The Pastor: A Memoir - The Priority of Place

I'm thinking about adding another item to my "Bucket List" - things I want to do before I "kick the bucket." I want to meet Eugene Peterson - shake his hand - maybe even give him a hug - if he appears to be the hugging type, and thank him for the gentle and wise guidance his writings have offered this young pastor. This is why I was thrilled to learn Harper One has published his The Pastor: A Memoir.

I have always loved places. For a very long time I have loved the Church. And I have come to understand the Church needs to love the place in which God has situated her. The doctrines of Creation and the Incarnation compel us to love and serve the places we are in the way God loves and serves the places where his presence is made manifest. The writings of Eugene Peterson have confirmed in me that these complementary loves for the Church and her place are close to the heart of God. Listen to his wise words.

Place. But not just any place, not just a location marked on a road map, but on a topo, a topographic map - with named mountains and rivers, identified wildflowers and forests, elevation above sea level and annual rainfall. I do all my [pastoral] work on this ground. I do not levitate. "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." Get to know this place.

I don't want to end up a bureaucrat in the time-management business for God or a librarian cataloguing timeless truths. Salvation is kicking in the womb of creation right now, any time now. Pay attention. Be ready: "The time is fulfilled ..." Repent. Believe.