“Why Pastoral Ponderings?”

 

In 1973 I began writing monthly articles for our church bulletin under the title “Pastor’s Platter.” (The name was changed to “Pastoral Ponderings” within a couple of years.) The purpose was to take incidents and observations from nature, sports, news, history, and a variety of other sources and relate them to biblical principles to help God’s people grow in faith. Over the years the response from congregations, family, and friends has encouraged me to continue this practice through 36 additional years of pastoral ministry and (more informally and irregularly) 4+ years as a hospital and hospice chaplain.

In the early 1990’s my wife Karen and our children Dave and Kristie suggested that I consolidate these writings into book form. After “pondering” (pun intended) the idea for several months I decided to do so and with Karen’s help began the process of editing (and in some cases eliminating!). Some months later a notebook with 175 articles emerged. From time to time I thumb through these thoughts and thank God for my changed attitudes (and hopefully actions).

As I began to think seriously about retirement the idea of a blog surfaced and I began praying for direction. When I stepped down from my chaplaincy position in April 2014 the concept began to take shape. So with God’s help my goal is a weekly posting with input from Karen’s insights. My prayer is that God would use our thoughts and experiences to comfort and challenge those who read them and that together we’ll grow in faith.

 

Blessings!

Jim McMillan