Humans have an innate need to feel good about ourselves. We want desperately to believe that other people make mistakes; other people need to change, but not us.
The Gospel is a wonderful, freeing thing. But is there such a thing as too much Gospel? I explore that in The Law We Don’t Like Hearing from the Sister, Daughter, Mother, Wife blog.
“Over half of the members in this congregation give less than the price of a Happy Meal every week.”
These words were spoken in a sermon about stewardship, and they’ve stuck with me ever since. Churches seem to be perpetually behind budget, nearly always in debt, and is it any wonder? If half of the members are giving $5 or less, how can we expect to sustain our congregations? Granted, this includes all those members “on the rolls” who don’t actually come, but let’s face it––tithing is not a common practice in our culture today. Sure, people can spend money on cable and Internet and cars and sports and lessons and… But church? Tithing is foreign to many people. So as I sat in church that Stewardship Sunday while the pastor discussed giving, I admit I felt a little swell of pride. Ah, I thought to myself smugly, but I DO tithe. I’m a faithful giver. But upon further reflection, I came to a startling revelation. I’m not nearly as generous as I’d like to think I am.
(Originally posted on Sister, Daughter, Mother, Wife on June 2, 2017)
I know, I know. You’ve read it all before. You get it. Pastors’ wives are sick of living in a fishbowl. They don’t want to be compared to the former pastor’s wife. They’re tired of the expectation that they’ll do everything from leading VBS to starting a women’s Bible study to doing secretarial work for free. They hate the stereotype that their children must be perfectly behaved or know all the answers in Sunday school. You know all these things. You’ve seen other blog posts to that effect. And it’s a good and helpful thing when congregations realize this. But honestly, too many articles of that nature makes us PWs seem sort of…well, resentful. So please allow me to share a few other things I’d like parishioners to know that may help you understand your pastor’s wife (and your pastor) better. Continue reading “What a Pastor’s Wife Wants You to Know”
In the movie Stranger Than Fiction, Harold Crick suddenly realizes that an unseen voice is narrating his life. As he tries to decide whether the story he is living is a comedy or a tragedy, he makes a tally mark in a little notebook whenever something good or bad happens to him. Considering that he is a socially-awkward IRS agent auditing a strong-minded and resentful young woman whom he finds particularly attractive, it comes as little surprise that at the end of the day he has almost a full page of tragedy tallies and only four lonely marks for comedy. As he steps out into the rainy night he remarks, “This may sound like gibberish to you, but I think I’m in a tragedy.”
TruthNotes 