I look to you, my Lord and my God. I look to you. The worship of your people and my part in it all hangs on the working of your Spirit. Be gracious and patient with us, because we do come here full of sin and self-centeredness. We are idolatrous people, because much of our … Continue reading Prayer Note #15 — A Pastor’s Prayer before Worship
Tag: pastorate
Pastor Note #16 — “Sex With a Purpose”
What is sex? And what is it for? And is your answer any of my business anyway? For all our modern western society’s fixation on sexuality, I don’t see any evidence that we are any less confused about it than our great grandparents. So many books are being published on how to deal with … Continue reading Pastor Note #16 — “Sex With a Purpose”
Pastor Notes #11: A Desperate Act by One of the Least of These
[From my journal while pastoring a church in downtown Columbus:] It was a sad and difficult situation. We have a locked wooden box bolted to the back wall of the church. It has a slot in the top for receiving gifts that visitors (and members) might drop into it for the maintenance of our old … Continue reading Pastor Notes #11: A Desperate Act by One of the Least of These
Pastor Notes #9
[The following is a letter I wrote to a forty-something parishioner who had been raised in a nominal Roman Catholic home and had given her life to Christ while she was in college. This letter was written on the occasion of her nominally Catholic mother's death. As you will also see, the circumstances of my … Continue reading Pastor Notes #9
Pastor Notes #8 (9/11/2001) — Presence as Ministry
[The following is from several entries into my journal about the events of the evening of September 11, 2001. I was at that time the pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in the heart of downtown Columbus, Ohio. There are several large, high-end hotels in the immediate vicinity of the church.] Tuesday, September 11, 2001 7:30 … Continue reading Pastor Notes #8 (9/11/2001) — Presence as Ministry
Pastor Notes #6
A pastoral note to an early, middle-aged widow who had just announce her engagement to be remarried, names and certain other details have been changed to protect confidentiality: I'm sorry I didn't respond as soon as I received you letter. I intended to, but it has been an unexpectly hectic week or so. I really … Continue reading Pastor Notes #6
Pastor Notes #4
A Prayer You bring unexpected and surprising encounters into my life regularly, Lord. And because you are the Lord and my Lord, I know that these encounters are part of your purpose for me. I often don't know exactly what your purposes are in bringing me and any given person together, but I know that … Continue reading Pastor Notes #4
Pastor Notes 3
Sometimes when we come away from a worship service feeling unmoved, feeling as if the service was confusing, boring, or poorly led, the problem is not actually with the worship service itself or with the people leading it, but instead is a problem within us and our lack of real preparation. And sometimes when the worship service has indeed been poorly planned and led, we can meet God powerfully in it anyway simply because we have prepared ourselves well.
Pastor Notes #2
Can a virtual community fully engage embodied human beings? Or does the embodied nature of human existence require physical presence for full-orbed human relationship and community? For my own vocational musings, is it possible to be a faithful pastor to someone using only virtual, digital means?
Pastor Notes #1
So, I'm sitting here in the coffee shop, looking at a jumble of a "to-do" list and pondering what I'm supposed to be doing. "Is that what you get paid for?" you may well be asking. Well, that's a good question -- one that I ponder often. Am I doing what I get paid for? … Continue reading Pastor Notes #1
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 