About Me

I’m a middle aged (if I live to be 110) pastor of a middle sized church on the west edge of the country. There’s nothing particularly interesting about who I am or what I do, unless you’re pretty interested in the small and particular. Actually, that is what most of reality is – small and particular.

I’m married (over 35 years) to my high school sweetheart. We have three terrific sons and one wonderful daughter-in-law. Family is important to me. My best friends and most honest critics are my brothers and my mom, my wife and my kids.

I have been serving in the church in McMinnville for 10 years and I love it here. It is a dynamic, serving, risk-taking congregation driven by a desire to be a blessing to its community and the world, and it does a pretty good job of fulfilling that desire.

I am getting ready for a sabbatical (thanks to the astounding generosity of the Lilly Foundation Clergy Renewal Program, which granted the funds to take this break). I am not “burnt out” on ministry. I do need a break from its daily demands, though, to refresh the clarity of my calling, and to renew my perspective on my church. I often feel so immersed in its life that I cannot tell what it needs from me.

The content of the sabbatical will be a month-long trip to Great Britain to connect with my Wesleyan and Scottish roots. Joanne and I will spend a week of that trip at Iona Abbey on retreat.

When we return to the US, I will spend the final two months fulfilling a life-long dream to build a wooden boat.

This blog will mostly be an extended reflection on the sabbatical experience.