One of the major events that Michelle and I participated in during sabbatical was the EC Pastoral Assessment Center (PAC). It was that experience that led us to consider a sermon idea. But first let me explain PAC. PAC is basically the starting point for people who are exploring the possibility of becoming pastors inContinue reading “How to learn the truth about ourselves (What I learned on sabbatical, Part 3)”
Author Archives: joelkime
How Distracted I Was From God (What I Learned on Sabbatical, Part 2)
On January 1st, I started a sabbatical daily log. On that day I wrote three paragraphs about what was happening in the life of the Kime Family, and mixed in there were these five words: “I deactivated my Facebook account.” For those of you who use Facebook, deactivating your account might feel like a bigContinue reading “How Distracted I Was From God (What I Learned on Sabbatical, Part 2)”
My life with anxiety and panic (What I Learned on Sabbatical, Part 1)
A week before my sabbatical began on January 1st, 2018, we went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It has become a family tradition these past three years. My dad’s birthday is December 29th, and so he takes my brother, sister, me and our spouses and kids to see the whichever Star Wars movieContinue reading “My life with anxiety and panic (What I Learned on Sabbatical, Part 1)”
Why I am Going on a Three-month Sabbatical
I started sabbatical January 1st. For the first three months of 2018 I will put my pastoral duties on pause. I have so much gratitude to Faith Church for allowing this, and for facilitating it. Over the last few years, as the church considered and planned for the sabbatical, there have been numerous people inContinue reading “Why I am Going on a Three-month Sabbatical”
A Guided Lament you can use right now
Do we lament when life is so rotten and dark that we have no where else to turn? Yes. Do we lament when there is still hope, but much work yet to be done? Yes. What we have seen this Advent as we’ve studied psalms of lament, is that lament is a faithful, clinging toContinue reading “A Guided Lament you can use right now”
How to lament: keep holding on to God
This week we have been studying Psalm 126 which reminds us that when you plant seeds of sorrow, God can give you a harvest of joy. In my previous post, I talked about the difficulty of gardening, and how the psalmist uses that as a metaphor for life. But after all the clearing, tilling, weeding, and watering,Continue reading “How to lament: keep holding on to God”
What to do when life is hard and filled with tears
A friend of mine has graciously allowed me to borrow his tiller each year to get our garden ready for planting. It is a monster of a tiller. You have to grip that thing with all your might, lower your center of gravity, and hold on for dear life. I am not kidding. It isContinue reading “What to do when life is hard and filled with tears”
What is a song of ascent? (the next U2 album?)
For years the rock band U2 has been hinting that they are going to release an album called Songs of Ascent. What might “Songs of Ascent” refer to? Why would U2 think of that title? As the years went by, U2 changed directions a bit, first releasing an album called Songs of Innocence, and justContinue reading “What is a song of ascent? (the next U2 album?)”
How lament can bring beautiful restoration
Throughout this second week of Advent 2017, we’ve been talking about restoration from Psalm 85. We’ve seen how God is at work to bring restoration and revival. We’ve also learned our responsibility to work alongside God. It can seem too hard sometimes when the restoration is going to require lots of sacrifice and effort. SoContinue reading “How lament can bring beautiful restoration”
Who is responsible for restoration and revival? God? Us? Both?
Restoration and revival might take a lot of work. I just did a Google image search on the phrase “the hard work of restoration”, and almost all of the pictures are about car restorations. Some furniture. Some homes. There is restoration from natural disaster that can take years. I suspect only a few of usContinue reading “Who is responsible for restoration and revival? God? Us? Both?”
Engaging Scripture 