u/Generic_Midwesterner

I was once pumping gas and sort of standing there daydreaming as the gas chugged away. I caught something in my peripheral vision, and it looked like liquid was coming out of the pump's hose that led to my car. It quickly started coming out more along the seam. I uttered some kind of noise and was uncharacteristically befuddled about what to do. I said "I think it... uh, I should tell the clerk?"

Thankfully, the man at the next pump heard me, took a millisecond to glance, immediately found the emergency switch and turned it off. THEN we went in to tell the clerk. At the rate that hose was splitting, who knows what would have happened if he hadn't?

They hosed the area off so we could drive away without igniting sparks and it all worked out. But every once in a while I remember that guy and am grateful to whoever he was.

Someone walked into my office yesterday while I had a frustrated look on my face and I was staring at my computer. I threw my hands up and said, "What is WRONG with people?" They flopped own in a chair and said "GURL LET ME TELL YOU..." and started in with an awesome story about a run-in they had in traffic that morning.

Then I did it again at lunch. I was meeting a friend. We sat down and she asked what's up. I said, "What is WRONG with people?" She said "We're at lunch so we don't have time for the entire list, but I'm glad to give the abbreviated one..." and started in.

Just because of the rule of threes, I tried it in a friend group video chat. I logged in and immediately said, "What is WRONG with people?" That conversation lasted HOURS and it was the best. This has entertained me.

I'm in a medium-sized (150-200 on Sunday) church and we have 3 full-time and 6 part-time staff. This question is especially about the other full-time people (youth minister and administrative assistant). Almost all of the staff are members here (not my preference necessarily, it was like that when I got here). We're very much coworkers and have an in-office dynamic like most offices do.

But... I'm also their pastor. It's tricky to navigate for them from "Hey, what time is the committee meeting?" to "Hey pastor, I need to talk about my concerns about a health situation" or whatever.

How do you navigate this?

Hi! I’m a 62-year-old woman who currently lives in Missouri. I’ve been single for nearly 25 years, and enjoy alone time quite a bit. I’m looking for a positive, compassionate person to share adventure and companionship.

I have hobbies! They include reading, thrift stores, aimless drives, and I’ve never once gotten tired of watching the sun set. Cooking for one is okay, but I’m also pretty good at enjoying a wide variety of cuisine in local restaurants. I'm curious by nature. I'm a one-cat person, but love all animals.

I’m an educated (post-graduate degrees) professional, but only dress up if the situation requires it. I’m more likely to be found in jeans than in a fancy dress. I’ve lived a lot of places, including Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Texas. I enjoy travel very much.

I like people who ask good questions, enjoy learning new things, and can have conversations that wander from ridiculous stories to meaningful topics without anyone checking the clock. Humor matters to me. Kindness matters even more.

P.S. I have no idea why Reddit thinks this is NSFW.

Hello! Disclaimer: I'm just looking for respectful discussion on this topic. I don't think anyone involved means any harm, so there's no reason for anyone to insult or mock anyone.

I live in a small town (~11,000 people). This weekend and last weekend, there's been some folks by McDonald's (a very busy spot in town) giving away Bibles. They then get on Facebook (the equivalent of a newspaper/tv news/radio for small towns) to say how many they gave away. I didn't think too much about it. The Gideons have been doing it for years, so why not?

A pastor friend said it's like giving away chemistry sets with no training. With instruction, they can do a lot of good; but without guidance, they can be used in hurtful ways. I'd never thought of it that way.

This was especially interesting to me because I happened to randomly read 2 Kings chapter 1 last night. If I knew nothing about Christianity or Christian scripture, that passage certainly would have been startling to me, that God was wiping out people (the two groups of 50 soldiers in that story) who hadn't really done anything wrong. Anyway...

What's your take? It just all got me thinking, is all.

Hello, fellow ministers!

Last night I got a needed reminder. It went like this: A couple, let's call them Bob and Mary, from my former town messaged me to say they'd be passing through where I live now and would like to meet for dinner. I accepted, but was a little surprised. We were all friendly socially but they had only visited the church I pastored in the former town 2-3 times. I was on the board and volunteered at the food pantry where Bob was the warehouse manager and we got along well, but we hadn't really been in touch since I left five years ago. Regardless, dinner is dinner, so we met up.

After a really lovely catch-up time over BBQ, we were getting ready to leave. I thanked them for coming. Bob said, "Well, you came when I needed you to." I was confused. He said, "When I had my heart attack and was in the ICU for 4 days, you drove an hour each way to see me. That meant a lot." (This would have been about 10 years ago.) Bob's not particularly a person of faith, but said I left a prayer card with him that day and it sits on his nightstand still.

I barely remember going on this hospital visit, but he was a person I knew that was in need, so of course I went. Maybe i had a church member in the same hospital that day so I was able to take care of them both, I don't know.

What it reminded me of, though, is this: Bob and Mary never mentioned any sermon I preached. They didn't talk about whether I'm a good administrator or if I can run a meeting well. He didn't even mention the time that I was on the board of the food pantry. They remembered that I showed up when Bob had a heart attack. That's what people remember.

I serve a church where the former pastor was a very fine preacher, but no one ever mentions that. All I hear is, "Oh, they were nice enough, I guess. But when my mother was on hospice I begged them to visit, and they never did." I hear that over and over.

So for all our worrying about our sermons and picking nits over theological details, what sticks with people is whether or not we're there for them. Our ministry of presence matters.

Thanks for listening if you made it this far!

Hello, pastor friends! Have any of you ever preached on the prophet Miriam? She's mentioned in Exodus 15, and then again in Numbers. She was possibly Moses' older sister. I'm in the middle of a series on prophets, and I think she's one not many have heard of. Would welcome feedback and ideas!

I feel this really strongly. I'm proud of my age -- I worked hard to get here! No need to try to look or act younger. Just owning it.

Hello! I tried to figure out if this should go into one of the daily threads, but I'm not a newbie and I'm not struggling to sell a particular item, so here I go with a new post. I hope it's okay.

I did really well last October through December selling Christmas items, but I started in about February of last year, so I don't really have a pattern of when to start listeing seasonal items. What works for you? Do you keep things up all year round (whether that's on web sites, in an antique mall, or whatever) or do you rotate through seasons and holidays?

Very interested to hear other strategies and experiences!

Hello, other ministers!

Recently, four older church members have said pretty much the same thing to me: They feel like they're going to die soon. They're not particularly unwell, but their ages are 83, 88, 89, and 93. None of them know others are saying pretty much the same thing.

- The 88-year-old in particular wants to know why she's even still on the earth, since she feels like she contributes nothing. (She was a highly respected professional woman in her day.) She's not ill or in hospice or anything.

- The 82-year-old is a retired judge who just said he thinks this is the last summer he'll see, the last time he'll see the redbuds bloom, for some reason. Again, he's not unwell.

- The 89-year-old has had mobility issues and not other health issues, but she has confided in me that she just thinks she's going to go on to heaven soon.

- The 93-year-old told me frankly over lunch, "I'm on the downhill slide, I'll be going to Jesus soon." I said, "Well, not today!" He said, "Why not?" A strong man of faith who's just... ready.

These are all faithful saints of God who have served their churches for many decades. Really fine people. They're also very practical people, and only the 89-year-old seems to really regret moving on from this life. The other three are like, "Well, seems like my time is coming up. I'll be moving on to heaven soon."

Have you come across this before? I don't want to brush off their feelings ever. I want to let them know they're loved. I'm not sure what to even say otherwise, though. Any thoughts?

EDIT: Nearly all of these replies have been VERY helpful! Thank you, I'm seeing how this is a bigger deal than I realized, and how it actually is a change. Thanks!

Hello! Just as some background, I'm a 62-year-old female PC(USA) pastor. I grew up independent Baptist -- we were so conservative, we didn't speak to the Southern Baptists because they were too liberal. 😄 I mean, their women sometimes wore pants! 😮 I didn't own a pair until I moved out to go to college, LOL.

That said, I understand how both sides of the "women in ministry" issue work.

The SBC recently voted... to do things the way they've always done it: No female pastors. Why are people so shocked? Would they be shocked if the Catholics once again said no female priests? This is the way it's always been... it'd be much more shocking if the vote had gone the other way.

I'm a liberal woman pastor and this hasn't phased me one bit. I don't think they're evil as a whole -- many people in that tradition are really trying to do God's will. My brother, dad, and uncle (Baptist pastors) supported me and even read scripture at my ordination. They knew I was following what I felt God had called me to do, but just shrugged because it wasn't their theology.

I understand the reasoning on both sides, so there's no need to convince me who's right or wrong. I'm just asking why people are so shocked. Was there really an idea it would go the other way?

EDIT: I'm proud of clearing my garage, not of donating! Eek I wish I could rewrite the headline!

My two main sourcing spots are auctions and estate sales. I tend to get carloads of things for not much money. This is super fun, but I usually end up with a huge pile in my storage garage. I won't sell things with defects on eBay (no desire to deal with returns), so I had a stack, planning to have a garage sale.

The garage sale's been canceled twice on account of rain, so today I loaded up two VERY full carloads (of already-priced items, lol) and donated it all. Nothing would have sold for big money -- it was all little stuff.

I feel lighter!

I'm preaching Psalm 8, about still being amazed by God. It's one of the rare times where there's no call to action, no "Go out and do this this week," etc. Just... let's be amazed at all God's done.

To be clear, I'm not asking advice -- just wanting to hear your stories.

Pastor here, and to be honest, I don't particularly enjoy doing weddings. They're a ton of work! Once the event finally happens it's usually glorious, though. My theory is that unless the minister/officiant says something wildly inappropriate, nobody remembers what we said.

With that, I'd love to hear stories of when the officiant/minister went off the rails.

It's Sunday, I'm off for the rest of the day, and I'm just relaxing at home. Anyone have any questions about pastoring as a woman at this age?

For context, I'm in a mainline Christian denomination (not evangelical/fundamentalist). This denomination has ordained women for 60-70 years, and we started marrying same-sex couples and ordaining LGBTQ people about 10 years ago.

Definitely not looking for debate on those issues, just giving them for context.

Anyone wondering anything? 😄

EDIT: I'm also an author and a seminary professor for doctoral-level students, if that interests anyone.

Have you gotten any odd requests or questions about your items for sale lately?

A friend had a question we thought was odd but I was quickly corrected here, so I deleted that post and am trying again!