And So It Begins...

It is exciting to begin something new. I’m experiencing all kinds of new things these days and I love it! I have had blogs in the past but they were only for personal use. I wasn’t very good at keeping up with them at all. However, I view this blog totally differently. I see a reason, a purpose for this one. It is a way to get my message across, as well as the messages of Spring Creek Church and Progressive Christianity. One subject that I will be dealing with in the future is how I went from being a Southern Baptist pastor to a pastor in the United Church of Christ and of a very progressive local church within that denomination. I think my parishioners at Spring Creek have a good idea how that happened, but I know that there are many others out there who are waiting to hear that story. Be patient.

And so we begin a new journey and another way to communicate with one another. I will be blogging at least once a week and perhaps a bit more often at times. As it was stated at our morning worship service this morning, members and friends of Spring Creek will be able to communicate with me by telephone, text, email and Spring Creek’s Facebook page. And also, as it was stated this morning, it is the belief of our denomination, the United Church of Christ, that it is important for pastors to maintain healthy boundaries with their parishioners. Not having me as your friend on Facebook may be disappointing for some of you at Spring Creek, but I think it is a good idea to follow the suggestion of those who have studied these kinds of things.

At this point I’m going to suggest some of the topics that I will be covering on my blog. In addition to my transition from the Southern Baptist Convention to the United Church of Christ there are a few ideas I have for blog entries. Some of these ideas that are listed will come from my parishioners, some from a sermon series that we are planning during Lent and others from my fertile mind.

The sermon series will deal with some of the tough issues with which many people of faith struggle. I will be giving additional information and commenting more in depth about these topics before and possibly after the sermons are preached. There may be some revisions in the coming days but here are some topics I am working on.

• Taking the Bible seriously but not literally.
• Doubt is a part of faith, not the opposite of faith.
• Jesus, the Great Physician, and Affordable Health Care
• Can I be a Christian and accept evolution?
• Is it okay to be angry with God?
• What is the eternal destiny of people of other religions?

Another idea that I have for an additional blog post during the week is an “Ask the Pastor” Day. The readers of this blog can submit questions for me to answer. I’ll do my best to answer those questions. The questions need to be serious in nature. A question like, “How many angels are able to dance on the head of a needle” will go the way of the virtual circular file.

I look forward to the weeks ahead as we grow together spiritually. Life is a great adventure. Taking the journey of that adventure with others makes it much more exciting!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Ivan