Why You'll Never Know Who You Are

"These are not easy questions. Who am I? Why am I here? They're not easy questions because the human being isn't wired to function as an individual. We're wired tribally. We are wired to act as part of a group." - Stephen Pressfield [The War of Art]

"What we don't know is how to be alone. We don't know how to be free individuals."

So the question becomes: To what tribe will I connect?

2 opposing tribes are of The Artist and The Fundamentalist

"[The Artist] believes in progress and evolution. His faith is that humankind is advancing."

"[The Fundamentalist] cannot find his way into the future, so he retreats to the past."

"The difference is that while the one looks forward, hoping to create a better world, the other looks backward, seeking to return to a purer world from which he and all have fallen."

In 2010, which tribe do you wish to attribute your identity to?

No Parking Film Review

Today, Sacramento Press published my article and review of the film No Parking. It was written and directed by a couple great friends. Please check out the article and flood it with traffic, and thus attention for a very inspirational project.

My SacPress article

No Parking website

No Parking Twitter

Identity Theft

A warning to all people who know me: my identity has been stolen.  Be careful when you see "PC" because you need to determine who you are actually talking to. My identity has been stolen by an impostor, and the impostor is well-liked and very crafty.  He will do all that he can to make you believe he is the real PC, but not be fooled.  The impostor looks a lot like me, but he acts and reacts differently than I do.  So be on the look out for a guy who looks just like me but may act or react in any variety of the following ways.

-  has no opinions of his own; simply conforms - acts "okay" when things are not okay - lacks emotional honesty - is over-anxious to impress you when he doesn't have to - seems obsessed with getting your affirmation - will not tell you how he fells about...anything - acts better than he really is (to impress you) - speaks very little about his faults or struggles - demands to be noticed - will draw identity from achievement - avoids feeling - overly-passive - not creative (lacks creativity that I have) - intimidated

He may surface from time to time from hiding.  If you notice this man, please report him to the proper authority.  If you should come into contact with the impostor, please contact his Father (whose name is Abba) and be gentle and loving.  He is harmless to most everyone but his true self, me.

Has your identity been stolen by an imposter? What should I keep an eye out for?

What's next for PC...

Each time I speak somewhere, there is a thought and prayer that ambushes my heart.

"My God, why would you use me...again?"

2010 has a lot of promise for dreaming big and acting on those dreams. I cannot help but praise and thank God for continuing to open opportunities to write and speak for and about a grace and gospel I barely understand, or a mission to a domestic culture and demographic that grows increasingly foreign to the Church.

So far...here are some things coming down the pike for me...

SPEAKING

WRITING

OTHER EXCITING THINGS

  • Ragamuffin Ramblings will be taking on a face lift very soon. Keep your eye out for that!
  • Sac State has a new semester that I am excited to be around for!

I would love to speak for your group, retreat, conference, etc. Please drop a line here for more info or email ragamuffinpc@gmail.com to request promotional material.

Thank you all for your encouragement to follow the dream God has instilled within me. I love what I do and only want to keep on keepin' on.

Pumpin' the wattage into your cottage

I was asked this morning to be on the radio this Thursday to speak about college and young adult ministry. It is a great opportunity to spread the word about a demographic the church knows less and less how to reach and particularly about what it does look like.

We have already briefly discussed the reality that this is a group that is rapidly giving up on church, faith, etc. That reality drives a lot of us who doing what we can to reach out to this group.

They have asked that I prepare about 15 questions they can ask of me.

HERE'S WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP!

If you are involved in college and young adult ministry: If you were were given this opportunity, what would you want to be sure you addressed? If you were given an open radio mic to speak about the ministry you love to and for college students and young adults, what would you want to broadcast to many people who do not know how to reach this 'people group' we love?

If you are NOT involved in college and young adult ministry: Do you ever read this blog or hear other things from me and wonder "What the heck is he doing anyway?" If you could ask a college pastor anything about reaching this 'postmodern', 'post-Christian', generation-X-Y-Z, etc., what would you want to ask? Do you just wonder what I actually do at the coffee shop every day? What questions do you have?

I will be on air this Thursday, so I need your questions as soon as possible. You can comment them here at Ragamuffin Ramblings.

You can email them to ragamuffinpc@gmail.com

You can tweet me your questions @ragamuffinpc

So

You reap what you sow (Gal. 6:18) why are you surprised when you are lukewarm apathetic bitter ...

Others reap what you sow (Jn. 4:37) why are you surprised when they are lukewarm apathetic bitter ...

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READING: Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman LISTENING TO: Absence by Paper Route

Film Review to come...

A couple of great friends have sent me a rough cut of their film No Parking for me to review. Please take a couple minutes to check out their website for more information about this inspirational and infectious film, and check back to see the official review here at Ragamuffin Ramblings.

My Inept Ministry Degree

Undergrad Graduation Day
Many pastors and ministers to be are thrilled to "go unto the world and preach the gospel". Chalk full of theology, exegesis, and confidence, and we are ready to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

Year Following Graduation
Work the backroom at American Eagle or make lattes for Starbucks while you apply for grad school or seminary.

Graduate School/Seminary Graduation
The joke that theologians are just people answering questions nobody is asking is not funny. More and more confidence abounds to will-be-pastors and ministers.

I was ready and prepared to do ministry now. I am pretty solid on where I stand doctrinally, theologically, and most importantly, I know where I fall on the T.U.L.I.P. scale.

First Month of Pastoral Ministry
I have no idea what to tell a student who comes to me fearing she may have contracted AIDS while doing missions work in Africa.

Where was THAT class?

Second Month of Pastoral Ministry
Random jibberish terms like: ministry budget, proposed budget, faith budget, overdrawn, fleeting resources, income not meeting spending, church mortgage, pay roll, etc.

"It was my understanding there would be no math."

Third Month of Pastoral Ministry
A call is made of an elderly man in the ICU who is not expected to live through the weekend. All he wants is to speak to a pastor.

You're a pastor! Your nicely framed diploma says so.

It turns out a man who has owned more cars than years you've been alive does not want to hear much from a young ministry graduate as he's preparing to meet Jesus face to face.

He asks nothing about total depravity. Too bad, I was prepared for that question.

Fourth Month of Pastoral Ministry
Another homeless addict has made his way through the doors wanting to speak to a pastor. Maybe he's in dire need! Maybe he's manipulating you for things he does not need that you do not have.

I don't remember learning about this anywhere.

Fifth Month of Pastoral Ministry
The congregation is already a bit upset with changes you have made when God continues to inspire you to new things. One person wants to talk about it WITH YOU (if you're lucky).

Conflict!

And it is not conflict about whether baptism should be sprinkle or immersion.

Conflict = YOU! You are the problem...always!

Where was my class about that?

Sixth Month of Pastoral Ministry
Start to wonder if your pastoral ministry degree and classes really gave you everything needed to be a pastor.

You Are Insignificant?

"Today is just a day fading into another, and that can't be what a life is for." - Counting Crows Life at times feels like just another day like the one before it fading into the one after it. We move at a crawl through each day without any sense of direction or reason.

When our days are limited, coming to the end of a day like that seems pointless and disappointing. At the end of today, will I be able to say it was significant?

Will today have been intentional in any way? Will today have made any difference at all? Will I have made any significant step toward a vision? A goal? A purpose?

Today does not have to be just a day fading into another!

Significance is not an issue of fame or even recognition. Significance is an issue of making a difference where you are.

If you are a person of faith, significance is making a difference where God has placed you now today at this moment. (Eph. 2:10)

The main thing that will make this day significant is intentionality.

Intentional about relationships around you now...today. Intentional about resting and taking it all in now...for a second. Intentional about creating something now...no matter how tiny...

Run with that idea...