Comments for Only Wonder Understands

Comment on Methoblog by David Winfrey

David Winfrey — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:44:22 +0000

The post at the top of the aggregator page is dated November 4, 2012. Please fix the date, so this post doesn’t sit at the top of the page for the next year.

Thanks.

Comment on The Relational Church by oikoskrk

oikoskrk — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:27:16 +0000

Nice blog! I think you would like mine too.
Been relational housechurching and planting for 30 years.
My blog is about Jesus, Church and life in general.
http://notesfromthebridge.wordpress.com

Christopher “Captain” Kirk

Comment on How Soon We Forget by Fear or Dialogue? « salvaged faith

Fear or Dialogue? « salvaged faith — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:26:07 +0000

[...] fellow pastor reminds me that we have turned the construction of this one Islamic center into the center of the [...]

Comment on The Dance of Faith — Part 6 by Disciplemaking – Art or Science? | Only Wonder Understands

Disciplemaking – Art or Science? | Only Wonder Understands — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:09:25 +0000

[...] going to have to teach something I haven’t done for a while. In the midst of that I came upon a post I wrote in 2003 which described the role of the caller and asked if similar skills weren’t needed for ministry. [...]

Comment on United Methodist Parsonages by pastorvich

pastorvich — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:20:41 +0000

After 25 years of parsonages – I am glad to be out of one. Even though the home we have is smaller then the parsonages we lived in and all of the expenses come out of our pocket it is so much nicer to have something that is ours.

Comment on Requiem for a Mentor by Bethany Wilks

Bethany Wilks — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:59:30 +0000

Dear Jay,
I just wanted to say thank you for posting this story about my dad. It really puts into words what my dad believed ministry was all about and it has been very encouraging to me, my family and many friends as we deal with his loss here on this earth. I know my dad felt incredibly blessed to have had to opportunity to be a part of Young Life and one of my favorite times with my dad was when he took me up to Frontier Ranch after I graduated college. Thank you again for your tribute to my dad.

Bethany J. Wilks

Comment on Requiem for a Mentor by Rev Robert Caswell

Rev Robert Caswell — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:41:31 +0000

I met Jack when a friend invited me to Lakemont. I was not a Christian, but that day Jack seemed to preach to me, I thought that only someone who truly believed in God could know what to say. At 39 years old I came to saving grace because of Jack, it was just one month after hearing that sermon. At 50 I thought I was too old to become a minister, but again Jack encouraged me, at 53 I was ordained. He was my mentor, and my friend, whom I will always try to emulate. I have no doubt where Jack is now, in the arms of his Savior.

Comment on Requiem for a Mentor by Jason Sansbury

Jason Sansbury — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:22:11 +0000

Jay- I am sorry for your loss. I know my Young Life leaders helped shape me in ways that are still being felt and worked out in my life today.
Also, I was blessed to know Jack in some small way. In the early 1990s, the church he pastored (Lakemont Presbyterian in Augusta) was across the street from the church I found Christ at (Saint Marks UMC).
Our church didn’t have a basketball goal, so many a fall afternoon, several youth arrived early and went across the street to play on the one at Lakemont. We had a couple run ins with elders there and were pretty sure we wouldn’t be allowed to use it again. The next week, Jack came to our youth group and told us we would always be welcomed to shoot hoops. I later served on a Wyld Life team that used their facility for club. His heart for those outside the church was immense and I have always tried to be as open to other groups as he was to a bunch of punk high school guys.

Comment on Requiem for a Mentor by Mike Hodge

Mike Hodge — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:15:09 +0000

I’d say you were lucky –or blessed — to have Jack as your mentor. I am also sure he would have said that he was blessed to have you. One of my Jewish friends often says, “May the memory of the righteous be unto us a blessing.” Amen!

Comment on Rebuilding Trust — The Bishop’s and DS’s Dilemma by jjaekley

jjaekley — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:36:19 +0000

Jay–thanks for this insightful post. I’m now working with my 3rd DS and my experience has run the gamut from, “who thought this person could be a DS” through feeling isolated because of a no news is good news philosophy to my current DS who has articulated his confidence in me and has made it clear that he will back me up. He has even gone so far as explaining what that might look like when I gave him a heads up about a potential conflict. My current DS, Rev. Dr. Bart Hildreth, is a really good DS, good enough that I’ve thought more than once that he should be teaching/coaching other DS’s. I’m also blessed to be under the authority of a bishop that I respect even when I don’t agree with him. But i digress.
Part of the challenge is that while there is a feedback and evaluation loop, formal and informal, from the DS to the pastor, there is not really such a loop from the pastors to the DS, and beyond that to the Bishop. The congregation can call the DS, or the bishop–ours has openly told pastors that such calls will be bounced back to the DS, and they can express their opinions/feelings/judgments in annual reviews. To date, while I would guess there is a process for evaluating DS’s, I’ve not been given the opportunity to participate in such a process. I know there is a process for evaluating bishops, yet I don’t know where the “data” for that process comes from.