Pov prayers

My 'prayer life' is pretty messy. It could be more regular, fervent, devout and loved. But I try not to feel too bad about it. I mean, momentary chats to God pepper my day and my prayers are said with sincerity. I'd like to get better but I figure it'll stay messy while I'm on this earth and I trust God will use and guard my feeble efforts.

For someone like you, lacking a lifetime of habit and routine in Scripture and
prayer, the best strategy is to start small. What I am saying, I guess, is that
you shouldn't take on the burden of single-handedly going against the whole
culture. Infiltrate brief prayers into the interruptions and noise.

E.H. Peterson, The Wisdom of Each Other

Peterson says not to think of praying in terms of time, but rather to think of it as a thing you do, something that's part of your daily routine.

Other worldly

I'm not big on conferences, partially because of an irrational, peculiar life approach of mine, but also because . . .

Conferences on the spiritual life are wonderful - occasionally. I think very occasionally. They do not provide the substance for a life of obedient faith. They contribute almost nothing, maybe even less than nothing, to a life of spiritual maturity. . . . When you next feel the need for some outside encouragement and refreshment, you would do better to book a three day vacation in Hawaii. Lie on the beach and soak in creation.

The reason is that the Christian life is thoroughly organic - the Holy Spirit grows the spiritual life in you, forms Christ's life in you, in the particular conditions in which you live - Minnesota weather, rural culture, estranged wives, stand-offish children, uncomfortable income, and a still uncomfortable Lutheran liturgy.

E.H. Peterson, The Wisdom of Each Other

Unremarkable words

The conversations that take place in the parking lot after Sunday worship
are as much a part of the formation of Christian character as the preaching
from the sanctuary pulpit. The small talk that accumulates around the ritual
of putting children to sleep for the night is as sacred as the most solemn
of eucharistic liturgies. Most of our lives, after all, are not in crisis.
We also need ways of conversing about our lives in Christ.

E.H. Peterson, The Wisdom of Each Other

Fulltime secular ministry

Eugene Peterson writes a letter to a friend advising them what to say to their pastor who wants them to go into ministry:-

. . . I realised that I have also been called into full-time Christian ministry. And I need your help. . . . Two things in particular I need from you. First, I need your blessing on my ministry. . . . [cf Mk 5:18-9] . . . . In the immediate context of my life, 'family' translated into my daily work. . . . it is not easy, for none of my associates at work nor my new Christian friends understand it as ministry. I'm beginning to feel very isolated, even beleaguered. That's why I need your blessing - your blessing and your prayers, validating and strengthening me in my full-time Christian ministry. The second thing I need is your protection. This is demanding work and requires much concentration and energy. The longer I am in this church the more I feel that
people here are distracting and diverting me from my ministry. If I lived out my Christian faith the way they think I should, I would end up simply putting in 'secular' hours at the laboratory and saving up my 'Christian' energies for evening meetings and weekend church projects. . . . the help you need is the word of God preached with imagination and conviction. Tell them you need to be prayed for with passion and faithfulness and listened to without distraction or hurry.

The Wisdom of Each Other by Eugene H. Peterson.

Mentoring

My Sydney church used to run a program where the same two people met ten times throughout the year. The purposes for these meetings were quite defined. The first two were to get to know each other's stories. The mentee (hate that word) then picked three or so areas to work on and together they worked on those things across the rest of the year.

New in Town

Chapter The First: In Which Our Heroine Sends Things To Her Pastor. Sure to be a hoot.

Women doing fulltime church work

I reckon it's a big ask. I reckon women aren't as tough as men. (God reckons so too.) And I reckon an MTS apprenticeship is an awesome way for anyone to find out if it's for them. But while men should just give it a burl, I think women should only sign up if they're pretty sure it could be a goer. Otherwise they might do all sorts of emotional and psychological damage to themselves.

One way to make ministy doable for women is to allow them two rest days a week, instead of the usual one.