Monday Morning Confessional

Last updated on: November 11, 2013 at 8:27 am by Tim Suttle

Monday Morning Confessional 2013-11-11T08:27:16-07:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I confess that my first full time church staff position was at a church in Lee’s Summit, MO called Lakeland Community Church. I started there in 1996. Yesterday was my first time to preach again at Lakeland since sometime in 1998. I confess that before I jumped into my sermon I was introducing myself to the congregation, and talking about how I had preached my first sermon ever at that Lakeland. The problem was that I was ad-libbing, and I mistakenly kept saying “Redemption” (my current church), instead of “Lakeland” as I intended. I’m sure it was terribly confusing for people. I didn’t even realize I had made the mistake until after the service when somebody told me. (for future reference, I don’t what to know) 🙂

I confess that I’m terribly hard on myself when I make silly mistakes like that. I find it hard to practice any sort of self-compassion when I feel humiliated. It’s like having your fly down in public … ugh. I confess that I can do a fine job of preaching and will only remember the one dumb thing I said or the one mistake I made. I can do nine things right and mess up one and all I will think about is the one I whiffed. It’s a sickness. I confess that what I would really like is for you to confess something humiliating from your own life, and then I will feel better … because misery loves company.

I confess that I had a bit of a bad cussing week this past week, owing in large part to the phenomenon of frustration – mostly not mine, but other people’s frustration that seemed to spill over into my life. Frustration is experienced when things we want or need or feel we are entitled to do not materialize, or when thing we do not wish to happen do materialize. Frustration is the sense of anxiety or dissatisfaction that comes when things don’t go the way we want them to. The verb form – frustrate – is where the troubles really begin.

I’ve noticed that most of life’s problems stem from verbs. I propose we all focus on a few particular verbs for the week: soothe, heal, trust, persevere, provoke, imagine, remember, provide, continue, walk, reach, meet, stand, rest … these verbs can help us.

I confess that I think that pastors should visit one another’s churches much more often, to preach and just to visit and renew old friendships. I think it is healthy to participate in worship at the church of friends and colleagues, not so we can copy what they are doing, but because it is a great encouragement. We have guest speakers at Redemption quite frequently, and it is always a healthy exchange. The guest usually brings one of their greatest hits which is great for those who are listening.

I confess that I’m working on edits for Shrink for part of the day today. I confess that I’m currently at that point in the process where I’m convinced I’m not an author but a scam artist, and that I have no business writing blog posts, much less books. I confess that pressing on will requires several of the aforementioned verbs.

I confess that I had checked the news Friday night when the death toll from the storm in the Philippines was still relatively low. On Saturday I was busy all day and did not see or read news of any kind. When I saw the death toll Sunday it was like a sucker punch. I knew that early reports had to be too low, but I was not prepared for a number like 10,000, as Reuters is reporting. I confess that I cannot imagine the hell these people are living right now. It is being called the most powerful storm ever to make landfall. I confess that I cannot imagine denying that global warming is changing the climate in drastic ways … denying that humans are contributing to the problem if not outright causing it.

Okay friends, that’s my confession for this Monday Morning. Time for you to make yours:

Uncategorized

Monday Morning Confessional

Previous Post

November 8, 2013

New York Subway Experiment: A Little Friday Funny

Next Post

November 13, 2013 Art and Faith: A Morning With Author Jon Bowles

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a day when the high priest enters the Most Holy Place once a year to make atonement. What day am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Day of Atonement The Sabbath Passover The Day of Trumpets