Vocational Plan B

Plan A: To go on staff at a church in the U. S. in some pastoral capacity, likely student or young adult ministry. [Status: Nothing going.]

Plan B: To discover the right vocational match for my expertise, temperament, and work style (see Vocational Info, top-right sidebar), and secure an opportunity to be gainfully employed doing this, preferably in Chicagoland or Missouri (St. Louis, Columbia, Springfield, Kansas City). Some [non-pastoral] occupations I am interested in pursuing (in order of interest):

• Writer/editor
• Creative director
• Training & development manager
• Organizational consultant
• Corporate paralegal
• Marketing manager
• Quality assurance manager

I am currently considering hourly, salaried, or base salaried positions primarily, but am willing to be trained. I need to secure a full-time position by January. If any of you, after looking over my relevant Vocational Info (top-right sidebar), have any leads in Chicago, metro Missouri, or the vicinity, please pass them my way. I'm on BrightFuse, LinkedIn, ChurchStaffing, and CareerBuilder,

Thanks!

Matt

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My Boy

Born November 2nd, 2009. 6 lbs. 9 oz. 20" long. More pics and details on Facebook.

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My Solution to the U. S. Health Care Problem

Nicholas Kristof's article in today's NYTimes, which I thought was fair and informed, provoked in me an insight that I believe could and should revolutionize the current health care debate. In short, the problem with the current debate is that it is taking place in the wrong sector of society. Politics are not the place!

My proposal:

1. Table the whole notion of a "health care bill" and appoint (and fund!) a commission of qualified professionals to conduct a thorough study of the current U. S. health care system and the top health care systems around the world.
2. Publish this proposal in detailed form as well as a general-public-friendly format, so that both the voting public and the elected officials are informed of the results.
3. Form a bipartisan congressional commission to analyze the results of the study in terms of public policy and submit a proposal to the American people and to Congress.
4. Do this over a period of time sufficient for the nature of the study.

Now, I am not a politician or a public policy analyst or a medical researcher. But I do know that modern-day American politics, controlled as they are by money and media spin, are not the place for such an enormous matter as this one. Both sides of the debate need to recognize this and to get on the same side of a solution to a problem of which all of us are painfully aware.

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McKnight on Missional Church

A regular contributor to the missional church conversation, Scot McKnight has offered a brief, but solid primer on the movement. He clarifies that missional is more than the latest buzzword being adopted by the pragmatic church movement, and explains why.

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TSK: The Church Will Replay 1930s

Andrew Jones offers some prophetic (?) insight into the shape of church life and mission in the next decade, which is worth the (quick) read.

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Baby's Comin'!

My wife's being induced today, so baby should be here soon! Pray for a quick, safe, and healthy delivery for both.

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Russell Moore's "Word to Young Preachers"

As a young preacher myself, I am both humbled and encouraged by Dr. Russell Moore's "Word to Young Preachers."

He says that truly great preachers are very bad preachers who have matured over the years through receiving honest criticism from others. The preachers destined for a lifetime of mediocrity in their preaching ministry are those with above average natural ability who are so constantly affirmed and rarely critiqued that they never grow (and in the process become puffed up with pride).

Of course, growing as a preacher (not merely in delivery, but also in expositional integrity and quality) requires a lot more than accepting criticism. It requires the hard labor necessary for improving upon one's shortcomings.

Being nearly finished with seminary/divinity school, I've acquired the basic tools and knowledge vital to an effective preaching ministry (appropriate to the educational level of most of our society). Yet I'm still pretty rough around the edges in some key areas. Are their churches gracious enough to allow young preachers to develop through both critique and affirmation? The Bible states merely that ministers of the Word must be "able to teach" (the Word) and warns of the pitfalls of rhetorical mastery. However, the truly great preachers are those who are able to proclaim, illustrate, contextualize, and apply the Word with conciseness, conviction, and clarity (as opposed to the grandiloquence of the Joel Osteens and Robert Schullers of the world).

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Is Freedom Always Worth the Cost?

When I read articles like this recent one by Maureen Dowd and today's story by Damien Cave, I'm saddened by what seems to be a lose-lose situation regarding the pursuit of "freedom." Licentiousness, or the total lack of constraint, is a synonym for anarchy, or lawlessness. One of my mantras from my youth has been, "Boundaries bring freedom." In a country and a society that laud "freedom" as the ultimate virtue, it is inevitable that this value will be tested to its limits.

Today, and each new day that dawns in this epic age, we in the "free world" are confronted with this perennial question: What is freedom? Is it always desirable, or is my axiom true?

How we define liberty holds the key to this question's answer.

Consider these words on the nature of true freedom:

Jesus said, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

The apostle Peter said, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God" (1 Peter 2:15-16).

Three points of note here:

1. Freedom that is not rooted in truth is really slavery.
2. Freedom that does not find its expression in that which is good (i.e., in accordance with God's good created order) is really slavery.
3. True freedom is bondage to the will of God.

What do these truths (or rather, three facets of a single truth) have to do with the above articles? Think about it, and post your thoughts.

Shalom,

Matt

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New Abortion Site: The Case for Life

New link added to "Plugs": The Case for Life is a great new website based on Scott Klusendorf's latest book by the same title. It contains tons of excellent information relevant to the abortion debate, and an overall well-reasoned case for the full humanhood of unborn children, presented with a sharply designed site.

Go check it out, tell your friends, buy the book.

Bottom line: be informed, be involved. Do your part in making our nation a place in which the lives of our unborn children are honored and protected.

More on this subject here. Read about my (only) hope for coming to a cross-party consensus, with a good discussion of the #1 issue in the debate.

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Latest Scrawl: A Celebration of the Sexes

Check out the latest Trinity Graduate Scrawl (Vol 5, Is 4, Oct 23, 2009), subtitled "Male and Female He Created Them."

This issue is dedicated to male-female relationships on campus and in church life. Excellent articles from both faculty and students, including my submission, "Shalom in Gender Interaction: a Response" (p. 2). You can read them online, and I encourage you to do so!

Shalom,

Matt

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