Noogie's Notes

The beginning

2006-02-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

It is coming quickly. My first Sunday at Hope Lutheran in Summit, SD will be the 12th of February. We are still very excited about our move to Summit and our lives there. Was there this past Tuesday opening PO box, Bank Account and the like. And it just felt right walking down Main Street and eating at the local cafe.

We have also spent some time doing some things at the Parsonage. They are replacing all of the carpets and wanted us to pick out the new stuff. And also wanted us to decide on paint colors for the inside of the house. So that has been very fun. We have never been able to do that before!! The parsonage is really nice and will be in great shape with the new carpets and fresh coat of paint throughout the entire house. But with all the work they are doing, we are not able to move until the 11th. So that kind of sucks, but it will work.

Now our last trouble is finding a day care for Elizabeth. There is a lady in Summit who watches kids, but we just did not feel very comfortable with her after our visit. One of the clinics Pam is working at has a daycare (that looks awesome) but they are full right now. So we will see what happens there.

Anyways, we ask for your prayers as we begin this new journey. Any advice from those of you who have started new calls?? I would appreciate anything.

Finally, Ordination is scheduled for the 25th of February with Installation happening on March 12. So need to start planning those as well. God Bless You all. And soon I will join you all as Ordained Pastor in the ELCA!!! YEAH!!

Unanimous!!

2006-01-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Had an exciting day on Sunday. Travelled to Hope Lutheran in Summit, SD to be in worship with them. I was asked to preach since their Interim Pastor was unavailable. So was a wee bit nervous, but the sermon went well I think. At least from my perspective. Immediately following worship, Pam and I went with a couple to see the parsonage. A nice three bedroom house a couple of blocks from church. The best part is that they are replacing the carpet in the living and dining rooms. Currently it is thirty five year old dark red carpet. So that will be nice to have new carpet. They even asked Pam if she wanted to help pick out the carpet, which is awesome. So anyways, while we were gone looking at the parsonage they held their congregational meeting and voted on whether to issue a call to me or not. The vote came back unanimous!! So that was exciting. There was a full church as well, so lots of people came out to vote.

After that the youth was serving a dinner to help raise money for San Antonio this summer. So we stayed for that and had a chance to visit with a few people. Will never remember their names in a month or so, but that is okay. Lots of younger families. Which is totally awesome. Nice to have people our age to connect with and do ministry with. Following lunch we met to go over compensation. And that also went good. YEAH, no more internship wages!!!

So now we just wait for the letter of call to be approved by the Synod and then sent to us for us to sign. Pam and I are very excited. After yesterday, it just feels right and feels like the right place for us. Do not know of exact start date or anything like that yet. Probably mid-February sometime. Have to give some time for renter's to move out of parsonage and for them to replace carpet and paint and stuff. Ordination will not be until March sometime. Bishop Andrea in SD is on sabattical until then. And rather than go through more hoops and make some other bishop come way out to the middle of South Dakota to do Ordination. I will just begin and be ordained when she returns. Will keep you all posted on happenings around here.

Pam and I are very excited. It seems great to be at this place finally. I figured since I just turned 27 it should be time to get out of school and start doing something productive. 21 years of straight school, plus this past Fall of whatever you want to call it. Wow that is a long time!! Hope you are all doing great and enjoying ministry wherever you are.

Christmas/Birthday/New Years

2006-01-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Been gone for about a week celbrating Christmas with the families. It was a wonderful first Christmas with Elizabeth. Puts the whole Christ coming as a baby in a new perspective that is for sure.

We had a great Christmas celebration here at the church in Starbuck. Always good when you need to grab more chairs, bulletins, bread for Communion. Great stuff. I have to share one moment during our Christmas worship service with you. There is an 18 year old girl in our congregation who is currently in rehab for Meth. Bad Bad Stuff!! Anyways, I have been in contact with her a little bit and Pam has been writing back and forth to her for a couple weeks. We know her mom very well. Anyways, she was home on a 2 day leave from rehab and came to Worship Christmas Eve with her mom. It is quite a humbling experience to distribute the Body of Christ to someone on leave from Drug Rehab. God's love is amazing. And I could just see the joy in her face as she took part in the Lord's Holy Supper. She knew that when everybody else might turn their backs on her or think badly about her, God is there for her. God forgives her for all that she did while addicted to Meth and will be there to help her stay clean once she is through rehab. It was amazing and a very special moment for me.

Celebrated my birthday with my family which was very cool. When I was younger, having my birthday three days after Christmas always seem to suck. But now I like it. Not everybody gets to be surrounded by all of their family on their birthday. It was a good birthday.

As for the New Year - have lots of expectations. Hopefully will be moving and getting ordained and starting ministry somewhere soon. The interview with the church in Summit, SD went well. It was not much of an interview. Their main question - when can you start?? They are anxious for a minister and do not have lot of requirements or expectations of the person they want as their pastor. I think it will be a wonderful place for me to start in ministry. I will be preaching there on Sunday, the 8th and then that afternoon they are having a congregational vote. Still trying to figure out the timeline for all of this and when to start planning Ordination and everything. Pam and I are very excited. We are ready for the next stage in our life.

Hope everyone found time to rest and enjoy this wonderful season in our lives as God's beloved children. Blessings to you and yours in the New Year!

Summit and more

2005-12-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have an interview!! The process is now in motion again. I will be interviewing at Hope Lutheran in Summit, SD. A one-point solo call. 270 members, but with about 40 kids in Sunday School. So lots of young families, which is very cool. They even had 3 adult baptisms in the last couple of years! One other unique thing - I would be the first male pastor since 1990. They have had three females in a row. (The last being Laura (Atyeo) Overbo. Who I think was a senior when we started sem) Pretty unique for a small town rural church. So we are "interviewing" on Wednesday evening. A colleague of Pam's grew up at Hope and her mother is on the church council. So this colleague has been talking us up for a couple of months. And they have been praying that the synod would match us up. Which ended up working out. Mainly because their needs match up well with my gifts and interests. So it is looking very promising. Unless some major red flags come up on either end, I really think this will work out and be a great place for Pam, Elizabeth and I.

And I am excited about being a solo pastor. Which is a complete shift from a year or so ago. I was pretty much scared out of my mind about being on my own. But I think I am now ready. One thing I have noticed while on Internship is that I worship more completely when I am leading worship on my own than when I am sharing the duties with my supervisor. It is always difficult to experience worship while you are leading. My wife struggled with this when she was a music director at Peace Lutheran. But for me, leading is easier and I feel the flow of the worship better when I am on my own. Otherwise it feels so disjointed to just preach the sermon and not contribute to any other part of the worship service. Or vice versa. Hopefully, this will continue and I will become able to better experience worship and lead worship simultaneously as I do it more often.

Finally, I just wanted to share a thought that was shared at the Christmas Communion Service this past week. All of the area pastor participate in the service and the woman who preached had a neat message. It focused on the coming of Jesus, our Savior who takes away the sin of the world. But then added in a neat twist that I had not thought about before. She talked about all that goes with sin, including FEAR. Adam and Eve were afraid when they heard God walking in the Garden. Scared of his wrath and judgement. Fear comes with sin. But with the coming of the Christ Child we do not have to be afraid any longer. The angels message to each person is "Do not be afraid." The angel says this to Mary, Joseph, the shepherds. (She made reference to all of the these BIble passages during her sermon.) Then reminded us that the reason Jesus was sent into our world was because of God's love for us. And wrapped it up with the verse that talks about Love casting our fear and there is no fear in love. (1 John 4:8) It was a great message and something that struck me as a new thought for the Christmas Story.

Merry Christmas to all. Pray for smooth worship services this weekend and time for family and rest afterwards.

Lifted Up

2005-11-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

I received my first two stoles in mail today. Who knew two pieces of cloth would bring up so much emotion. Each of them was a gift. A gift that symbolizes people's support and belief in me and my calling to ordained ministry. What a blessing! So they remind me of all of the people who have supported me, prayed for me, and been with me on my faith journey. They remind me of JG's ordination when I saw his stole being placed on him for the very first time. As well as all of your ordinations, though I was not there to witness them. And these two pieces of cloth bring me excitement for what is to come. Being a minister in God's church. Being a witness of my faith and of God's love.

The stoles were hand painted by Chillon Leach, an artist in St. Paul. She sent me a description of the paintings and I wanted to share just a little part of it. "Both stoles were purposely created with images on the two sides, to enclose the wearer - not just a visual message you're carrying to others, but also one that you have for yourself as a pastor. It's a part of you, you're a part of it." I thought that was just beautiful. A wonderful thought as we wear our stoles throughout our ministries. I am just so excited and feel so blessed at this moment and wanted to share my joy with you.

Stole from my parents for Ordination!
Stole from friends of ours at Peace Lutheran in Lauderdale!

Shut Down

2005-11-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

I have come to understand why Luther Seminary does not encourage 4th year Internships. I am thankful for the opportunity to remain on staff at my internship until I receive First Call. However, I know I am not being very effective in my ministry here.

I have completely shut down. I am ready to move on to the next step on my journey. To fully enter into parish ministry as Pastor Justin Neugebauer. So most of my energy is spent dreaming and wondering about where that will be. I have looked at the map of South Dakota way more in the last month than I ever have. Trying to find these small towns that they suggest to me or that I see have pastoral openings. Pam and I are excited to be at that point in our life. To finally be somewhere, that we hope will be somewhat permanant. Ever since I have moved away from home when I was 18, I have been floating. From this community to the next. College, Bible Camp, Seminary, Internship. Constantly wondering where I will land next and for how long I will be in that place. I am ready to land and put down some roots and stay a while.

Well all of this longing and wondering and dreaming, does not leave me very passionate about the ministry where I am at. I do not know how long I will be here, but know I will be leaving sooner than later. So it is hard to fully enter into any new programs, or work on building new relationships. Which is sad, because the people here are terrific, and I have grown to love them in the past 14 months.

But it also makes me realize that there is a healthy way to leave a congregation. Once that decision has been made, I think it is best to leave rather quickly. It is what is best for both pastor and congregation. Otherwise both begin to shut down and float, rather than continuing to do ministry and be forward thinking. Just some food for thought for what eventually most of us will go through during our life as pastors in God's church.

Hypocrites and Negativity

2005-10-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

I spent most of last week at the SW MN Synod Theological Conference. Overall a wonderful couple of days of lectures, conversations with other pastors, reuniting with old friends and seminary classmates, relaxation, and rest. (Oh, and meeting with Bishop Andrea of the SD Synod, will get into that another day) Rollie Martinson and Craig Koester were the speakers and were wonderful of course. Talking about Discipleship in the 21st Century, meeting the needs of the young children and the men in our congregations, unpacking the Crucifixion in the Gospel of John. Great Stuff.

However, I am getting extremely frustrated and annoyed by my supervising pastor. All I ever hear from him is negativity about the church, and how hard he works and busy he his. Yes, pastors work hard and are often busy, but so is pretty much everyone else in the working world. Try talking to a farmer this time of year! So that kind of attitude just does not fly with me. I have heard it from a number of pastors and I don't understand it. We as pastors are not superior to every one else that isn't. We are not closer to God or even necessarily more faithful than other people are.

So for the whole three days that we were gone, all I heard was how much stuff he could be doing at home and at church. Rather than fully invest in these three days to get renewed and refreshed for the work we are doing. None of the worships were good enough for him, because they were not the style he preferred. So he went grudgingly to each one. Except the closing communion worship, because we had to leave early to get back to our congregation. Yet, he complains constantly about how our people do not attend worship regularly, how they do not value that as important to their lives. Yet he can choose to skip out on worship and complain about it all week.

Him, another pastor from our area, and I were talking at one point during the conference. Each of them are a part of a Synod Committee. And both of them talked about how they don't invest themselves in those committees. The other pastor doesn't usually go to her meetings, because she is too busy. Yet we have been discussing over the past few months the group of council members who have not been attending meetings. So why is it okay for these pastors to miss meetings, but not our council members? Why is it okay for pastors to use the excuse of being too busy, but not our council members?

Finally, our Sunday School kids sang in worship yesterday for Reformation Sunday. They did a fabulous job and it was such a blessing to have them share their gifts. Some parents were in worship, who are not regular attendees. It was a great worship service and it brought a lot of joy to the whole community. Yet all my supervisor can say is, "we should have the Sunday School kids sing every week." Rather than enjoy the moment, enjoy the fact that these people were in church that day - he focused on the negative again. All of the times when they were not in church.

I pray that I never get so sucked into my work or MY expectations that I forget to celebrate the joys of being a pastor. Or that I fall into the trap of an attitude of superiority. Many of you, my classmates, have shared the simple joy of presiding at a Baptism or uniting two people in marriage. And I thank you for sharing those moments with me and for fully enjoying those opportunities in your ministries.

Random Ramblings

2005-10-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

I realize I have not blogged in a while and now have a hard time figuring out what in the last two weeks is worth blogging about. P and I went to SoDak this past weekend to help my grandmother move into a new apartment. It is a bittersweet move for her. Moving out of her very large house where her laundry and other stuff was in the basement is a good thing for all of us. She does not have to manage those stairs anymore, which had become quite difficult for her. All of her family does not have to worry that she is going to be falling down the stairs. At her new place the landlord takes care of the snow and the grass and those types of things. And her new place is great. A good size, very homelike. But this new place will have no memories of her husband, my grandfather. In a sense it is saying good bye again. Just in a different way. It is the right move, both literally and figuratively. But will have a time of adjustment for all of us. Along with all of this, there are some interesting family dynamics going on with my dad and his siblings and spouses, which I cannot get into here, but just creates another layer of anxiety and issues to this whole situation.

Thus, since we were gone, I did not get into my office this week until Tuesday. I usually take Fridays off, not Mondays. Originally because my Supervisor took MOndays off and then we balanced the week. But I have come to really enjoy Fridays off, because then typically I at least get two days in a row away from the office and church. The only problem is that I am such a procrastinator that sermon prep often slips over into Fridays. But anyways, this week I was not in the office on Monday, and I have felt behind all week. Spent most of Tuesday morning in meetings and then the afternoon getting ready for Wild Wednesday, which is jammed packed with activities it leaves no time to do any prep work so must be done before the day begins. Which means it is now Thursday and I have yet to even begin thinking about my sermon for this weekend. For me, one day is not enough to get my bearings for the week. But I know that by the grace of God, a sermon will get done. All the Wednesday activities went really well, so that gives me motivation for todays work and activity.

Finally, I have a "good problem." My confirmation class is very inquisitive. They are constantly asking questions. However most often the questions have nothing to do with what we are talking about. Yet the questions are about faith, God, things in the Bible they do not understand, etc. So they are great questions and I am excited and honored that they feel comfortable to ask those questions to me. For instance last night, I was giving them an introduction to Martin Luther, Small Catechism and finally the Lord's Prayer. Some of the questions I got were about where God is present (relating to the TV Show Joan of Arcadia, Is God present in people in our world?). Another girl asked, "If we are God's children do we look like Him? Since we often look like our parents?" What a great question and a chance to talk to them about being created in the image of God. That we are created holy, but are also sinful people, but because of Christ our relationship with God is restored and we are made holy again. Which did connect to Luther and his teachings. So a good problem. They ask good questions, yet these might take away from the topic of the evening. My wife was a good resource for me. She suggested giving them 15 minutes at the end of class just to ask any questions they might have about God, or the Bible and use the other 45 minutes for the lesson. I appreciate her help and guidance and support of my ministry.

We're going home!

2005-09-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Received a call from Bishop ADN today welcoming us to the SD Synod. We are excited! Now more waiting until the Synod Call Committee meets in NOVEMBER!! So nothing really happens until then. So P and I will patiently wait until we hear from them. I am going down to SF to meet with Bishop and her staff in a few weeks and hopefully will get a little more direction about possibilities. Not a big surprise for us as it was one of our preferences, and it being my home synod. But nice to be at the point in the process where I have a little more input.

Anyways, on another note. For Confirmation this week, the Sheriff in our county came and gave a presentation on Meth for our students and their parents. Very good presentation. Very nasty, nasty drug that seems to be everywhere. Meth is also known as the Devil's Drug, which I had not heard. We have had two drug labs busted in our county recently. Scary stuff. But before the meeting had a conversation with one of our members. She and her family attempted to have an intervention for her 18 year old daughter, who did not show. But this was the first time she had shared this with me. She did not say it was meth, but they had lined up treatment beds for her. She does not know where her daughter is living or what she is doing. She has hocked everything except her clothes for money. Graduation gifts from this spring and everything. Afterwards, I felt as if I did this lady an injustice. But what do you say to something like that. Where is the hope in this situation. How is God at work in her life? Or her daughters life? Very frustrating, but also know this will probably come up again, if not with her with others in any of our communities.

Finally, on a different note. As I was doing study for my sermon this week I ran across this quote in a sermon online. "Through open wide our doors, not only to let it any and all who will enter, but also to go out to share the Good News of Jesus Christ." We talk a lot about opening our doors, being welcoming to all. But do we remember that a door works both ways - in and out! It was a great reminder to me. It can be so easy to get locked up into the office at church and forget to go out and visit the elderly, the sick or anyone else who needs to hear about God.

Assignment

2005-09-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

I have been assigned to Region 3! This is what we had hoped for and are relieved and excited. Synod Assignments should come later this week. We are ready to go and begin our lives at a more permanant place, but also know that the process takes time and we must be patient. Just another reminder that faith in God is the most important thing. He will lead and guide us to where we need to be in order to fully serve Him and the Body of Christ.

Now I must get working on a sermon. I have been very unproductive these last two days because I knew assignment was coming and was slightly distracted. But now it is time to put the pedal to the medal and get going.

I've Begun

2005-09-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Noogie's Notes!

I finally got into this blog thing. I have been reading a few of my classmates blogs and have been very enriching. It is affirming to hear the adventures of other people in ministry. Helps keep things in the right perspective - which is upon the Gospel and Jesus our Savior. Also a reminder that ministry is much larger and wider than one's own context. God is at work in all of the world, and we all are at working on Making Him Known to those who are suffering, are lost, or simply do not know of the joy of faith. I hope we can continue to stay connected through the power of technology and enrich each other's lives and ministry through our shared experiences.

On a personal note - tomorrow is Assignment Day! Lots of excitement and anxiety all at the same time. But P and I are ready for what is come and open to God's call in our life, wherever that might be.