Congrats, Paul Harper!

I've got send out a big blogosphere shout-out to my man Paul Harper, who married the amazing Rev. Teresa Wellborn last weekend! I was so bummed because I had a scheduling conflict that would not permit me to attend their service but I know it was amazing! Congratulations Paul! I miss ya!
God is good!

My name is Fire Chief Joe!

Yeah, so I have decided to give myself a new name. From hence forth I shall be known as Fire Chief Joe. Like it? I hope so! The reason I have given myself a new name is that I spent the entire day (and up until about 11:00 tonight) putting out fires. My first interaction with a human at the church today involved a fire and my last email tonight involved a fire. Crazy! I am still waiting on one fire to burn itself out but I feel like I've dug an appropriate fire break (like the do in the Northwest) on that one and all of the fires are out! That's my kind of Monday!

I am posting right now while watching game five of the Stanley Cup Finals. As most of you know Sarah and I are season ticket holders with the Dallas Stars and I have been very intentional about not blogging about hockey, because I give an inordinate amount of attention to the sport as it is! We had the chance to attend every playoff game except the first game this year and it was awesome! The Stars had a great season and I loved being back in the area keeping up with them! I am a huge fan of hockey and especially the Stars. ( I will even admit that the grooms cake at my wedding was a giant Stars puck, and it looked and tasted good!) The dj at our wedding might have played the old song the Stars used to skate out to as we came into our reception. Believe it or not, that was not my idea..

I love hockey! It's a game that has nice allegorical possibilities with real life! It can be a beautiful, beautiful sport!

One of these days I will probably play hockey again: I miss it. (Well, except for the broken bones, bruises and torn ligaments!)

What a great game so far tonight! It's 11:20 p.m. and we will soon begin the third OT! Now this is the way to celebrate a day of fire-fighting!

A Beautiful Sunday Morning in North Texas

I can't believe it, it's Sunday morning and I am so prepared that I have five minutes to myself in my office before everything really kicks off at the church! What a great feeling! The sun is shining brightly, this morning's services look to be beautiful and God-honoring and it's communion Sunday! If it were up to me we would observe the Eucharist every Sunday. Holy Communion is one of the most profound ways in which I expeirence God's grace.
This morning we are also singing an amazing anthem by K. Lee Scott called "Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me." I just realized that I left the anthem in the choir room, otherwise I planned to type out the text so you could see it: the poetry and setting are stunning!
I can hear people starting to arrive, so I suppose I ought to get off to the first meeting of the morning!
May you rest in God today and worship God alone!

Good news?!?!

Hello again! It seems like it's impossible to turn on the radio or news and not hear folk talking about how expensive gasoline has become. I know we are feeling the increase at the Stobaugh house! I have found myself hoping that the current increases would help the American public shape it's will a bit in regards to increasing our public transportation infrastucture. As it turns out, it's actually happening, at least on a small level! Check out this article on cnn.com

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/26/gas.driving/index.html

At the end of 2009 there is going to be a light-rail stop on I-35 somewhat close to where we live and we are so excited to be able to take trips down Stars games and the Meyerson, etc. on public transportation! It can't come soon enough!

Check out Todd Mead's blog!

Hi friends!
You can see I am posting in spurts today! Our associate pastor for adult spiritual formation here at Argyle UMC, Todd Mead, has joined the blogosphere! Check out his blog at:

http://meadertheyoungoldman.blogspot.com/

Memorial Day was different this year

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted: it's been a pretty full week! Yesterday was Memorial Day and this year it was a different experience for me. The difference was the life of Staff Sergent Eric Thomas Duckworth, who was killed in Iraq on October 10 of last year.

Eric's older brother, Andy, is a good friend of mine and through him and church I got to know Eric. We would all hang out from time to time when Eric was back in town. I especially remember hanging out with him at David and Busters and playing paintball. Needless to say, our team dominated at paintball with Eric providing strategy and leadership for us.

When Eric died he was twenty days short of turning 27, due home the next month, and left behind a wife, several children and an amazing family. I had the opportunity of attending a memorial service for him at Custer Road UMC (which was only one of many) and the place was packed! He was very loved and respected. He is very much missed.

Eric's brother, Andy, and his wife Amy were nine months pregnant when Eric was killed. All of the sonograms they had experienced told them the baby was going to be a girl. When the baby was born, however, out came a boy! Their lovely son (who I got to see again just few days ago!) is named Eric. Beautiful!

Certainly, I could post so much more about this but suffice to say, even though I had a lot of fun hanging out with good friends and family yesterday, relaxing on the lake, riding jet-skis, getting seriously sunburned even after numerous applications of sunscreen, etc., Eric was never far from mind.

Thank you for your service, Eric, we miss you!

Welcome, 4th decade of life!

Here it is! The big 3-0! Really, it's not too bad so far, in fact, it rather feels like 29 but with EXPERIENCE! :)

Yesterday was truly a great day: I had a chance to make "bacakes" (which is how Ellie refers to pancakes and bacon) for the girls, spent quality time in the yard reflecting on God's goodness, practiced my alto a little bit, played a few moments of Tiger Woods '08 and then, my lovely wife surprised me with a party for my birthday! She is just that cool!

Sarah had invited friends of ours from across our journey, from middle school, through college and seminary to our churches (the Best family came)! There was great food and great friends! Truly, a blessing!

After everyone left and we cleaned up a bit, I read some of Matthew and called it a night. That's a tremendous way to end one decade of life.

And now, here we are. The fourth decade of life has begun! It began this morning the way it ended last night: thanking God for the goodness of life, a page or two out of Matthew, and we're off for the day! Good stuff, really! I can't wait to see what's coming this decade!

I hope you have a great day! Know that God loves you!

A Tough Word Gets Me Right in the Heart!

I awoke this morning to a few of my favorite sounds: thunder and rain! "What an excellent morning" I thought! Today is doughnuts and dads day at Ellie's school, I'm meeting a colleague for coffee after that, I will help to mentor a young Christian leader this afternoon/evening, and then a Stars game tonight! The stars (though most likely not for the Dallas Stars, but hey, you never know!) are aligned! This is going to be a great day, I thought! No worries!!!!

And then, I began my morning reading from the Bible, and wouldn't you know it:

The Sermon on the Mount.

Ouch! Just when I think I'm doing good I read The Sermon and realize I am not! (I might be doing a bit better, however, but sanctification is, for me, a slow process.) As I am reading this year from the Peterson translation the text jumps out in different ways than it has before.

The part of The Sermon that got me in the heart this morning comes from the command "Do not murder."

I am very blessed in my life that I really only have one person who is truly a thorn in my side. We all have one of those, right? You've got that one special person in your life who seems to rejoice in injuring you.

I will not go into the details of this situation as that would be entirely inappropriate in a public forum. Also, I will not go into details because I am working hard to treat this person with love, dignity, and respect. My continual prayer is that I will treat this person the way I want to be treated, and that I would treat this person in the way in which I think Jesus wants me to treat them.

This is difficult for me.

I was especially convicted in this process this morning while reading The Sermon.

Peterson's translation of the passage I'm talking about looks like this:

"You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' (My heart sinks here, because I know what's coming.) I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself in court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. (Here's the worst part.) The simple fact of the matter is that words kill."

I have said those two words about this person out loud before. I have never said it to the individual because I am honestly trying to treat them in a Christlike way, but in my heart I often think these words, and then some! But Jesus is clearly telling me that I am, in my heart, MURDERING this person.

Wow.

Here I am, a pastor, supposedly leading people in serving the world like Jesus did and I am murdering a fellow Christian in my heart. Not good.

So the struggle continues. I must pray for this person and for myself, so that my heart is softened, but my courage to stand up for what is right with them is strengthened. Then, I need to fortitude to do these things!

Love is truly a tough but active thing. Loving your neighbor as yourself is not easy. My prayer for all of this morning comes from The Sermon as well:

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?" May all of us, in the face of the adversity we will encounter today and in the rest of the days of our lives, never loose our saltiness, so that, through us, our sisters and brothers may taste and experience the God-flavors of this earth, and in so doing, be reconciled with God and one another. Amen.

May your day be a blessing to others! Let us be extra sea-salt style, Kosher salty today!

Welcome, Rev. Ryan Baer

I think God got a good laugh yesterday! And I think God also had a great big smile on God's face! Yesterday, one of my brothers, the great Ryan James Baer, was ordained a minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church! I am so proud of him! When God called him, he gave up his sweet corporate gig with the office in downtown Dallas, packed up the fam, and moved to Atlanta to pursue his calling full time.

Long story short, five years after responding to God's call on his life he was ordained yesterday afternoon at Woodhaven Presbyterian Church! I had the great privilege of serving as the Ecumenical Representative at his ordination service and cantoring the communion liturgy.

I know for both Ryan's family and mine, the sight of us standing behind the table with our robes and stoles on, presiding at the Lord's Table was quite a sight! You see, Ryan and I grew up at each other's houses, we met in the 7th grade. Ryan was the best man at my wedding and I at his. Ryan and Amy (his wife) are Ellie's godparents.

The fact that Ryan and I have, in many respects, traveled on this journey together is truly remarkable. Given some of the times we had, God's grace and humor is even more remarkable!!!!

To cantor with Ryan at the Table on the day of his ordination (not to mention being one of the pastors who laid hands on him for his ordination) will be a privilege and a memory that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Soon, Ryan moves down to West Palm Beach, FL, to pastor a church there. I know that God will continue to do great things through him!

Does a king size bed = contentment?

No, but wow, it does promote a full nights worth of sleep! Recently, Sarah and I stepped-up to a king size bed. I haven't slept this well in years! Both yesterday morning and this morning I woke up and had no idea what day it was. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I've slept that hard! It is amazing how much a a good night sleep can do for you. No wonder the CIA uses sleep deprivation as a torture technique. (Not that I condone that in anyway, as a friend of mine likes to say, "torture is not a Methodist value.")

On to better things!

I was driving home yesterday evening, the windows were rolled down, it was 65 degrees and the last traces of the sun were slipping beneath the horizon and it hit me:

I am blessedly content. Everything I have every really valued I already have, I just needed to look around me to see it. An incredible family (with a son on the way!), a good place to do the work that God has called me to do and I am near good friends and family. Really, that's pretty incredible!

I write this not to boast but to express my thanks to God for life and for God's good will for all of God's creation. Would it be so that I could be as thankful as I am now when it looks like the walls are falling in!

I leave you with a piece of Psalm 62 this morning:
"God, the one and only--I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I'm set for life.
My help and glory are in God--granite-strength and safe-harbor-God--so trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place to be."

I don't know about safe, but I know God is a good place to be!

Have an amazing God-imprinted day!

Things I No Longer Need in Life

One of my all-time t.v. favorite shows, "How I Met Your Mother" (which has been picked up for a fourth season, I hear) recently had an episode in which the protagonist, Ted, is about to turn thirty. Ted decides that, in preparation to turn thirty, he would get a box and go around his apartment cleaning out all of the things he will no longer need because he was beginning a new chapter in his life.

I turn thirty a week from this Saturday.

For some reason I haven't yet been able to put my finger on, this particular birthday feels important. Perhaps its because the last birthday I had that ended with a zero occurred I was in college. Perhaps its because my twenties will be over. (Sometimes I feel like I missed out on the stereotypical craziness that comes with being in one's twenties. I certainly don't mean to imply that I am a choir boy, though I suppose, technically I am, but most of my experience in life has consisted of going to school and then being a pastor.) Perhaps I'm a little freaked out because I always thought I would have accomplished more by the time I turned thirty.

Perhaps I'm just being silly. I totally get that thirty is, really, nothing when it comes to age. But, in a decade it will be forty. Two decades I'll be fifty (with the guarantee of half of my life being over).

It's interesting to mull over. I suppose, at the end of the day, the old saying holds true: don't take life too seriously because nobody get's out alive anyway!

And so, in honor of that, I decided that I needed to grab a spiritual "things I no longer need in my life" box and that I ought to try to throw some of the useless things in my life in it.

Here goes:

1. Being resentful/jealous
2. Being mean to others
3. Being prideful
4. Being too hard on myself

I could go on but, in the spirit of number four, I need to set attainable goals! :)
We'll see what happens!
Happy disposing!

My wife is awesome!

My wife is awesome and amazing for so many different reasons! Since we moved to our new church in Argyle I have been experiencing massive cell phone problems. My provider was (it's so glorious to use the past tense!) Sprint, yeah, that's right, I said it! SPRINT! My cell phone coverage from day one was TERRIBLE. Seriously, I would drop literally 15-25 calls a day. I tried roaming, that only occasionally worked, I took it into the Sprint store and they told me it was fine and that my best bet, "would be to call the customer service line and complain." Seriously, that's what they said. Not, let's see if we can make this right but that I should call the customer service line and complain. Wow...

This has been going on since November. I should also note that I don't have an office phone, so I have to do everything through my cell phone.

Skip forward seven months later...

Sarah comes into my office a few moments ago with a bag that says "Happy Birthday" on it. (I'm turning 30 in a few days, more on that to come.) Inside the bag is a beautiful new BlackJack II Crackberry-like device and it's mine!!!! What an incredible and thoughtful gift! So far, so good on the signal! I can get my email on my phone, check the web (today we are under a tornado watch in Argyle) make phone calls, surf the web, etc., all from my new phone!

Not only do I have a phone that appears to be working but it also is keeping me out of my cardiologists office because of the stress my old phone caused me!

I love my wife! Thanks, baby!

Monday's=Defense!

I've said it for years and it remains true: Monday's are always about playing a little "d." One of the interesting parts about being a "young clergyperson" is that I've been a pastor pretty much my whole adult life (with a few retail, one graphic design job, and a summer stint at a beer distributorship during college) so I don't know if my little saying holds true in other professions but I imagine it does.

A normal Monday for me pretty much involves taking Ellie to school, three meetings (worship and two different staff meetings), returning emails from the weekend and trying to figure out how to cram in three weeks of work into the next four days. It's tough to ever feel like I'm getting ahead!

Today, however, was oddly different! Perhaps it had something to do with only getting four hours of sleep last night (oh, wow, the Stars were amazing, what a victory!) but I felt like I actually got something done today! Not only did we have some very productive and positive meetings but, for once, I got a little ahead on most of my email and on a few long-range planning items that have huge implications for the life of the church. Obviously, I can't get into them now but I guess what I'm saying is that it's nice to feel like I actually did some work of immediate value today! ;)

Well, the clock on the wall in my office says 4:56 p.m. (O.K., actually the clock on my mac says 4:56 p.m.) and, one of the things I secretly love about Monday''s, is that I get to maintain a fairly regular schedule, so I plan to walk out the door within the next hour so I had better split. I hope your Monday was a good one!

It's not exactly ironic, but...

After four hours of sleep my vocabulary is suffering and I can't think of the word but I am in a staff meeting and we are talking about linking blogs onto our website and just felt the need to blog. (Which, of course, I think that would be a wonderful idea!) My part in the discussion is over, btw. It's refreshing to my heart to see that the church is making a strong effort to utilize the technology that we have available to us.

Websites matter and we need to do a good job of being stewards of what God has given us.

Today is National Day of Prayer

Howdy! Well, today is National Day of Prayer and I feel a little conflicted on it. Yes, it is a good thing to have a National Day of Prayer but shouldn't every day, ideally, be a day of prayer? My other concern is what we tend to pray for as American's. Setting those concerns aside, here is today's prayer, written by Dr. Ravi Zacharias:

"Holy Father, in a world where so many are hungry, You have given us food in abundance; In a world where so many are hurting, You offer to bind up our wounds; In a world where so many are lonely, You offer friendship to every heart; In a world longing for peace, You offer hope. Yet, we are so stubborn and resistant. Have mercy upon us, Lord. Our nation is at a crossroads this year; we look to you to be our strength and shield. Please give us the guidance to elect one who will honor you and to respond to the wisdom from above so that our hope may be renewed and our blessings be treasured. In God's holy name we pray."
Amen.

Catching Up!

So much to write about, so little time! You know, as with anything else in life, if I would just spend five minutes a day posting, I could get pretty good at this! Life continues to be blessedly full! Here are some of the highlights:
1. I got on the scale last night and, for the first time in my life since high school, I have finally dropped below 200 lbs.!
2. The Stars keep winning!
3. I had the chance to go the Byron Nelson on Saturday (and, o.k., I admit it I also went for a few hours on Thursday afternoon
in-between appointments) and it was amazing to watch those guys play!
4. On Monday I went to General Conference and got to introduce the lunchtime choirs.
5. At GC yesterday they approved researching a new hymnal for the church. I've got some thoughts on this one, as you can imagine!
I hope to spend some time posting on all of these things in the near future.
But, for now, I got's to go!!!

Thanks, Liz!

A big thank you to my colleague, Liz Edwards, for coming up with a great name for our new worship series. Drum roll please...the name is: SoulCafe
I love it! Refresh your soul, experience amazing new worship, participate in it, ignite your worship imagination and connect with God and others! Good stuff. Obviously, there are more than a few nods to Leonard Sweet! :)
Good stuff! i am drawing a lot of energy from this project! More to come!

I need some help with a name!

Hello! I hope you are having a great Monday! I need some help. In two weeks I'm going to begin a quarterly worship series. Once a quarter we will host a different style of worship that will be preceded by a lecture with dessert/coffee to talk about the service and then we'll go and expereince it.
The first service will be a Taize service. Other styles of worship we will cover will be worship from the Iona Community, jazz, gospel, evensong, world music, etc.
Here's my problem! I need a name for this series! It needs to be engaging!
I would love to hear some suggestions from you!

A Word of Encouragement from Joshua

Greetings!
I've had so many different things I wanted to blog about but it's been a very full week/weekend!
Here's a thought for you (from The Daily Message): consider writing these words from Joshua on a card and putting them somewhere where you will see them on a daily basis this week.

"Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take!"

Friends, it's true! Be strong, have courage, don't be timid or get discouraged in your faith and in your work for God, because God is indeed with us, every step of the way!

To God be the glory!!!

A Word from Brother James

(This post, as I read it, has a really long introduction, so if you want the good stuff from James, skip the first three paragraphs. Peace!)

This morning I had a great opportunity to catch up with an old mentor/friend, James the Brother of Jesus. As I was preparing to ride the old stationary bike (LDL problems will not take care of themselves, I'm afraid) I decided that I really needed to catch-up on my daily Bible reading. Late last year I got it in my mind that I should try one of those "read through the Bible in a year daily reading Bible" plans. So, January 2nd (already a day behind) I bought a copy of "The Daily Message: Through the Bible in One Year." Good stuff! I think The Message is a great devotional Bible and a terrible study Bible (which it was never intended to be). So far, I have really enjoyed it and have found it's organizational structure to be quite helpful in keeping me going. I have had a few, miss a couple of days stretches but, I'm trying to keep up!

After finishing up Deuteronomy, we came to the Letter of James. I LOVE James, for it always challenges and humbles me. I chose to do my final Bible study for my ordination requirements over Letter of James. Luther, for all he got right, was way off when he called the Letter, "an epistle of straw." I think, if anything, James writing is a necessary corrective to the continual human temptation to believe that, by thinking we hold all of the right intellectual answers, that we are somehow living as God would have us to live.

There's a much more eloquent way to put the previous thought but I"m just now sipping the first cup of coffee. Today's brew was a gift from my in-laws from their recent trip to "The Big Island" of Hawaii. Mmmm....Kona coffee, who could ask for anything more!

Here are a words from James that especially spoke to me this morning:

"Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way. The temptation to give into evil comes only from us."

(As a pastor, that challenges me to find ways to lovingly remind my parishioners that evil is not the will of God and that God doesn't "test people" by putting them through horrible things. I have heard this said on numerous occasions and it always breaks my heart for God. Starting in May I'm going to be leading a Sunday School class over a wonderful book that deals exactly with this issue by Leslie Weatherhead, called "The Will of God." It is an amazing book, I think everyone should read it! Plus, it's inexpensive and short!)

"Post this at all the intersections, dear friends, "Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongues, and let anger straggle along in the rear."

(Hmmm...I wish I knew someone with a ton of money who would put that piece of Scripture up on billboards across the world, what a great word for all of us!)

" Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk that counts."

Not much to add to that other than may it be so for all of us!)

And finally, a word for all of us to consider (and it's implications) in our lives:

"Where do you think all these appalling wars come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. The come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't your and will risk violence to get your hands on it."