I want to be a pastor who...

I want to be a pastor who... ...is thoughtful, sensitive, and at ease in God's presence so that I can be thoughtful, sensitive, and at ease in your presence. (not on the run with crowded time)

...reads and studies, but is attentive and informed enough to help us understand what we are up against in a culture that squeeeeeeezes the God out of us. (not just trying harder without perspective)

...has the time to be with you in easy-going, deliberate conversation so I can understand and be a comrade to you as you grown in Christ--listening to your doubts, your difficulties, your desires, and your excitements (not always running around frantic)

...leads you in lives of worship, a pastor who brings you before God in an entangled love-affair, a pastor who preaches sermons that make scripture within-reach, current, and alive (not just busy with tasks for busy's sake)

...is able to give you a language and imagination that restores in you a sense of worth as a Christian in your homes, your schools, and your workplaces (not instilling in you a sense of being only an attender)

...is less concerned with what I think you should be doing, and more concerned with being a witness to what God is doing in you and your life.

...is patient enough with our mess to notice the forming miracles (not miss out on the day to day mystery of "us")