The Wedding Preacher

I've been asked to do more weddings in the past few months than in the last several years. My favorite thing about people getting married is that it is an easy line to draw from how we feel about each other to how much God loves us.

The dilemma I've faced a few times now is when I am approached by people who are not part of our church community (or any church community, for that matter). They are not asking my permission to be married, but they do want a pastor to officiate. Usually, during our conversation they communicate to me that, even though they don't have a vital or consistent relationship with God, they still want his blessing and want him to be part of their union.

This brings up an interesting spiritual dilemma. In Romans 1, Paul talks about the fact that no one is without excuse when it comest to knowing God, because there is enough evidence of him out there that everyone has the opportunity to seek him...and if we seek him, he will reveal himself to us. I believe that a wedding can be one of those moments where someone who is mostly irreligious will suddenly be seeking God--and I believe God is not only pleased by this, but will reveal himself to them.

The conversations I've had with people wanting to get married have been the most grace-filled, God-centered, and peace-delivering conversations I could hope for. Couples seem to leave with a sense that God loves them, even if they haven't been going to church or being "religious".

I could be wrong about this, but I've come to the conclusion that I would rather build a bridge between two people and God and establish a relationship with them myself than play the role of one more religious person who invalidates their love and commitment by denying them God's presence in their wedding.

Camping with the Boy.

Yesterday afternoon, Oscar and I decided to go camping. We live about eight miles from our pick of over 20 campgrounds in the La Plata Mountains. We had a great time except that the raccoons got in the Jeep and ate our breakfast during the night. We hiked around and threw rocks in the creek. I am really enjoying the time I get to spend with Oscar these days. He is about to turn six and I am realizing that five and six were when I began to do things I can still remember. I remember my first A's game with my dad and grandpa, and pretending to be asleep at my desk in kindergarten so I wouldn't have to dance around the classroom.

We decided to leave the tent and stuff in the back of the Jeep so we can go back the next time we have a free evening! I hope these will be things he remembers for the rest of his life.

Hooray for Baptisms!

Yesterday we had our first baptism! Peggy (Jenn's mom) got baptized in the river yesterday afternoon. It turned out really well. I was a little apprehensive about the freezing cold water, but it wasn't that bad. It was a great moment and a big milestone for our church.

Catching Up

It's been a while since I posted here...mostly because Hummer tour season is in full swing, so office time is scarce. Here are a few random thoughts to catch you up on what's going on in DGO:

-Sunday we have our first baptisms (in the freezing cold river).

-Last weekend I performed the first-ever Hummer tour wedding in the La Plata Mountains.

-Oscar has to be one of the only 5 year olds in the country who spends two to three days a week wheeling in a Hummer and isn't sure he wants to play t-ball.

-Tubing season in the river has begun! The last time I sat on this thing was to slide down the hill in the snow onto my parent's pond that was frozen solid!

Well, that'll have to do for now...I'll be back shortly with a report from the baptisms!

Who Invented Christ the King?

Well, we've decided to put a couple adds in the newspaper again to let people know that we're still out there and to notify them about the fact that we're meeting at the Rec Center now.

Once again, the only call I've received about it was from a woman from Christ the King Lutheran Church who was incredibly upset about our name. I've listened to the message so many times that I almost have it memorized. My favorite part is, "40 years ago, we had a picnic and came up with our name--we made it up. I want you to know you have stolen our name and I resent that very much!"

I'm not sure what to really make of all this. Besides that fact that a large percentage of Lutheran churches are called, Christ the King--and many of them "made their names up" 80 to 100 years ago, it pains me to think that this would be such an issue for some people. I could see if a church had a name like, "Sacred River Blood of the Lamb" and we used the same name, there might be some frustration--coming up with a relevant and unique name for a church and having it copied would be a bummer.

In the end, I have to be glad that only a few people seem to be really hung up on this name thing and the people of influence at CTK Lutheran who I've talked to were not only generous with their name, but loving people bent on the cause of Christ.

I'm almost looking forward to this coming Sunday when our next add comes out to see if I get another message!

Roller Coaster

Snapshot of CTK Durango

I love it when someone in our church says something that reflects exactly what we are trying to accomplish as a community. Last night in our Farmington small group, someone was describing a co-worker who is a real character and a little "out there". The comment was something along the lines of, "I've never been to a church that I would be willing to invite ________________ to until now."

She gets it! How about that, a church where you can invite the people in your life who you would probably not be accepted anywhere else!

Party On!

We had another fabulous BBQ party at our house this past Sunday for church. When we booked the Rec Center, there was one week in May (this past Sunday) that had already been booked by another group, so we had to meet somewhere else--bummer!!! Everyone came over to our house for some food, drinks, campfire, and general foolishness. We had some visitors, which is always nice. Kids ran around screaming dressed as princesses, dogs fought over tennis balls and begged for food and we all shared memories we have of the past year at CTK Durango. The two times that we've done this have been some of the best times of my life! I just can't describe how amazing it is to look around my home and see people hanging out, laughing, encouraging each other, and sharing what they feel is meaningful about being a part of this church community.

Oh, and burgers and brownies and beer are fun too!

Hummer Season!

My season of driving Hummer tours has got off to somewhat of a rocky start. After finishing the final adjustments/repairs and prerunning trails all weekend, I had my first bonafide tour on Friday. It was a group of women who have been to Durango once before and liked the tour so much they decided to come back just to take a ride in the Hummer--no pressure there! The whole day went great until we hit the Test Track (an area with big inclines and off-camber obstacles that show what the Hummer can do). I had just finished climbing a steep ledge when the motor cut out. I realized immediately that I had forgotten to switch fuel tanks and the motor had run out of fuel. Priming the fuel pump and restarting the truck is not a huge deal on flat land, but with the nose pointing up in the air, I was pretty much dead in the water. After Jenn came to shuttle my people back to their hotel, I was able to finally get the truck started again. It involved winching the Hummer up hill with a snatch block pulley from my Jeep to a tree to the truck--then I had to use two jacks to lift the back end up enough to get fuel to the motor. In the end, I got back to town in time to bring the ladies back out and finish the tour (I'm not sure why the agreed to go back out with me!). I'm really hoping this experience was more of a final kink to smooth out as opposed to a foreshadowing of things to come!

Taste of Durango

Yesterday was the annual Taste of Durango event in town. Three blocks are taken over by local restaurants in booths selling food, beer, etc.--the proceeds of which go to benefit Manna Soup Kitchen. Our very own Ruthie, who is the program director at MSK, organized the entire event including recruiting the 200 volunteers it took to set up, work, and clean up the TOD. Almost everyone from CTK was involved at some level with the prep or running of the day. I was most proud of the inroads and relationships Ruthie was able to establish through this. It will be interesting to see how we are able to better integrate with our community in the future because of the connections and impressions she made through the Taste of Durango. Another highlight for me was working security at the event and all the amazing free food that comes with the role of Security Roamer!