Warren and Simon came up on Saturday night and we went shooting. That was good fun. Old mate Tash really got into it as well. She was so enthusiastic that she fell asleep in the back of the 4WD.

Thanks for reading… dummies!

You see, last night, innocent and happy as could be, I braved the elements to drive out on the Tullamarine Freeway in peak hour to return home for a nice dinner with my beloved family.  Unbeknown to me, my evil younger sibling was hatching a sinister plot to ruin my campaign against caffeine.

While I was sitting quietly on the couch talking to my dear old Dad, my sister walks over and hands me a nice fresh glass of coke.  This is not an uncommon occurrence in our household, so I could have actually messed up big time.  However, the situation held one slight difference.  You see, Janelle is incredibly lazy and selfish.  As such, the very suggestion of her doing something nice for me, of her own free will, is entirely absurd… and I was on to her straight away.

I think she should be ashamed of herself.

On Friday night I had chinese takeaway for tea.  I got a free can of drink with my meal and brought it home before I actually realised that I wasn’t supposed to be having cola.  It’s still in the fridge here if anyone wants it (but you have to ask first Warren).  I had juice instead.

Other than that, no big deal.  I had to get lemonade at lunch today… and last night when I went out for dinner I had lemon, lime and bitters.  I quite like coke but I don’t really feel as though I’m missing out.

Anyway, 23 days to go until I can say that I have adoring fans who aren’t junior campers or cousins.

49up
The latest installment in the “7up” film series.  Basically about 40 years ago, they got a bunch of english children together and asked them some questions about their lives on film.  They’ve returned every 7 years to film the same people again.  This time, they’re all 49.  I’ve heard about these films before and was intrigued by the concept.  This one is quite a long one… but I found it fascinating nonetheless.  The people portrayed are real, as are their lives and stories.  It struck me as somewhat of a privilege to see that on the big screen.  Real people might not need as many special effects as an action blockbuster… but they are far more important in my opinion.  It was even interesting to watch the development of film technology that is evident over the 42 years.  It’s on at Nova at the moment.

Janelle says:
i was kissing doofus

Now, in context she of course meant ‘kidding’.  However, I’d have to say tha on more than one occasion, the original text above has held true for her as well.

It started on Monday morning when I was pressed for time, given that I’m now working at my usual job for 3 days per week instead of my usual 1 day. (I’ve gone part-time at college this semester.) I didn’t have time for my usual morning cuppa… so I just skipped it. I ended up having lunch with Bec, who was going past the office on her way home from uni… and after making a joke that I didn’t think I’d last the afternoon without getting a caff fix, I decided to find out for real.

Apparently tea has almost as much caffeine in it as coffee but there’s something else in it that lessens the effect. I don’t drink coffee. Giving up coffee would be a bit of a challenge I think. Here’s the summary of my adventure avoiding tea and coke:

Day 1 - easy enough to avoid a cuppa for the day. I felt a bit sluggish. But it was also my earliest Monday morning for a few months so that could have easily been a contributing factor.

Day 2 - having replaced my tea intake at breakfast with juice, by about 3pm I was having the withdrawl headaches that Bec warned me about. They weren’t that bad… but it was a reasonably lightweight afternoon at college. It wouldn’t have been fun if I’d needed to push myself to concentrate for long periods.

Day 3 - bit foggy in the afternoon again. I’ve been drinking a lot of tea as an afternoon ‘pick-me-up’ in the last few months. If you do decide to decaf yourself, expect to feel it the most at the times when you’d usually be getting a buzz.

Day 4 - other than a bit of a disruption to my morning routine (which was disrupted anyway thanks to a power failure at home), I’ve plodded along quite happily today without any caffeine. I’m probably just imagining things to some extent… but the world doesn’t feel like as much of a rush.

The question for you, my adoring fans, is:

How long should I give up caffeine for?

Please register your suggestions.

n.

1. A new word, expression, or usage.
2. The creation or use of new words or senses.
3. Psychology.
   1. The invention of new words regarded as a symptom of certain psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia.
   2. A word so invented.
4. Theology. A new doctrine or a new interpretation of scripture.

Source: Dictionary.com