The ultimate restraint

Do not move unless it is advantageous.
Do not execute unless it is effective.
Do not challenge unless it is critical.

An intense view is not a reason to launch an opposition.
An angry leader is not a reason to initiate a challenge.

If engagement brings advantage, move.
If not, stop.

Intensity can cycle back to fondness.
Anger can cycle back to satisfaction.
But an extinct organization cannot cycle back to survival.
And those who are destroyed cannot cycle back to life.

Thus a Brilliant Ruler is prudent;
A Good Leader is on guard.

Such is the way of a Stable Organization and a Complete Force.

-The Art of Strategy

Litany to the Holy Spirit

In the hour of my distress,
When temptations me oppress,
And when I my sins confess,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When I lie within my bed,
Sick in heart and sick in head,
And with doubts discomforted,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the house doth sigh and weep,
And the world is drown'd in sleep,
Yet mine eyes the watch do keep,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the passing bell doth toll,
And the Furies in a shoal
Come to fright a parting soul,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the tapers now burn blue,
And the comforters are few,
And that number more than true,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the priest his last hath pray'd,
And I nod to what is said,
'Cause my speech is now decay'd,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When, God knows, I'm tossed about
Either with despair or doubt;
Yet before the glass be out,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the tempter me pursu'th
With the sins of all my youth,
And half damns me with untruth,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the flames and hellish cries
Fright mine ears and fright mine eyes,
And all terrors me surprise,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the Judgment is reveal'd,
And that open'd which was seal'd,
When to Thee I have appeal'd,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

-Robert Herrick

The Shepherd Boy sings in the Valley of Humiliation

He that is down needs fear no fall,
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.

I am content with what I have,
Little be it or much:
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because Thou savest such.

Fullness to such a burden is
That go on pilgrimage:
Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age.

-John Bunyan

Where My Books Go

All the words that I utter,
And all the words that I write,
Must spread out their wings untiring,
And never rest in their flight,
Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,
And sing to you in the night,
Beyond where the waters are moving,
Storm-darken'd or starry night.

-W. B. Yeats

Ouch!

That hurt.

On your mark... ... ...

If all things go well on Monday, it will set into motion a series of events that will enable me to start "officially" looking for a call around the middle of April. Here are the locations of the churches that are currently at the top of our list.

I just needed to get a good visual of where these places are. (If you click on the adjacent image, you will get a clearer picture.)

We have never lived outside of Texas. This may be quite an adventure!

Thanks, Google Earth!

PC(USA) Ordination Exam results will be released on Monday

There is no prayer in the Book of Common Worship that addresses seminary students waiting for Ordination exam results...
but there should be...

Almighty and merciful God,
I confess that I am anxious about Monday's results.
The knot in my stomach continues to grow.
I am afraid of the chaos that "not passing" this final test would create for my family
and I am uncertain how I could have possibly prepared any more than I did.
But I know that you are with me, and that my identity is not tied up in exams.
I know that it is not about me.
Thank you for teaching me humility, patience and perseverance over the past several months.
Thank you for waiting with me, comforting me, and sustaining me.
As the time comes near to recieve the exam results,
I thank you that, in our day, you are still claiming men and women
for special work within your church.
For all of those who wait... give us hope, courage, and renewed faith.
It is in the name of Jesus Christ we ask. Amen.

PC(USA) Candidates Seeking Placement

Please notice the new listing: "Other candidates seeking a call", in the adjacent column. If anyone knows of other institutional listings of this sort, please let me know. Here are the links I have found so far:

• at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• at Columbia Theological Seminary
• at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• at McCormick Theological Seminary
• at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• at Princeton Theological Seminary
• at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary

And here are the ones I am missing:

Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary

San Francisco Theological Seminary

Union Theological Seminary

Spring Break

I'm still wearing the collar... until March 20th. I will feel liberated when I can "be in the presence of another human being" (our assignment/experiment in the entry into ministry class) without sporting this unique fashion plate. Here is some info on the clerical collar:

A clerical collar is a piece of clerical clothing that that buttons onto a clergy shirt, being fastened by two metal studs, one attached at the front and one at the back to hold the collar to the shirt. The collar closes at the back of the neck, presenting a seamless front. It is almost always white.

The clerical collar is a fairly modern invention (the detachable collar itself is supposed to have been invented in 1827). The practice of Anglican clergy wearing a detachable clerical collar was invented by a Rev Dr Donald McLeod and became more popular through the Oxford Movement.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the clerical collar is worn by all ranks of clergy, thus, bishops, priests, and deacons--normally transitional but occasionally permanent; often by seminarians who have been admitted to candidacy for the priesthood, as is the case in the Diocese of Rome; and by college and graduate level seminarians with their cassock during liturgical celebrations.
Collars are typically worn by clergy members of other Christian Churches such as Anglican and Lutheran Churches. Also many Methodist, Presbyterian, Apostolic, Oneness Pentecostals, Non-denominational, and other Christian ministers wear collars. In some churches or locales this practice is discouraged because collars are assumed to be associated with Roman Catholicism.

In the United Kingdom, clerical collars are sometimes informally called dog collars. The term "Roman collar" refers to a style and does not mean that the wearer is Roman Catholic.

I call "radical middle"

As I have been looking over many "Church Information Forms" (CIFs) recently, it has become exceedingly clear that we, human creatures, do like to choose sides. Some of us will end up choosing "the left", some "the right"...and as far as I can tell, such decisions DO make life easier...like using a template to aid in some work. (Easier doesn't necessarily mean better.)

Now, If I say that I am slightly left, or slightly right--then I become easily categorized, labeled, filed away, and pigeon-holed. But, through baptism (in death and rebirth), I claim option three... drawing on the best of "both" sides.

At the center of our true identity, we find the sacraments...which continually call us to Christ. It is in this invitation to Christ that we crash into God's good news.

Below you will find links to the web pages of several "movements" within the church. I invite you to be familiar with these templates...but know that these feel, to me, to be mirages in the desert.