What is a Pastor?

Often times when I'm subbing at school I'll have students tell me that I ought to be their permanent teacher - usually for whomever their least favorite teacher is. I tell them I can only sub occasionally because my main job is being a pastor.

Many students (and actually quite a few adults) don't really know what a pastor does. I ran across this definition of a pastor one time:

Pastor: a teacher, public speaker, counselor, children’s story teller, youth leader, worship leader, HR director, master of ceremonies, facilities coordinator, volunteer coordinator, mission trip coordinator, hospital chaplain, creative designer, office equipment technician, mediator, fundraiser, finance officer, funeral director, and father. 

Yep, that covers a few of the roles.

Here

You don't have to be first. And it doesn't matter if you're last.

You just have to show up. 

What or who do you need to show up for today?

... : What You Need to Know

It's amazing how many headlines end with those words: "... What You Need To Know". 

Do you need to know it? Really?

Or are they just trying to get you to click through so you spend some time on their site and make advertisers happy?

What do you need to know? It might be worth spending some time thinking about. Then proceed accordingly.

Teens and Adults

I love hanging out and talking with students. I find teenagers endlessly fascinating. Maybe it's the youth pastor in me or the fact that I'm still a kid at heart (and have a junior high sense of humor), but I think young people are some of the most interesting, fun people to spend time with.

I remember in high school, some of my best friends were a year or two behind me in school, so when I was a senior, I would often hang out with freshmen and sophomores. I remember asking my youth leader at the time, Jimmy Olson, if he thought that was normal. He looked at me and said, "Hey, I'm a youthworker! I hang out with younger people all the time!" When I became a youth pastor my dad asked one time if I thought I would still be able to relate to young people when I got older. I said, "Like your age?" He was in his 50s at the time. "You're a high school teacher and you can still relate to teens!"

I wish more adults had the opportunity to get to know this next generation (and vice versa!) I think the media often gives a skewed perspective on teenagers and it's easy to stereotype them or lump them into a category that may not be real flattering. But there are some fantastic students around. I'm so fortunate to be able to know so many great kids through my youth group, substitute teaching, and helping coach the cross country team - which is pretty much the reason I am involved in those activities.

Rob's Recommendations: Pizza

Bacon & Pepperoni Pizza from Demetrio's

I was subbing at school today and the students and I got into a discussion on the best pizza around. Everyone agreed that Pine City Pizza Pub has some top-notch pizza, but it tends to be a little more expensive. The other excellent local alternative is Casey's which typically has very good pizza at a reasonable price. There's also a Pizza Hut in town, but personally I haven't been impressed with their pizza for the last several years. I wish there was a Little Caesar's nearby as their deep dish pizza is quite good as is their Crazy Bread.

A little further out one student recommended Proctor Pizza & Sub Shop up near Duluth, so I'm adding that to my list of places to try. 

Donatelli Brothers in White Bear Lake has a wonderful pizza called the "heart-stopper" with pretty much every meat. Guy Fieri featured it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, but I used to go there frequently in seminary when I was working nearby at what was then Lakewood Evangelical Free Church. Donatelli's also has a great concoction called the "super-suicide" which includes all the different sodas (a "suicide") plus flavoring syrups (cherry, lemon-lime, chocolate...) I'm not sure of the exact recipe, but it's really good and every sip is different. 

Giordano's is excellent for Chicago-style deep dish, and there is one in Richfield, Minnesota, so you don't have to travel as far to enjoy it!

The best all-time pizza I've ever had is at Demetrio's Pizza House in Bradenton, Florida. We used to go there weekly after church on Sundays when I was growing up. My favorite is their pizza with bacon and pepperoni (pictured here). I've never had another pizza that has a crust similar to Demetrio's and their sauce is a perfect blend to complement to toppings.

If you are anywhere near Bradenton - or even if you're not - it's worth a trip to Demetrio's for their pizza. (The rest of their food is excellent, as well.) Note that it is the original Demetrio's in Bradenton on Cortez Road, as I believe there are others with similar names. Looking forward to heading down for a visit at the end of March and we usually end up at Demetrio's a few times!

A Comment on Comments

I read an interesting post on Ken Levine's blog about the comment section of his blog. It's usually quite busy with people interacting about whatever Ken has posted on or asking questions. Apparently there's been an increase in the meanness of tone and critique by many of the commenters (not just trolls). I haven't had to worry about that because I rarely have anyone comment. Maybe I'm just not controversial enough. Which is okay, too.

But in case anyone ever wants to, let's keep it civil, and please be sure to leave your name. I'll plan to delete anonymous posts. I'd enjoy hearing from you if you find a post particularly helpful, insightful, or if you disagree (beyond something like "you're wrong" - make it helpful.)

An Impulse Buy and A Pleasant Suprise

At Sam's Club the other day and on impulse I picked up some Eggo Thick & Fluffly Salted Caramel Belgian Style Waffles (or ET&FSCBSW, for short). I think it was the "salted caramel" part that got me because that sounds kind of sophisticated. "Made with a touch of sea salt." Fancy.

You ever do one of those impulse buys and it turns out to be disappointing? I kind of expected it and was a little cautious because, being Sam's Club, you don't just get a few, you get a couple dozen - literally. 

But I have to tell you, these were so good! Toast them, add some butter and drizzle a little homemade maple syrup on them... Wow. Not trying to turn this into a food blog, - not that there's anything wrong with that - but I'd highly recommend these guys! Hopefully they aren't a limited-time deal. I know I'll be stocking up next time I'm at Sam's.

Rob's Reviews: Ghostbusters Afterlife

I have to admit I was never a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters movies. I saw them both back in the 80s (I think on videotape, not in the theater) but neither impressed me all that much. I never bothered with the reboot a few years ago, but when I saw that they were revisiting the universe of the original but with a modern take, I was intrigued. I also was interested in seeing it because of Finn Wolfhard, who I have enjoyed in Stranger Things. 

I rewatched the first Ghostbusters a few months ago in preparation for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Again I was underwhelmed by the story, and as much as I enjoyed Bill Murray in Groundhog Day and in What About Bob (two of my favorite comedies of all time), in Ghostbusters he was too over-the-top jokey for my tastes. All of that to say that I headed into Ghostbusters: Afterlife with extremely low expectations.

I had planned to see this new iteration in the theater but never got around to it. I ended up with a free afternoon yesterday and decided to watch Afterlife. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! It was a fun thrill-ride with well-designed characters, snappy dialogue, and a much more realistic take on the Ghostbusters universe. It honored the original, and I was glad I had rewatched it recently so I could catch most of the homages. 

I won't do a complete breakdown of the film, but my guess is that if you enjoyed the original, you'll like this one. And even if you didn't like the first one all that much, you should still have a good time. I loved this one and would give it a solid A. 

Oh yeah: The only thing that took me out of the realism of the movie was a scene in Walmart. All of the signage was wrong - wrong color numbers, no headers on endcaps signs... - although that may be due to the fact that this was filmed in Canada and they have different signs. The other thing is that all the shelves were fully-stocked and zoned to perfection. Seriously? Have you ever been in a Walmart like that? :) Watch the clip and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Rob's Recommendations: Upsie

I helped a couple of friends pick out some new laptops yesterday. (Shoutout to MicroCenter in St. Louis Park. They have some pretty good deals and good people to work with.) I suggested both pass on the extended warranty as both a adults who aren't going to be lugging their laptops around a lot and are going to take pretty good care of them.

However, I did get an extended warranty a couple of months ago for Jordan's new laptop (a combo Christmas and college graduation gift) because he can be hard on equipment and will be taking it a lot of places once he finds a new job. (He's looking for college football assistant coaching positions if anyone is aware of any.) But his warranty I got through Upsie, where I have had good experience as they also were the warranty place for my cell phone (which is about the same price as his laptop, but I got a deal. Story for another time). 

Anyway, I got an email from Upsie the other day stating that they were doing an audit on their warranties and found out that I overpaid for the laptop warranty and they were issuing me a refund for the balance. How many other places do you know that would do that?

Most of the time I don't recommend warranties, but if you do need one, I'd check out Upsie.com. If you use this link, you get 10% off and I get a credit for referring you.

January Pioneer Column

For those without a subscription to the Pine City Pioneer, here is a copy of my column from this week's paper: 

I always like the beginning of the year because it always seems to be so full of fresh possibilities and new beginnings. Everyone looks forward to seeing what the new year brings and we all hope that the coming year will be better than the previous one. (Admittedly, the last couple of years have set a low bar!)

The beginning of the year is the time we reflect on our lives and often make resolutions because we want to see improvement in our finances, our fitness, our relationships, and so on. It’s a good thing to pause and evaluate and set goals because we were created to grow and change and become.

Unfortunately, we sometimes get overly concerned about changing our circumstances or our bodies, but we neglect to address our inner selves. A Facebook friend was bemoaning the fact that his girlfriend broke up with him. He wrote, “Hopefully I’ll find someone eventually.” Knowing him, my first thought was, “You might want to worry less about trying to find the right person and spend a little more time and energy on becoming the right person.”

It’s so easy to concentrate on what we plan to do or not do instead of focusing on the kind of person we want to become. God has a plan for your life that goes way beyond changing your circumstances, it involves changing you – your very soul. The questions we ought to ask ourselves are, “At the end of this year, how am I going to be a different person?” and, “What kind of things does God wants to do in my soul this year?”

The Apostle Paul writes about this kind of change in his letter to Christ-followers in Rome. He challenges them, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2 NIV) Notice that he doesn’t say, “Transform yourself,” he says, “Be Transformed.” We can’t make the kind of transformation Paul is talking about happen by ourselves, it is something God does in us. We get into trouble when we try to achieve our goals through our own willpower, without inviting God into the process. We make resolutions without spending significant time in prayer, asking God what He wants to do in our lives in the coming year.

I don’t even like to use the word “resolution” anymore. To me, that feels like something I’m trying to do by my effort alone. Instead, I try to reflect on some questions in different areas of my life. Questions like: Where should I be growing in my knowledge and understanding this year? How am I going to get there? Is there a book I should read or a class I can take? What relationships can I invest in this year? How do I guard my heart when it comes to the media I consume? How can I grow to be more generous and loving? What can I do to improve my prayer life and increase my enjoyment of God? How can I honor God with my body, my time, and my resources?

The truth is, trying to change our circumstances or improve our health is fine, but it’s always temporary. If it’s lasting change you’re looking for, try asking for God’s help to transform you from the inside out.

Back to My Journalism Roots

I had my first column published in our local paper, the Pine City Pioneer, this week. The new editor (Traci LeBrun, who seems to be doing an excellent job) contacted the local clergy and asked if we would be willing to write a column from a faith-based prospective on a rotating basis, so I'll be writing one every month and a half or so. 

It reminded me of high school where I wrote a column for our (award-winning) school newspaper, the Paw Print (at Bayshore High School - go Bruins!). One particular column was a satire where I imitated the style of a columnist at our town newspaper, the Bradenton Herald. The Herald published it and the columnist made some very nice remarks about it and my future as a journalist (um... about that...) 

So now, 40 years later, I'm still writing columns for the local paper. I guess some things never do change.

Whiteboards

My whiteboard after youth group last night. Not sure how much you can read on the blog, but it was more legible in person. (Click on the photo for a bigger version.)

I discovered in college (while teaching the New Testament Survey tutorial) how helpful it is - and how much I enjoy - having a whiteboard to help focus the lesson (and the teacher). It's always interesting to me the end result. I feel like you could kind of retrace my lesson and thought processes with just the board.

(In case you were wondering, the last couple of weeks we've been talking about the Bible!)

High school vs. Now

I don't know if you get the emails from Classmates.com trying to get you to reconnect with your high school friends (for a low fee of only $3 per month when you sign up for 3 months! What a deal!) 

It's an okay service, I suppose. But frankly if I want to reconnect with someone from high school I'm going to go on Facebook first and search for them.

The other thing is, after thirty-plus years (okay... closer to 40 years) out of high school I'm not sure what most of us would have in common. It's fun to reminisce. But I was thinking about how different I am today from what I was like in high school. I would hope people wouldn't judge me solely by my behavior  - or attitude, or the clothes I wore(!), back then. 

It's funny, a few years ago I had a high school friend reconnect with me on Facebook and tell me how happy he was to get in touch again. The thing is, I remember him as being kind of a bully in school. (He spit in my hair in junior high!) I'm guessing he's changed a bit, too.

So the question is, how long do you keep evaluating/judging a person based on what they've done? What if it was one year ago? Two? Ten? When do you give them a "fresh start"?

Memories of Walmart

Nine years ago today was my last day at Walmart in Pine City, concluding a four-year foray into the retail industry. 

I had started as a part-time, seasonal electronics associate, having planned to work there for a few months to make ends meet until I found another youth ministry position. As the job search stretched on, I moved from seasonal to regular associate and then became a department manager in electronics - one of my favorite roles at Walmart. From there I became a Zone Manager Supervisor over electronics, the Connection Center (phones), and toys. After that I became a salaried member of management, serving for two years as an Assistant Manager. At the time I was assigned to oversee the front end and the back room.

I had a great four years at the Pine City Walmart and worked with some terrific people. I still miss some parts of my various jobs there and the great people I worked with (and my associate's discount!), but I love what I am doing now. 

I realized that just because I enjoyed and was good at something, that didn't mean I was called to do that the rest of my working life. But it wasn't so much that my calling to be a minister had changed as much as the context for ministry. According to the Bible, all believers are ministers. We're all called to live out our faith - loving and serving those around us and inviting people to get to know Jesus - in whatever job we have.

Some Fun Times With Friends at MOA

No school today due to the MLK holiday, so we took our youth group down to the Mall of America for a few hours. It's a great way to build community within the group, but for me it's also a great opportunity to just hang out with some good friends (who also happen to be in junior and senior high). 

Someone asked me yesterday what we were planning to do there. "Um... walk around and eat stuff." That's pretty much the only plan. There are plenty of "entertainment" options to spend your money on (mini-golf, Undersea Adventure, the theme park in the middle, etc.) and those are fine, but we just enjoyed chilling, walking around and hanging out together.

The guys I was hanging out with talked me into getting this book and said I could use some each day I sub at school. (When I showed one of the girls she said, "You don't need any more of those jokes!")

When Love Speaks

I'm starting a new 5-part message series next Sunday called "When Love Speaks". This is kind of inspired by Dr. Gary Chapman's book, The 5 Love Languages. The five he identifies are: Words of affirmation, Quality time, Physical touch, Acts of service, Receiving gifts. 

We all give and receive love in each of these "languages", but typically there are a couple that we respond to more than others. 

Looking forward to exploring this more in the weeks to come, especially because it's hard to me to identify which ones are my primary languages.

What are yours?

The Best Part of Winter

Great morning today playing broomball with some of youth group students (and many who aren't in our youth group). The temperature started out at -2 degrees but we got up to 11 degrees or so by noon, and without wind it was actually pretty decent weather overall.

 

Truthfully, if it wasn't for broomball I wouldn't have a whole lot of use for winter. Glad to have some fun students to play with!

Rob's Recommendations: Ken Levine blog and podcast

Podcasting seems to have overtaken blogging in popularity (or at least in the public zeitgeist) when it comes to people sharing information, ideas, or just entertainment. But there are some great blogs out there. 

One blog that I read daily is By Ken Levine (not the game developer by the same name). Ken is a comedy writer - and baseball announcer, playwright, artist, author, and probably more things. Primarily known for his writing, Ken wrote for shows like MASH, Cheers, Frasier, Becker, Wings, and many more. He and his writing partner were showrunners for MASH and Becker (among others). Check out his IMDB profile for the full rundown. Needless to say, he is very entertaining and a fount of information about writing, show business, and more. 

In addition to his daily blog that has been going over a decade, he is also a podcaster with a highly entertaining podcast that comes out on Thursdays each weeks for several years now. (The podcast is sometimes PG-13 with language, just so you are aware.) Sometimes it's just Ken talking and sometimes he'll have on someone to interview. Either way, it's very high quality and always entertaining.

Nine Years and Counting

It was nine years ago today that I preached my first sermon at First Presbyterian Pine City as the official pastor. I had been providing pulpit supply for a few years prior, but had finally decided to leave Walmart and move back into full-time vocational ministry following a prompting from God and repeated promptings from several at the church!

Hard to believe it's been nine years already. Especially for someone who never really aspired to becoming a senior pastor.

The church celebrated it's 150th Anniversary last year and as a part of that we put together a heritage book of reflections. Here's what I wrote about my experience at FPPC.

150^th Anniversary Reflections

Rob Spahr

“I heard that First Presbyterian Church is looking for pulpit supply. You should check that out.”

So said the pastor from Evergreen Community Church back in 2009. Our family had been attending there and I served as a volunteer youth leader and elder at the time. I had preached at Evergreen a couple of times and the pastor there suggested contacting the Presbyterian church about the opportunity to preach more frequently.

I didn’t know anything about First Presbyterian Pine City, other than that it was in the big white building next to the Mainstreet Milkhouse gas station. I was very familiar with Presbyterian churches, having attended a Presbyterian college, King College in Bristol, Tennessee. In fact, I regularly preached at a small Presbyterian church in Churchill, Tennessee, my junior and senior years in college, and while at Bethel Seminary I had served as a youth intern at Hope Presbyterian in Richfield, Minnesota. But it had been many years since I had any contact with any of the Presbyterian denominations or churches.

At the time, I was employed at Walmart, having taken a break from full-time ministry after 15 years as a youth pastor. Vocational ministry is challenging, and I had been involved in a few difficult church situations, so I was enjoying the change of pace that serving in the marketplace offered. Nevertheless, I decided to inquire about the opportunity to preach at First Presbyterian. I contacted Bob Werner and eventually interim pastor Harry Lichy. I began subbing for Harry on occasion in late 2009 and continued to do so over the next few years.

Just about every time I filled the pulpit at First Presbyterian, Bob Werner would remind me, “Hey, you know we’re looking for a senior pastor!”

“I’m not a senior pastor,” I would respond. “I’m a youth guy!”

“We don’t care,” he would reply. “We still want you.”

“I’m not even Presbyterian.” I reminded him. I had grown up in a Baptist General Conference (Converge) church, attended a BGC seminary and then was ordained in the Evangelical Free Church.

“We don’t care.” Bob insisted. “We still want you.”

“I already have a job.” I told him. I had started as an hourly associate at Walmart after having left my last youth pastor position and had moved steadily up the ranks, eventually becoming a salaried member of management.

But no matter how much I protested, invariably Bob would remind me each time, “We’re still looking for a senior pastor, you know.”

I continued to preach once or twice every month or two. Every time I would hear from Bob, “We’re still looking for a pastor…” This went on for a couple of years. Eventually God began to nudge both Rosalie and me, giving us an inkling that we might not yet be done with vocational ministry. I had spent three and a half years at Walmart and enjoyed my job there. My prospects for the future with the company were good, but I was becoming increasingly aware of a sense of holy discontent. As successful as I was in the marketplace, I knew God was calling me back to service in the church.

But I was very wary of pursuing the opportunity at First Presbyterian for a couple of reasons. First, the church had declining attendance and participation with an aging congregation. It was still locked into a very liturgical style that would have been familiar to previous generations but was increasingly unfamiliar an inaccessible to newcomers. However I was encouraged by the fact that Jen Hansmann was the pianist and had introduced more contemporary songs at the beginning of the services. I was confident that with her help we could begin to develop a thriving worship ministry that blended both the traditional favorites with more modern songs. Having Jen as the pianist was a big factor in my decision to pursue the opportunity to serve FPPC as pastor.

The other reason for my caution about the position was that my protests to Bob were not simple excuses. I had never aspired to become a senior pastor and had only desired to serve in student ministry. I had my Master of Divinity degree, so education wasn’t an issue. But I still felt apprehensive about stepping into a lead pastor role with no previous experience. Fortunately my time at Walmart taught me a lot more about working with people of all ages and gave me to confidence I needed to take the leap.

We decided to, in a way, lay out a fleece: if Bob asked again and indicated that the church seriously wanted to pursue having me as pastor, we would take that as a sign to investigate the possibility of serving full-time. Sure enough, the next time I preached at FPPC, Bob said, “You know…” and this time I replied, “Let’s talk about it.”

I had some doubts that it would even be possible for me to serve as pastor, not having credentials in the PCUSA. But after meeting with several people from the Presbytery, we were given the go-ahead to continue. The Manse was sold to help fund the housing part of my salary (three-quarter time at first) and I began serving as pastor on January 13, 2013.

I went in with fear and trepidation. Would I be a good fit? How would I do at preparing a message most every week of the year? Would I be able to navigate the challenges of serving a church as the lead pastor? Would the church be able to continue to support my family financially after the proceeds from the sale of the Manse were depleted? Would I even be able to remember everyone’s names (a superpower some pastors seem to have but which I seriously lack)? There was a lot of uncertainty. This move was a huge step of faith for our family, but I trusted in God’s leading.

It turns out that trusting God was a good idea. (Who knew?!) I was surprised at how open the church was to change and growth, and the lack of conflict and infighting was a wonderful change from some of my more recent church experiences. It turned out that God had been preparing me for exactly this position. I have been able to utilize my teaching and leadership gifts to serve the older members of the congregation while also continuing to minister to teenagers through our youth ministry.

I’m so grateful to the people at First Presbyterian for bearing with me through the years as I have grown in my role. You have suffered through some pretty mediocre sermons at times, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes in leadership, but have always received a lot of grace, for which I am thankful.

As with any church, it is the people that make it special. I am indebted to so many for their support and encouragement. They have welcomed both my family and me and truly made this our church home. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to help shepherd this congregation over the past decade and we look forward to seeing what God will continue to do through this gathering in the years to come!