Three is a Magic Number

Had a great Saturday night recording this podcast with my great friends Heather and Jonathan Boorman.  She's a clinical social worker; he's a marriage and family therapist.  They have a couple of Fringy bits; I've got a couple of Fringy bits. They are all about being real; I work hard to be real.  My idea of a fun Saturday night. Yes, I'm Fringy.  They are gaining quite a following.  Check them out.    http://www.thefringybit.com/podcast/episode15

I heard about the killing of Philando Castile mid-day.  Driving with the lead pastor (my new boss) to a Bible study, he asked me to review the prayer list for Sunday.  On the paper I saw the name Philando Castile , and prayers for his family and our community and state leaders to receive God's guidance.  I was stunned as the lead pastor filled me in. I have been a closet supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.  I completely believe we have systemic racism baked right in all institutions of our society.  I think this unknowingly comes out in our personal decisions.  And it appears this systemic and personal racism becomes really obvious in policing because it's about life or death.  At a distance, I've admired how the Black Lives Matter movement insists systemic racism is intolerable and been in awe of their resiliency when facing critics and backlash over their methods.  I am not extremely close to the organization and don't want to prete...

Big changes are ahead... Three files with about 100 pages of forms and essays have been transferred and approved.  I've written about 10 additional new pages.  Nine reference forms have been filled out.  A background check has been conducted.  Two psychological evaluations have been transferred.  I’ve been in front of 5 committees and had three individual interviews. I've had more vetting than Obama's Supreme Court nominee, but alas my clergy candidacy has been transferred from the WI conference to the MN conference.  And the reason?  I'm being appointed the Woodbury/Peaceful Grove United Methodist Church as a ¾ time associate pastor starting in June.  This is exciting on its own, but wait, there’s more…  It also means we will be moving this summer to Mahtomedi where Paul teaches.  As I reflect on this decision, the drama symbol keeps coming to my mind… you know, that image of the comedy and traged...

Below is a piece I wrote on my work with Reimagining Theological Education , a Convergence initiative.  Check them out on Facebook and web . -------------- In seminary cafeterias across the country, students are having the same type of conversation over lunch. “When am I actually going to use my understanding of… conciliar magisterium… oikonomia… Arminianism… docetism… atonement theology… etc., etc., etc. How much of this actually matters to my future work?” The cry for relevancy is an age-old song of students. If the cafeteria tables could talk, they would tell of generations of students who questioned the applicability of their classes. After all, research on adult learning has exhibited the importance and power of relevancy . The rate of change in the ministry field is magnified due to the shifting landscape of religion in America and also technology. In order to stay relevant, theological educators need not only reassess what is taught but also reconsid...

Below is a devotional I wrote for the Fast of Embodied Solidarity .  Check them out on Facebook.  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  -Matthew 5:29 When I was a child acting unruly, my dad would say, “cut it out,” while giving me a stern eye. I now find myself using the same phrase with my own children, complete with the gesture of running my pointer finger across my neck. During Lent, our Christian tradition convicts us to give things up.  Christians across the world examine what parts of their lives they need to cut out, or as the Scripture says, cut off.  Some people cut out pleasurable activities or objects with hopes to grow a deeper faith.  Others cut out something destructive in order to heal themselves or the world (nicotine, plastic bags, gasoline, losing one’s temper, Facebook). The Embodied Solidarity Fast...

“Kelly, you really need to write about some of this.”   When I've found myself in conversation sharing the joys and challenges of institutional church planting, people have often encouraged me to write about it.  I don’t know… maybe I've just sounded really fragmented and they’re hoping the writing process would get me put back together.  Or maybe I've spoken with a lot of intensity and they've wanted to hear it on paper.  (Me, speaking with intensity?  Nooo... sarcasm intended.)   Honestly, I need to get some distance before I can do any real writing.  I do have things to say which I hope could help other denominational or post-denominational church planters and developers.  I've learned a lot.  Those ideas need some more simmering though.  For now, I just have the brainstormed list in the white box.  If I ever write a book, I think it's going to be called something like...  Post-Mainline: If...

I’m what’s called bi-vocational.  In addition to my ministry work, I also teach in the School Counseling, School Psychology, and Special Education Department at public university in Wisconsin.  Sometimes I disclose to my students I’m a professor by day and a pastor by night (and weekend).  It makes for interesting pre and post-lecture fodder. Sometimes students are interested in the effects of religiosity on social-emotional development, asking about the topic in class or bringing up the topic during student presentations.  I love the intersection of mental health and spirituality, so if it fits the course content, I let the class discussion linger around the topic for a bit.  Beyond an opportunity to examine research, the topic also provides the perfect opportunity for students practice what we call ‘checking their values.’     The course textbook for my class Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Children and Adolescents has a s...