Greg Hazelrig of BroGregMy name is Greg Hazelrig. I’m a United Methodist pastor assigned to the Avon/Glen Allan charge in the Mississippi Annual Conference. I live in Avon, MS, which is just south of Greenville. My wife’s name is Michelle, and we’ve been married 11 years as of last month. She was the last to accept my call into ministry and is the first to support me in it now. She hopes that in our next charge there is somebody else to print and fold bulletins. I guess then I’ll have to quit telling folks that I sleep with my secretary. We’re in our third year at Avon and have a four-legged child named Jewel. She’s a Scottie Terrier. As a second career pastor, I am serving my second charge. And next June, God and the Board of Ordained Ministry willing, I will be ordained as an elder in the UMC at the age of 37.
Why do you blog?
I read to learn from others. I write because I feel that God has called me to share with others in more than the traditional ways.
What has been your best blogging experience?
I guess I would have to say that having a place to share my thoughts, especially about the hurricane relief effort has been a wonderful experience. This is made much better when people actually respond with comments. So far there have been few. But my hope is that this will become more of a ministry in the future where more people will decide to respond, and we will learn from each other.
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
I consider myself a novice since I just started this summer. So I guess I would be more apt to ask for advice from someone than to give it.
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
Wesley Blog
Locusts and Honey
Braves.mostvaluablenetwork.com (Go Atlanta Braves!)
(Two other faves would have to be Tim Sisk.com and Messy Mussings though.)
Who are your spiritual heroes?
Jesus and John Wesley (of course) / C.S. Lewis / St. Benedict / Dr. Knick Knickerbocker (my spiritual formation and church history professor from seminary)
What are you reading at the moment?
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
About 15 blogs I
just finished “Jesus in the Margins” by Rick McKinley (I truly recommend this one.)
What is your favorite hymn and why?
O How I love Jesus
It’s probably because I love Jesus so much and because he first loved me.
Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind?
I don’t know if this is exactly what you’re talking about, but my mind (or my attitude maybe) has been changed about missions over the last year or two. I used to think of missions as packing up and going to another country to preach the gospel, give medical care or build a church. Since Hurricane Charlie last year I’ve not only seen missions in a different light, but I’ve also been called to do more with them. Now I see missions as any time we go out into the world (be it some foreign country or right here at home) and care for those who are in need of our help. Over the last year, and especially this hurricane season, I’ve become rather passionate about my new definition of missions.
What philosophical thesis do you think is most important to combat?
It would probably be the individualistic view of those who believe it’s all about them and Jesus, while love of neighbor is absent from their thinking. I just love the quote from Jim Wallis’ book God’s Politics that goes “God is personal but never private.” These people are often times the ones that hold to the belief that once they have become Christians they can do pretty much what they want while judging others for their sinfulness. People may not say this, but many live it.
If you could affect one major change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
I would take away the politicians’ ability to give themselves raises along with putting them on the social security plan that the rest of Americans are on.
If you could affect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?
We need to be able to hold bishops more accountable and have all the Annual Conferences adhering to the same set of guidelines when it comes to disciplinary actions.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
We need to lighten up and quit fighting so much about the things that divide us. In the end we might just find out that these things are not as important to God as they are to us.
What, if anything, do you worry about?
Whether I’m doing God’s will when it comes to my ministry or my own will.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?
Play more baseball.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
Narnia
What do you like doing in your spare time?
Reading fiction (Science Fiction and fantasy mostly) and watching movies and going out to eat with my wife.
What is your most treasured possession?
The bible that my wife gave me for an anniversary present the year I went into the ministry. It’s an NRSV translation and had been the bible that I’d preached 95 percent of my sermons from until I began using a NLT translation earlier this year.
What talent would you most like to have?
It would be the ability to hit a major league pitcher’s fastball. And if not that, to play the guitar.
If you could have any three guests, past or present to dinner, who would they be?
John Wesley, C.S. Lewis and Paul. I would love to spend an evening with the three people (other than Jesus) that have influenced my spiritual life the most. And I’d like to see just how arrogant they all were.
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