Northern Exposure

We are reminded at regular intervals that we live in Alaska; not that we necessarily forget. Life is lived in some respects not unlike it might be anywhere else, but here it comes with an Alaskan twist. Our recent weekend reminded us of just that.

Friday Deb and I had tea and conversation with Governor Parnell and his wife, Sandy. Such nice people! We enjoyed a tour of the Governor's House and the pumpkin scones while Annie the yellow lab took a nap out our feet. We talked about their lives and how Deb and I could best be their friends. We laughed about their not-so-normal lives, about paying for daughters' weddings, and our personal histories. They laughed at my humor. We prayed with and over them, and made tentative plans to do it again.

Deb and I then went to our beloved Island Pub for pizza, and ran into people we know. That happens a lot here, running into people you know. Kind of a Juneau thing, if not an Alaskan thing.

Saturday, with the weather sunny but in the 20's we went for a hike on the Treadwell Mine trails. We felt so Alaskan, only because we felt so cold, I guess.

Saturday evening we enjoyed dinner with our friends Joe and Karen before the four of us made our way downtown to St. Anne's Catholic Church. It was there we "contra" and square danced to the melodic sounds of a band playing all your favorite French-Canadian dance tunes. The crowd was made up of long time Juneau residents, some with the requisite gray pony tails, with a few college students thrown in, (the room, not the pony tails.) Clearly a "northern exposure" moment for us.

Apparently we missed the rumblings of a 7.7 earthquake while we were busy pretending to be dancers. I received several texts from well-meaning friends warning us of a tsunami alert. Note: it would be a bigger than big deal if a tsunami hit our shores here in Juneau, protected by nearby landmass from such catastrophe as we are. Our friends south of us and closer to the epicenter perhaps had more cause for concern.

Sunday was devoted to our watching the Giants winning the World Series. Nothing uniquely Alaskan about that, but it does bear mention. And on Monday I was invited to go deer hunting, responding to that text while hearing duck-hunters shooting said ducks a half mile away.

Our northern exposure moments seem to come fast and furious at times, and more subtle at other times. For a couple of former Californians, we enthusiastically embrace all those moments.

Assistant Principal

Substitute teachers take assignments because they want the work; or in my case because I want to teach without holding the proper credentials. Substitutes are presented each day with available jobs respective to their qualifications. Somehow the system must have malfunctioned.

Today is my final day as Substitute Assistant Principal at Thunder Mountain High School. (You read that correctly.) I can only wonder what the School Board, parents and taxpayers are thinking.

Upon my first day (Wednesday) on the job Karin (who really runs the place) escorted me to a very nice upstairs office with a view down of the Commons below. Kind of like "eye in the sky." I was given a walkie-talkie, and told to "go be a presence" in the building. What a job description! What a country!

Earl, who knows everything about the school came up to me and kindly introduced himself before giving me the 411 on how it all happens at TMHS. The counseling staff all introduced themselves and asked "if I needed anything." Dan, the real Principal (with real credentials) thanked me at the end of the day...for doing my job...like I was doing them all a favor.

I have made friends with students, and hung out with the Polynesian Brotherhood in the mornings. I have certainly made up for the mornings I didn't run by putting in multiple miles roaming the hallways each day. I have "encouraged" students toward their classes and rounded up strays like a cattle driver (cue western theme music.) They have all been very kind to me, making my "job" so much easier. And I'm sure my being fortified with caffeine and Sudafed due to an unpleasant head cold has made me just that much more engaging.

On Monday I return to "usual sub guy status." But today, in my last official act as Substitute Assistant Principal I am going to recommend raises for all the staff.

Bivocationicity

Vocational pastoral ministry is a strange bird. Some enter into it based solely on a confirmed sense of calling. Others perhaps get into it because of similar calling...and a motivation to land a career that doesn't require any heavy lifting.

For church starter guys, there is a sense the church has "arrived" when the church starter guy finds himself no longer dependent on "outside employment," making him "full time." In many cases, a church's growth trajectory is measured by the subsequent hiring/s of full-time employees. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I've certainly lived it and benefited from being full time myself. If I were to drop those full time church starter guys from my Facebook friends list, my friends list would be cut in half. (The only benefit to that would be having that many fewer birthdays to acknowledge, I guess.)

Since my college days I have engaged in 26 years of full time vocational pastoral ministry. (Even reading this it seems like a lot.) Wedged into those years since college I also engaged in 8 years of "marketplace employment." (Two feet on one banana peel.) 5 of those 8 years qualified as "bi-vocational." (Each foot on a banana peel.) We refer to those 8 years around our house as "the years we made money."

This past weekend, under  the guidance of my professional career advisor bride, I "reoriented" my social media accounts to reflect a more "marketplace" orientation. It's not that I'm ashamed of my vocational life; it's just that my vocational church life doesn't necessarily translate directly into the marketplace, (meaning, it makes for a confusing resume to whoever is reading said resume.)

I reoriented my social media accounts because I am excited about being bi-vocational, even long term bi-vocational. I am currently applying for jobs that are not part-time, and are not necessarily flexible. I am beginning to see bivocationicity (my word; I made it up) not as a departure but as essential to what it means to be a church starter guy here in Alaska.

We church starter guys want our church people to be the church, even and especially out in the marketplace. I guess I want to be involved in that myself. Again.