đť Smithwicks Red Ale đ¨ Rattrayâs Red Rapperee. This afternoonâs relaxation time!
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Seen on reddit
Median home value in 1950: ~$7,500
Median household income in 1950: ~$3,300
1950 median yearly earnings to purchase a home: ~2.3
Median home value in 2018: ~$325,000
Median household income in 2018: ~$63,200
2018 median yearly earnings to purchase a home: ~5.14
Average amount paid to CEOs over worker in 1950: 20x
Average amount paid to CEOs over worker in 2018: 360x
Would like to see sources.
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A Must-Read for Every Aspiring Pastor
Note: this was originally published for The Anglican Mission in America blog.
Shortly after I began speaking with my pastor about the possibility of pursuing ordination with The Anglican Mission, he passed a copy of Michael Ramseyâs classic The Christian Priest Today my way.
Of course, I had no idea that this little book was by a former Archbishop of Canterbury, or that it was originally a set of addresses to candidates for ordination in the â70s. As Iâve continued to digest the simple, yet profound wisdom in Michael Ramseyâs The Christian Priest Today, itâs become apparent to me why itâs remained pertinent for over four decades. I suspect it will endure many more.
In todayâs world of marketing-speak and leadership-culture-infused ministry books, The Christian Priest Today is a breath of fresh air. Ramsey delves deep into what it means to be a pastor, a shepherd of souls. Discussions about developing your âpersonal brand,â and âleadership strategyâ are blessedly absent. Not that thereâs anything inherently or necessarily wrong with understanding how to apply those ideas to ministry, but something feels right about the simple way Ramsey speaks of preaching Jesus, living a life of prayer and cultivating a humble heart.
Although The Christian Priest Today is approaching the half-century mark from its first publication, Ramseyâs simple and direct style reinforce the underlying timelessness of his observations regarding the pastoral roles of deacon and priest and bishop. It remains fresh because Ramsey wasnât seeking to be âcutting edgeâ (though he didnât avoid contemporary issues) about a practice and vocation that itself is fundamentally timeless.
I was reminded that shepherding souls will always transcend leadership trends, business strategies, and academic accomplishments. Ramseyâs book gently re-taught me that pastoring has always been and will always be about bringing people to Jesus, pointing people to Jesus, telling people about Jesus.
A few nuggets of wisdom that were impressed on my heart and mind as I read:
âWe are called, near to Jesus and with Jesus and in Jesus, to be with God with the people on our heart. That is what you will be promising
[in your ordination vows]â (p. 14).âLet those who are glad to be Catholics or Evangelicals or Liberals set themselves to learn all they can from one another, for the partisan can soon become a person who loves his own apprehension of the truth more than Christ who is the truth, and himself more than eitherâ (p. 72).
âBe ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly, but they help you to be humbleâŚthese can be so many changes to be a little nearer to our humble and crucified Lord. There is nothing to fear if you are in his hands.â (p. 80)
âJesus Christ is himself the gospel we preachâŚHe is himself the essence of the good newsâ (p. 27)
The Christian Priest Today is the sort of book I can imagine re-reading every year or two, just to help re-center on why I do what I do. It is the sort of book I can imagine giving other young pastors (because if you could only give one book on the pastoral ministry, this would be a strong candidate). It is the sort of book that remains in your thoughts and on your heart long after youâve finished.
The Christian Priest Today by Michael Ramsey invites you to be refreshed by what God is doing in and through the ordained ministry, by calling you to re-focus on the heart of the Christian faith: the person of Jesus.
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In a perfect world, I might be iOS all the way due to the overall polish and security focus.
Yet, the reality is that Android allows me to have certain hardware (like a simple, yet quite functional 10â tablet) that I wouldnât otherwise be able to afford.
And the experience is often just as delightful to me, albeit in a different way.
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Today I was preaching at a local soup kitchenâs outdoor area, from John 11 (the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead).
Toward the end, I dramatically recounted Jesus commanding Lazarus to come out of the tomb. âLAZARUS, COME OUT!â I practically yelled, at which point someone listening interjected, âAre you even allowed to preach like that?
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Idk if it was because of my admittedly high volume level, or what, but I ignored the comment and finished my sermon.
I know I got animated and kinda loud today, but man, I was excited to proclaim the power of Jesus over death. I felt on fire because Jesus is the only shred of hope I have that means anything, and he means so much.
He is the love of God, the way of life, the truth that sets us free, the ground of the only hope thatâs truly certain.
The people I was preaching to desperately need that hopeâI desperately need that hopeâand I felt desperate to communicate it.
I pray Iâm allowed to preach like that, because sometimes itâs the only way I can.
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“Holiness is to be recognized not by religious achievements or by a spirituality that is superior to the normal human condition, but by the development of a genuine human-ness, by a freedom that is unafraid to be, in Christ, the person God made us”
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Finding a good email client is way harder than it should be on Windows. Windows Mail is fast, but buggy and weird. Outlook is overkill and doesn’t support Google Calendar. Mailbird was a resource hog (although there were some things to like there). Mailspring was super nice in some regards but not very flexible and tended toward bugs as well.
I don’t want to speak too soon, but I may have found a solution. I’ll keep you posted.
