June 9, 2008 by RevLurch.

I passed my EMT-B class last week 1st in my class.  Now I have to take the NREMT written test to be officially certified as an EMT-B.  Everyone who has taken it has said it is one of the toughest tests they have ever taken.  I believe them because I have studied more for this EMT class than any other class I have taken.  I hope that I can take the test either this week or next so I can get it over with and the stress out of my life.

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June 9, 2008 by RevLurch.

Maybe the Craftsman Bus Series was a bad idea.

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May 10, 2008 by RevLurch.

Even the Zamboni is getting into the act.

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May 4, 2008 by RevLurch.

I will participate in my first clinical rotation as part of my work toward certification as an EMT-B on 5/7.  I’m working in an ER.  I’m excited and nervous and trying to remind myself to trust my training and my God to help me make the right decisions and see the right things.

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April 25, 2008 by RevLurch.

If nothing scares you into being safe, this should:

Explanation here

I pray that I come home safe every day.  I don’t want my kids to have to carry my helmet.

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April 22, 2008 by RevLurch.

Check out this Nextel commercial. It isn’t the phone that makes this work.

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April 21, 2008 by RevLurch.

Mark is asking some questions at The Lotus:

What is your perfect church? Describe it to me. What is it like? What does it say? Not say? What does it sound like when it worships? What are the sermons about? How are they given?

Go and join the conversation.

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March 21, 2008 by RevLurch.

This comes from a colleague at Desperate Preacher who is a chaplain for a sheriff’s department in Arkansas.

Called out at 3:30 this morning in my chaplain role. RevLurch, It was a house fire. 49 year old lady consumed in the flames. Ministered first to the fireman who found the body as the firefighters were still engaged at the scene. The precious lady’s remains were still in the smoldering ashes.

Then, while ministering to my deputies I realized in the darkness standing about 30 yards away was an elderly man…it was the lady’s father. Come to find out they lived two houses down from the consumed house, the mother heard the popping noises and they both had to watch their daughter’s home…and life be taken away.

Dad is a retired minister of 51 years. I was with them through the whole questioning time by our detectives, they had a very difficult time understanding why we had to treat the scene as a crime scene. Mom and Dad were very courageous and broken.

The daughter was divorced six years, no children.

Please remember the Rev Parker and wife Victoria, the Mom and Dad, if you have time this Good Friday.

Thank you.

chuck

I just had to share with those who would pray. In fact I would add to chuck’s sentiment by asking that you make time to pray for those involved in this particular incident and for all those who find that their lives have become Good Friday.

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March 17, 2008 by RevLurch.

Responded to a barn fire in the wee hours of the morning and what I did made the Bowling Green OH paper:

Fire destroys barn near Luckey
LUCKEY — Firefighters from several local agencies were dispatched this morning to a barn fire at 6605 Devil’s Hole Road, southwest of the village.
According to reports from the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, the fire was reported at 2:45 a.m.
Troy Township Fire Department was the primary response agency. The township received support from Pemberville, Middleton Township and Lake Township firefighters as well. There were several tanker trucks and a ladder truck at the scene.
According to Michael Richardson, Troy Township EMS director, there were no injuries but the barn was a total loss. He said the barn contained a woodworking shop.
A nearby rabbit hutch also was destroyed but not before firefighters rescued a rabbit inside.
“They hit (the hutch); the water and saved the bunny,” Richardson said. “The bunny got out.”
He said another nearby outbuilding also was damaged in the fire, but the home on the property was not damaged.
The cause of the barn fire remains undetermined.
Firefighters were on the scene for hours. The last Troy Township unit returned to the station in Luckey around 7:40 a.m.

OK, so I didn’t get named but I was on the crew that saved the rabbit.  The barn was a total loss but no one was hurt.  That’s the best part.

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March 1, 2008 by RevLurch.

I’ve never been the “Pied Piper” type pastor, especially with youth, because I’m just not cool enough. The kids think I’m uncool so I don’t try to hide my uncoolness. (is that even a word)

For our Middle School confirmation program we use the Faith Inkubators model. I hesitate to call it a curriculum because it is a whole lot more than that. You have to really teach and interact with the kids and embrace the whole concept rather than just teaching at kids one day a week.

I received their monthly e-newsletter today and found an article by Pete Erickson that talks about the reality of being a “youth worker” today.

Back in an old Faith Inkubators newsletter (sometime around 1997), I wrote that the days of the traditional “Do Everything, Be Everything, ‘Pied Piper’” youth worker/minister are over. This should be nothing new. However, it seems that a few churches still haven’t received this memo.

There are a landfill of resource books and seminar tapes on which icebreakers to do and which Bible studies to lead, but all the great resources in the world can’t stop many great missionaries from flaming out. How does this continue to happen?

We could point our fingers in a lot of directions: pop culture, poor parenting, Facebook, whatever; but as my mother used to say, “When you point your finger at someone, you have three others pointing back at you.”

Yes, we as a church still need to take the blame for the futility of some of our youth programs. We continue to give permission to parents to drop off children so we can train up their child. We still can’t handle the volume or the problems that accompany this. What can we do?

That is the question these days isn’t it? What can we do? Pete has some ideas. Read them here. Then, after you read them, feel free to post some of your own here.

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