CPE Interviews and the Kobayashi Maru Test

Previously, Andrew Thompson and Theresa Coleman asked that I write about my experiences in CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education). The hospital setting is a very confusing place for a non-medical professional, but overall, it's been a good experience.

This shall be my first post on the subject, addressing the application and interviewing process.

I interviewed with three CPE facilities for this summer, which we shall call A, B, and C. CPE interviews are different than those for application to jobs, schools, or even ministry (e.g. certification at DCOM). They are basically impromptu psychoanalysis sessions.

This took me by surprise at facility A. The interview went something like the first twenty seconds of this video:



I was quite taken aback by this interview. I had never experienced anything remotely like it in any setting. I've been through hardball interviews before. This was something far beyond hardball. Every answer that I provided to every question was not only wrong, but stupendously wrong. I could do nothing right.

I left interview A angry at the interviewer, convinced that he was just a jerk. Then it occurred to me: surely such a person could never have been ordained with that kind of personality, let alone be put in a ministry position which is wholly social. The interview was a Kobayashi Maru simulation: a no-win scenario designed to test how I deal with hopelessly losing situations. After all, in a hospital setting, I will be a caregiver to people who are in no-win scenarios themselves. It would be helpful to experience the frustration of such situations myself so that I can better help people going through them on a much larger and serious scale. When I expressed this to my DCOM chair, he confirmed that such interview techniques are normal in CPE, and related an even more appalling story from his own seminary days.

I went to facility B for an interview. It was radically different from interview A. They wanted to probe inside of my psyche and did so. The purpose of CPE interviews appears to be to get to know the student at a very intimate level. The thing is, they did this without being the slightest way abusive. In fact, the B set of interviewers got to know the inner John a whole lot more than the A interviewers, and it was because they did call me a liar, etc. It was a hard interview, but it was not a no-win scenario. There was no immediate and severe antagonism and animosity, like there was in interview A. We did a difficult role-play in which I interacted with a nurse supervisor and a suicidal patient. It was challenging, and they critiqued my mistakes but praised me for what I did well. I felt very comfortable with the B people and thought that there was so much that they could teach me about relating to people emotively.

Then I went to interview at CPE facility C. If A and B represent a scale of interviewer behavior, then C was somewhere in between A and B, but leaning strongly toward A.

I had decided that my biggest mistake in interview A was caring about the outcome of the interview. That is, I really wanted to get into CPE facility A, and the interviewers knew it, and so felt free to play mindgames with me, toying with me like a cat does a mouse. I had already been accepted into a CPE program, so I really did care about "winning" -- that is, getting into facility C as well so that I had as many options as possible (the UMC candidacy process develops a strong belt-and-suspenders mentality). And the only way to care about getting into C was not to care about getting into C. You follow?

Interviews A and C started out as basically verbatim duplicates -- and I really mean almost word for word. They read my biographical statements and noted that I had moved very frequently as a child and wanted to know how that had traumatized me. I mentioned that I was sort of rootless, having no true hometown, but saw more benefits from my mobility than disadvantages. Both sets of interviewers asked leading questions, strongly urging me to express that I was deeply emotionally scarred from moving so frequently and that my parents had been emotionally abusive. I don't have perfect parents, but neither hypothesis is really plausible. Interviewers A noticeably sagged in disappointment when this was my answer. Both questioned whether I was being honest with them.

So as I said, I had decided beforehand that if interview C starting turning out like interview A, I would respond very differently. It was turning into a Kobayashi Maru, and I had a solution to the test: I wouldn't play. You see, a no-win scenario is also a no-lose scenario; if I can't win, then I can't do anything to induce losing either.

I expressed my amusement at how interview C was progressing almost identically to interview A, and how much I really wanted to give them the childhood trauma of moving that they so deeply craved but alas, there was no trauma in that part of my life to give them. I have experienced emotional trauma, just not there. I hammed it up, bombastically imitating interviewer A's visible disappointment that I was not abused as a child. One of the interviewers covered his mouth to hide his giggling. But per my strategy, I pointed out that he was giggling and had tipped his hand.

There were a number of Kobayashi Maru elements in interview C, particularly from one man. For example, he asked questions about my inner self. When I began to answer them, he refused to allow me to answer them. Next, he berated me for not answering his questions.

My overall strategy was to directly and explicitly point out when and where they had been unfair or ridiculous -- and with full amusement, not an ounce of anger. So I explained what the Kobayashi Maru was in Star Trek, what it means proverbially, and how parts of their interview followed this pattern.

They were taken aback by my approach.

Now it is possible that I completely misread the situation and that there was no Kobayashi Maru test here, despite what my DCOM chair described as normal. But if that is true, and interviewers C considered their behavior to be normal, moral, and professional, then the last thing that I would ever want is to work under them. In this case, I completely blew interview C, and have lost nothing.

So my performance was either spectacularly good, or disastrous. Either way, I have lost nothing.

Now this Kobayashi Maru approach to CPE interviews: I can see some merit in it. But as much as one can learn something about people by how they respond to exasperating no-win scenarios, I think that interviewers B learned so much more about me because they took a completely different approach. Theirs was the superior interviewing approach, and certainly my first choice at the present.

I was actually accepted at facilities A, B, and C. I chose B, even though it is three hours away from home, because I did not wish to expose the inner John to sadists. My experiences thus far in the weekly individual and group therapy sessions have only justified my decision.

Caption Contest

Previous contest winners

WINNERS:

Will Deuel: Stop or I'll shoot, and the water in this gun is cold!

Tom Jackson: "Was it six squirts, or only five? Feel lucky, punk?"

Hospital Ethics

I'm presently doing Clinical Pastoral Education (translation: ministry interning as a hospital chaplain) and my group heard a presentation by the hospital's resident medical ethicist. She posed a dilemma for us: a child is strongly suspected of having meningitis and the doctors urge a lumbar puncture procedure. The parents refuse, insisting that they have heard too many bad things about this procedure. Should the doctors proceed with it anyway against the will of the parents?

The group came to a consensus that the hospital should proceed with the lumbar puncture, and the ethicist agreed. Now here's the question that I then posed to the group, and I'd like to know what you think.

Would it be ethical for the hospital to bill the parents for the cost of this procedure even though they did not consent to it?

A Functional, Wooden Calculator

Hat tip: John Fletcher

Refresh '07 -- A Call for Revival in Campus Ministry

Brian Russell urges us to examine Refresh '07, an upcoming convention about campus evangelism. It's being held by the Foundation for Evangelism, one of the great sources for revival in the UMC -- and the generous source of funding for the January Methodist bloggers meetup.

Brian himself will teach one of the seminars, which is very wise choice by the Foundation. He's been one of the great instigators of change in my ecclesiology, and is a fountain of missional passion.

[cross-posted]

Art Blogging: Heather Watts

Heather Watts is a self-taught artist who lives in Vancouver. She is a leading voice in the emerging Tiki Style of art -- a movement which pays homage to an idealized view of Polynesian life and culture.








Insert Coin (acrylic on panel, 2006).







Green Eggs & Ham (acrylic on board, 2006).





Offerings (acrylic on panel, 2006).

Clergy Robes: Good or Bad?

Matt of Catching Meddlers wrote:

I’ve heard all the arguments for wearing a preaching robe. Heck, I even like wearing a preaching robe. However…sometimes I wonder if it is something I prefer rather than something that aids in the translation and communication of the Gospel. I preach in a pretty rural area, and most people outside of the United Methodist churches I serve have never seen someone preach in a robe before. Sometimes I wonder if it is so strange to some of our visitors that it obscures the very preaching of the Gospel and even prevents them from returning. I’ve thought about this from a missional/contextual point of view. If we went to Papua New Guinea, for example, would we wear the traditional dress of a minister or pastor who had preached there for years, or would we drag out our pulpit robes or albs and begin to preach regardless of the local culture? I don’t think any responsible missionary would do that. In the same way, is it presumptuous or culturally insensitive for UM clergy to wear a robe (or alb) in a rural setting where people are more familiar with pastors wearing a nice buisness suit when they preach?

I recently bought a robe and stole which I shall wear for weddings and funerals. The church isn't used to robed pastors, and I have no objection to leaving it off. That's all part of incarnational ministry -- adjusting the form (but not the content) of ministry to the cultural expectations of the people.

One of Matt's commentors, Robert Duran, had an excellent response to this issue:

Do robes and albs get in the way of the message? Yes, sometimes they do for some people. Business suits get in the way for some people sometimes, too (particularly $1,500 well-tailored suits that smack of the “prosperity gospel” or the “city slicker here to fleece the local folks”).

It may be that robes and albs are more important to me because I grew up in a church that considered such garments a mark of apostasy from the “true religion.”

Do golf shirts and khaki Dockers get in the way for some people sometimes? Yes, they do.

Where I serve right now, the only dark suit - the only suit of any color - the only coat and tie, in the church on Sunday morning would be in the pulpit. Does that make the suit, the coat and tie, an outmoded costume or uniform worn to express continuity with another place and time? Sure does - just as the robes and albs do. I just believe it is more important to show that connection with the Church over the last 17 or 18 centuries, than over the last 7 or 8 decades. For others, it is more important to reject either of those connections, each of which brings to mind as many tragic events as powerful and positive events.

Caption Contest

Picture via Ace

Previous contest winner

WINNERS:

Tom Jackson: Bob prepared carefully for his date with Molly Holzschlag. Unfortunately, in his haste he forgot the entire HEAD section and the DOCTYPE specification, so Molly dumped him for a standards-compliant Web designer

Matt: Some men are all form and no content...

Are Mormons Christians?

In our recent discussion on the Episcomuslim priest, MethoDeist asked:

Do Christians consider Mormons to be a part of the Christian faith?

Or, are Mormons considered their own theological belief system separate from Christianity?

If they are not considered Christians then why is that?

What are the criteria (creeds, beliefs, principles) that an individual/group should adhere to so that they can be considered a Christian?

These are very good questions. I don't think that Mormons are Christians, but just don't have the time to answer them comprehensively. I invite our readers to express their opinions in the comments.

By the way, MethoDeist has some very thoughtful posts at his own blog, such as this one on theodicy from a Deist perspective.

Outsider perspective

With Annual Conferences wrapping up and the issues of the UM General Conference for next year starting to come into focus, I find this bit of outside perspective interesting. In response to the question of which "mainline" denomination he felt was ripe for renewal, John Armstrong picked the UMC. John Armstrong is an evangelical from the reformed tradition, but he interacts very broadly with Christians from a variety of backgrounds, and he leads a ministry called ACT 3. He's worth checking out!

Larry

What Do You Say....

I'm presently doing CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) for the summer. One of the Chaplain Residents showed me a poem that Kathie Rataj Mayo, a mother who lost her child at birth at this hospital, wrote in response to heartless, tactless platitudes spoken to her.

What do you say when a baby dies and someone says...
"At least you didn't bring it home."
What do you say when a baby is stillborn and someone says...
"At least it never lived."
What do you say when a mother of three says...
"Think of all the time you'll have."
What do you say when so many say...
"You can always have another..."
"At least you never knew it..."
"You have your whole life ahead of you..."
"You have an angel in heaven."
What do you say when someone says...Nothing?
What do you say when someone says...
"I'm sorry."
You say, with grateful tears and warm embrace,
"Thank you!"

Art Blogging: Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter and designer. He was born in Calais and educated throughout the Low Countries. Brown was heavily influenced by Northern Renaissance Dutch painter Hans Holbein the Elder. In Britain, his works were rejected from Academy exhibition, but Brown gradually associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, although he never became a member of the Brotherhood. He was an early tutor of Rossetti. Brown's perfectionistic approach to work prevented him from creating a substantial portfolio, and his cantankerous personality won him few friends, but his extant works are now highly regarded by art historians.

Jesus Washing Peter's Feet at the Last Supper (1865, oil on canvas, at the Tate).

Elijah Restoring the Widow's Son (1868, watercolor).

Pretty Baa-Lambs (1851-1859, oil on panel, Bimingham Museum of Art, UK).

Caption Contest

Previous contest winner

WINNER: Brett Royal:

Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to make a tie fighter model computer desk or destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force

Blogging (And Living) Anonymously

Diane Roth writes about the phenomenon of blogging anonymously, and the reasons for doing it:

I think that all of us, whether we are "anonymous" or not, are always choosing: what will we share, and what will we hide? This is of course based both on considerations about ourselves and others. At a blog I discovered recently, the author pointed out that in order to remain anonymous, she needs to make sure she doesn't share certain things about herself. I had never thought of that before.


I still blog because I want to write, to go public with my thoughts, ideas, opinions. I fancy that others will find them edifying, maddening, enlightening. I hope so, anyway. And I remind myself that this task, done well, takes a certain amount of courage: whether I am anonymous or not. It takes courage to be honest, really honest about ourselves and about the world.

And I want to remind myself that there are people who are anonymous because nobody knows them or cares about their fate, because they don't have a voice in the world. They don't choose to be anonymous, and anonymity isn't safe for them. Think Darfur. There are times when it is safe to be anonymous (fleeing domestic violence). And there are times when it is dangerous. Help me to remember that.

Anonymity can be private, and sometimes we need privacy. I remember that the first church that I joined after I became a Christian was a megachurch. I liked the fact that I could slip into the crowd and remain inconspicious at a time when attending church was still a scary thing for me.

She links to blogger Blanket in the Grove, who writes about her own thoughts putting her own name on her blog:

I noticed, however, that it was very difficult for me to write anything on my blog over this past year as I got deeper and deeper into my professional roles as an associate minister and as a teacher. I found that much of what was consuming my thoughts and energies had to be off-limits from blogging. Mostly because I wanted to continue to protect my anonymity--not because anything I wanted to write would reveal something about my students or congregation.

I'm wondering if I went public, if I would find it easier to write? Or more difficult?

You can't really assume privacy when blogging, so there shouldn't be a difference in difficulty. I write with the assumption that my entire congregation and the entire Florida Conference reads my blog, and that I am held accountable by all.

But as Christian believers, it still shouldn't create a difference. The Internet can create a measure of anonymity, but as sinners transformed by Christ, there shouldn't be a difference between who we are in private and who we are in public.

Ten Divinely Designed Churches

Here's a list of ten of the most aesthetically marvelous churches in the world.

To the left is the Hallgrimskirkja in Iceland, named after Hallgrimur Petursson.

Hat tip: John Fletcher

Caption Contest

Previous contest winners

WINNER: Tom Jackson:

I love the smell of Alpo in the morning.

Reading Your Mind

(or just good at math). A cute video:



Hat tip: Joe Carter

Three Cheers for Darth Vader

The guy had it coming to him.



Hat tip: Joe Carter

Which Supervillain Are You?

You are Venom

Venom 58% Dr. Doom 57% Two-Face 57% Apocalypse 54% Magneto 50% Lex Luthor 49% Juggernaut 45% The Joker 43% Mystique 41% Mr. Freeze 37% Green Goblin 37% Kingpin 37% Catwoman 36% Dark Phoenix 36% Riddler 32% Poison Ivy 21%

Strength, disguise and adrenaline are your greatest weapons.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test


Hat tip: Jeff the Baptist

If Dr. Seuss Wrote Star Trek

It would look something like this.

Hat tip: Miss Cellania

Art Blogging: James Best

James Best (1926- ) is an American actor, drama instructor, and painter. He was born in Powderly, Kentucky with the name Jewel Guy and raised in an orphanage. Best found success in the Western genre, but became most famous for his role as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane in The Dukes of Hazzard. He was also a highly accomplished acting coach and taught at the University of Mississippi and the University of Central Florida. Best is now retired and operates a rural resort in Ontario. He also paints extensively, mostly landscapes with oils and acrylics.

Clucks Galore.





Heidelberg Hills.




Greek Isle.

Church Policy Bleg

My church is currently in the process of composing formal wedding and funeral policies. If your church has one, I would greatly appreciate it if you would send it to locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com. Examining how other churches have addressed these rituals will help us formulate our own.

My activity on this blog has dropped off because I have started a CPE program in Jacksonville, on top of my regular pastoral duties. I don't have regular, daily access to the Internet, nor time to make use of it, really.

Caption Contest

Previous contest winner

WINNERS:

brd:

Lesson Two: Heel on Leash
While walking with your dad at the heel position, turn sharply and
very tightly to your left, into your dad's path, manipulating the dad around, with jerks on the leash or bumping of the knee or foot, out of your way as you turn 180 degrees to your left and then continue the heeling exercise in the opposite direction. This is known as the "left-u-turn". Remember to use a happy voice when praising and/or encouraging.

Jeff the Baptist:

Mommy says I should give this a yank whenever Daddy walks by a Victoria's Secret.

Theresa Coleman:

keeping dad on a short leash helps with the spontaneous chasing after cars the family just can't afford.

Ritzy missions trips aim for wealthy

HAMILTON, Bermuda — This year, instead of helping a missions team build a church sanctuary in Honduras, Bill Taylor of Open Bible Church in Wichita is evangelizing at beach resorts in Bermuda.

"Now this is missions work," says Taylor while striking up spiritual conversation with wealthy resort guests.

As more church-goers tire of spending vacation time in the Third World, churches are taking a break from poverty and targeting the luxury class with the gospel.

"Our worldview had gotten too narrow," says one pastor. "Rich people need Jesus, too."

Grace Family Church of Littleton, Colo., recently started a ministry called Higher Calling and sent a missions team to tony boutiques in Milan’s fashion district. The group reached out to watchmakers, jewelry store workers and super-wealthy patrons.

"People who were never interested in missions trips are jumping at the chance to go," says the pastor.

Team member Joyce Andrews says the salespeople "will tolerate a lot of evangelizing if you are committed to buying a diamond necklace or a watch." Andrews says she felt vastly more effective evangelizing luxury jewelry shop employees than on her last three trips to Central America.

"I feel useless in poor places," she says. "But I found I fit very well in wealthier environments. Striking up spiritual conversations at the perfume counter is right up my alley."

It's LarkNews, so it's a joke, of course, but does anyone else find Christian-themed luxury cruises kind of creepy? Not that there's anything necessarily immoral about going on a cruise, but to suggest that it is a spiritual practice....

Clerical Vestments

I was licensed as a local pastor at the annual conference's Service for Licensing, Ordination, and Retirement last night. I didn't bring a robe. It was embarrassing because I didn't know that I was supposed to be robed, so I had to borrow one.

Maybe I should have taken the approach of these four men, who broke into a Methodist church in Salem, Oregon and stole the clerical vestments.

My Brain is Swirly

Ooooooh. Very nice.

Hat tip: Ace

The Grand Assembly of Florida Conference Methobloggers

All of three of us: me, Dale Tedder, and Craig Moore. Ivan Corbin was running around somewhere, probably busy running for General Conference delegate, so I didn't get to see him. But Dale and Craig and I met on Day 2 of the Florida Annual Conference and enjoyed a long lunch together talking about theology, ministry, and blogging. It was great!

John Wesley, Geophysicist

This...um, odd sermon of John Wesley had escaped my notice until recently "The Cause of Cure of Earthquakes." Wesley sets forth that earthquakes are instruments of divine wrath for sin:

Yes; thou hast now another call to repentance, another offer of mercy, whosoever thou art that hearest these words. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I warn thee once more, as a watchman over the house of Israel, to flee from the wrath to come! I put thee in remembrance (if thou hast so soon forgotten it) of the late awful judgment, whereby God shook thee over the mouth of hell! Thy body he probably awoke by it; but did he awake thy soul? The Lord was in the earthquake, and put a solemn question to thy conscience: "Art thou ready to die?" "Is thy peace made with God?" Was the earth just now to open its mouth, and swallow thee up, what would become of thee? Where wouldest thou be? in Abraham's bosom, or lifting up thine eyes in torment? Hadst thou perished by the late earthquake, wouldest thou not have died in thy sins, or rather gone down quick into hell? Who prevented thy damnation? it was the Son of God! O fall down, and worship him! Give Him the glory of thy deliverance; and devote the residue of thy days to his service!

When I Was 18...

What was the best song playing when you were 18?

That's the new meme that Jeff the Baptist has brought to my attention.

For me, that would be Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.



What about you, dear readers? What was the best song when you were 18?

Update: Here's Art Ruch's. Good choice, Art.

Question of the Day

Which Was the Best Episode of Classic Star Trek?
	City on the Edge of Forever
	Balance of Terror
	The Doomsday Machine
	The Trouble with Tribbles
	Mirror, Mirror
	Space Seed
	Amok Time
	Devil in the Dark
pollcode.com free polls

UPDATE: Are you freakin' serious, people? The Trouble With Tribbles?! What's next, are you going to nominate Spock's Brain for an Emmy?

Caption Contest

Previous contest winner

WINNER: Larry B:

In a sharp break with tradition the younger generation of crop circle enthusiasts signals their willingness to use open source crop circle patterns.

Methodist Blogger Profile: Keith Taylor

Keith Taylor

Editor's note: Keith is, strictly speaking, not a blogger. He has no blog of his own. However, he has been a frequent commentor throughout the Methoblogosphere for years, and a friend to many Methobloggers.

I am a mechanical engineer in the nuclear power industry. Specifically, I am responsible for the power generation equipment (steam turbines and electric generators) for three nuclear power plants at the largest public owned utility in the United States.

I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee about 1.5 miles south of Graceland. My home church was/is Longstreet United Methodist Church on Airways. I attended Christian Brother’s College and earned a B.S.M.E. I attended graduate school at Mississippi State University and earned my Master of Science in ME. I specialized in thermal and fluid sciences. I am a registered Professional Engineer. I am married and I have a stepson, and two dogs. Lady is a Cocker Spaniel and Angus is a Yorkshire terrier that thinks he is a Lab or a Great Dane. After we got married, we moved to Lilburn, GA, (outside of Atlanta) in 1997 and lived there until the spring of 2006. I used to work for General Electric as a field engineer, a field service manager, and a shop department manager from the time I finished school until last year when I changed jobs. I now live in north Alabama.

Why do you blog?
Well, I don’t. I sincerely wished that I had the time and patience to Blog, but I would want to write a Blog like Shane Raynor’s WesleyBlog was written. Or even L&H. The problem is that I just don’t have time. Writing a Blog of that caliber requires extensive amounts of time and research that I simply just don’t have. I am lucky to just be able to read and comment on the 5 or 6 Blogs that I read daily and half the time I am a day or two late on those. However, I love reading and commenting on most of the Blogs that I keep up with.

What has been your best blogging experience?
I was working an outage in Chattanooga, TN for 4 weeks last December and I discovered that Wayne Cooke’s Church was literally straight up Lookout Mountain from my hotel in downtown. I decided to go see where he preached, and I drove up past Rock City and in less than 10 minutes I was in his church talking to him. I had been reading him for about a year. I was able to take a Sunday morning off during the outage and go to his church and listen to him.

What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
I guess as a reader, I’d have to say that you need to post often. I have stumbled across blogs that I have read and I really liked what the author had to say, but then 2 or 3 weeks go by before they get updated. 180 degrees opposite of that are folks who post too much. They put up an excellent piece or ask a serious question that should develop a large volume of comments and discussion. However, before the comments really get going, they have already posted half a dozen more posts and the good piece is down in the pile and not seen.

If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
I read Locust and Honey, BroGreg.com (Greg Hazelrig); and Post-Methodist (Jason Woolever). They post almost daily so I try to read them every morning like some folks read the paper. I also read Elizabeth Quick routinely.

Who are your spiritual heroes?
Bishop Francis Asbury - I have read his entire journal and I am amazed at the life and journeys of one of our greatest Bishops. (Plus, he visited my 6*great grandfather’s house and held the Virginia Annual Conference there on 2/26/1805);
Martin Luther - the great reformer of the Christian Faith.
St. Joseph - the step-father of Christ.
Noah. Noah had to have more faith than any man who ever lived to spend 100 year building a boat when it had never rained. He was obviously a great man of faith, a great builder, and he must have been an awesome engineer and craftsman.
Sir Isaac Newton. Newton was a great Christian, but he studied the world around him and every scientific discovery pointed at the handiwork of God’s Creation. To Newton, science proved God’s handiwork and existence, it didn’t disprove it. I agree with him.
Finally, Todd Beamer, the passenger on United Flight 93 who in the face of all he and those passengers had to deal with, took the time and had the thought to stop and pray the Lord’s Prayer before the other passengers and himself attached the hijackers on that ill fated flight. I have often prayed that I would have that type of faith if I were in a moment of similar great distress.

What are you reading at the moment?
My wife got me the seven volume set of Rev. John Wesley’s works two years ago for Christmas. I have started and stopped reading them several times. I am currently in the Sermon’s section. I also try to read something from the Bible everyday, but I will admit that I am not very diligent at it.

What is your favorite hymn and why?
- Faith of Our Fathers - since I was a young boy, I have always loved that tune. As a young adult when I truly began to learn Church history and the trials and tribulations of great historical Christians like Paul, like Luther, like Wesley, like Asbury, it took on even more significance and had already become one of my favorite hymns. I was baptized on Father’s Day in 1991. It just so happened that as I came forward for Christian baptism, the choir sang and the organ played the first two stanzas of “Faith of Our Fathers”. I then was asked the questions to profess my faith, and as I knelt and received Christian Baptism, with my own father standing behind me, the Choir sang the final stanza. My own Christian Baptism is the first thing I think of anytime I hear that hymn playing.

Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've changed your mind?
I used to wish for everyone in the Federal Government to all get along and agree on everything. I used to wish for a single party, to control the Legislative and Executive Branches. Boy what a mistake that was and I have seen it dominated at one time or another by both parties. I now see that divided government is very good for us as a nation. It is good for one party to control the Legislative and a different party to control the Executive. Something has to really need to happen for both to agree, pass a bill, and sign it into law. Otherwise, you are going to have a degree of gridlock, and in our Federal System, I now believe that gridlock is good. My taxes don’t go up, regulations don’t increase, spending doesn’t skyrocket, for the most part, when nothing happens in Washington, life is good back home. The engine of the American economy is left to run itself. I have come to believe that the less Washington actually does do, the better off the average American is at home.

What philosophical thesis do you think is most important to combat?
Relativism, both Moral and Religious. Christ is the 2nd person of a Triune God who is both Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Reality. Relativism is therefore, anti-Christian. I believe in absolute truth. I believe in absolute reality. There is right and there is wrong. There is good and there is evil. God does love all mankind, but that doesn’t mean that he endorses what all men do and think.

If you could effect one major change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
I am in favor of a weaker Federal Government and I believe that the States have rights and responsibilities that have been either stripped by the Federal Government from them or they have abdicated them to it. I believe the rights of the Federal Government are expressly enumerated in the US Constitution. Everything else belongs to the States and the local governments.

If you could effect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?
I think the way we treat licensed local pastors versus full elders is completely wrong and is, in my opinion, not in the model of Christ. If a man or woman is good enough to lead a small, country church in worship, then they are good enough to have the same rights as privileges as a full elder. You can’t be half a pastor if you do the job right. Our entire church was built by persons with little or no education, but a willingness to serve the Lord as Circuit Riders, but now that the church is built, we don’t even allow a local pastor to administer a wedding or Holy Communion outside of the four walls of his or her own church. It is hypocritical. There are NO SECOND CLASS Christians, we shouldn’t have second class pastors.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Strive to imitate Christ in all your thoughts, actions, and deeds. Read and study the Holy Bible, the whole Bible, not just the Gospels. Be diligent in prayer, but also listen to God when the Spirit speaks to you. Ask God lots of questions, He will answer you, but you have to listen and be prepared for answers you don’t want to hear.

What, if anything, do you worry about?
Worry??? I am a Christian. I have eternal security and salvation. I’m going to live forever. In light of that, what could I possibly have to worry about? If you look at Jesus’ life, everyday was a great adventure. Jesus knew who he was and what his mission was. It seems to me that he enjoyed meeting the folks, seeing the sights, helping those in need, walking in his Creation. We are taught as Christians to imitate Christ. What did Christ worry about??? Jesus didn’t know every single thing that was going to happen to him. However, Jesus knew how it was going to turn out in the end. Guess what? So do you and I.

If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?
No, every decision I have made (good or not so good) has lead me to exactly where I am now. If I changed anything at all, I might find myself without my wife, or my son, or our dogs, Lady and Angus. If I hadn’t have been an engineer, then I would have definitely liked to have been a pastor, but I wasn’t called by God to do that job, so I wouldn’t be much of a success at it, would I?

Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
I have never visited there, so I don’t really know, but since I was a young boy, I have always dreamed of going to the Yukon Territory or to Alaska. Had I lived 100 years ago, I could see myself as a Mountie or trekking thru the wilderness with a rifle and a fly line.

What do you like doing in your spare time?
Until I moved last summer, I kept honeybees. When I moved, I gave the bees to a guy in the neighborhood that wanted them since I figured it was easier to get new ones than to move a hive 250 miles. So, I plan to get more bees soon. My wife is an avid gardener, and I spend a lot of time working with her to work the soil and move stuff around. I love doing projects around the house, especially carpentry and electrical work.

What is your most treasured possession?
I have a canon shell that my grandfather brought back from France in WWI. It is about 2 feet tall and about 6 inches in diameter. It is solid brass from and is engraved with two women in 1918 swimwear and an American Doughboy and an Eagle. It has a dummy shell carved of cedar on top that makes the total height about 34”. It is beautiful handiwork by someone. I have seen similar ones on eBay as lamps, but this one has been in the family since he brought it back. Also, my Bible is filled with notes, comments, dates, and references to sermons and events in my life. I’d hate to lose that.

What talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could play the piano. I have no real musical talent at all, but I’ve always wished I could play the piano like Jerry Lee Lewis.

If you could have any three guests, past or present to dinner, who would they be?
Probably not at the same time, but my list today is:

• Rev. Howell Taylor, my 6*Great Grandfather, and pastor in the M.E. Church. He is the one that knew Bishop Asbury and he moved our family from NC/VA to western Tennessee in the early 1800s.


• John Bunyan, a simple man of great Christian Faith and author of one of the best books written aside from the Bible, The Pilgrim’s Progress.


• Sergent Alvin C. York, a great Tennessean, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a great man of faith.

Transferring Ministers Between Conferences

¶ 347.1 of The Book of Discipline reads:

Ordained clergy or probationary members from other annual conferences of The United Methodist Church may be received by transfer into probationary or full membership with the consent of the bishops involved. Consultation with the chairperson or executive committee of the board of ordained ministry shall be held prior to the transfer.

A professor here at the Florida Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary told me that when he took his present job, he decided to transfer his membership to the Florida Conference so that he would have sacramental authority. Usually, he says, this kind of transfer involves the receiving bishop calling up the transferring bishop to verify that the elder or deacon is a quality minister. Then the elder or deacon is received into his/her new annual conference.

But this professor said that Florida required more. He had to write and turn in numerous candidacy essays, have two in-depth theological conversations with two District Superintendents, and have his psychs done again.

This practice makes sense. Hypothetically, an unscrupulous bishop could fob off his bad elders to other conferences by saying "Oh, sure! Tom is great! We sure will miss him and all of the wonderful work that he's done here." to the receiving bishop.

Maybe we should update the Discipline to reflect this practice. What do you think?

[cross-posted]

Question of the Day

Have you stopped beating your wife?

Are You Destined For World Domination?

You Are Destined to Rule the World

You have the makings of a very evil dictator... Which is both kind of cool and kind of scary! Will you rule the world? Maybe. Maybe not. But at least you know that you could.

Are You Destined For World Domination?

Hat tip: Ironic Catholic

Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup #118

The latest MBWR is up, thanks to the tireless Allan Bevere. Allan has special instructions for the next Roundup due to his upcoming mission trip to Cuba.

I've now brought the MBWR archive up to date.

Caption Contest

Previous contest winners

WINNER: Knapsack:

So . . . mediation didn't work out for you guys?

Question of the Day

If you were building a pastor's library from scratch and you had only $2,000, what would you get?

Stand-Up Economics

Dr. Yarum Bauman, Ph.D., a comedian/economist explains the dismal science:



Hat tip: Geektastic

Bacon Ice Cream

It's about time that someone developed this product. All things are better if they have been baconized.

Hat tip: Bag of Nothing