Welcome to the BAY!

Hey, It's been so long since I've actually written on here that I really need to get something out and if I don't do anything I'll just have more thoughts dying and never coming back again, so here's the latest on my life.

I've been called to be pastor of First Lutheran Church in Concord, California, so my wife and daughter and I packed up our things from Orange County and moved up here to the East Bay area, Contra Costa County, bought a house, and moved in. We're trying to get settled, which is pretty crazy since we moved from a 2 bed/2 bath apt to a 5 bed/3 bath home with more twice the square footage and are basically picking up and scrubbing and repainting after the teenager who lived in this house alone for the last 6 months. Full Disclosure: Anna's friend Erin is doing the painting. I'm blogging, and Anna's very busy being pregnant and taking care of Ali.

I start at First Lutheran officially in July 1 (my 30th birthday), get installed on the 13th (with my dad preaching), and first preach on the 20th. It's funny that I'm here, actually. My first thought when I got contacted regarding this call was "That's nice...but no." Anna and I know what happens when you say "no" to God: you move to St. Louis, teach third grade, marry a pastor or a teacher, spend a year as a hospital chaplain, then move to California.

So I'm here, in a church that is mostly retired, with like 2 people our age, and a preschool full of unchurched kids and their parents. What am I doing? I don't know, really.

I am a minority here. The city where we live, Pittsburg, has more Latinos than whites, with significant numbers of Asians and African-Americans too. This is very different from Grafton, Wisconsin or Chanute, Kansas. But this is the place God has called us to serve. I think about that lecture of CFW Walther in Law and Gospel (can't remember the exact citation) where he talks about how when a pastor is called that he should consider the place where he is called to be the most blessed place on earth, because that is where he should be.

I really don't like C. Peter Wagner right now. I was reading one of his old school church growth books before I left OC called, "Your Church Can Grow," which stipulates that homogeneity is one of the essential ingredients for a growing church. This doesn't help any evangelism efforts I may make with my neighbors, none of whom are of the same racial background as me. I'll let you know how this works out.

Also, I want to be better about blogging. There's usually at least a few times a week where I feel like writing something down or throwing out an idea running through my head. I'm sure it'll get me in trouble sooner or later. But I'm sure that somebody will start reading this blog who I hope will be helped out hearing the struggles of a young pastor trying to be missional and confessional all at once.

Best thing so far? My 6 mile commute on Bailey through the hills is like a roller coaster and definitely beats the pants off battling traffic on the 5, 55, and 405 for 25 minutes on good days and just under a week on the bad days like I've been doing the last 3 years.

Worst thing so far? I miss my friends. I had a lot of good friends in OC, and it takes time to make new friends. I love my wife and daughter, but I need some testosterone every once in a while.

Second-best thing so far? I wrote up a little bit about my experiences buying our house as a short sake that got taken and made into a blog on redfin.com. Yeah, my life is that pathetic and lonely right now.

Well, ta ta for now.