Things I have learned since I started blogging…

 February 26, 2008, I started this blog. At the time, blogging was all the rage in both social media and as a side function in church ministry. Several folks made money blogging, a few even got books deals based on their blog popularity. Some are still quite famous for putting together a blog and keeping it going.

Me? I haven’t garnered any money from this project. There for a time, I was signed up for Google AdSense, a program I don’t even know if they still have, but I made exactly nothing and so just deleted that. (If you see an ad here, it’s from the blog-host company, not me.) What I have done, though, is learned a few things. I thought I’d attempt a re-start into this habit by considering those.

To get there, though, let’s review some changes since that February…

First, when I started this, I lived in Southaven, Mississippi, with my wife and three small children (oldest was 6!) We owned a house. I worked for UPS and had just resigned from a bi-vocational (part-time pay) pastorate in Northeast Arkansas. 

Now? We live in Southeast Arkansas. Our youngest child is 15, the oldest is a junior in college, and we don’t own a house anymore. We learned in 2008-2010 the chaos of a bad housing market and in 2021 what a seller’s market looks like. We’ve passed through all the potty training and are almost done with driver training. I don’t work for UPS anymore and now am a full-time pastor.

Second, when I started this I had given up on formal education for me. I was about a third done with a Master of Divinity and thought that was all I would do there. Maybe I would stay with UPS and get a business degree and make lots of money.

Now? I finished the Master of Divinity and learned a lot about the differing educational environments in Christian seminaries. I am one dissertation and presentation short of a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Heritage and also have two probable next degrees after I take some time off.

Third, wow, did I mention the kids have grown up a lot?

Fourth, we have moved and are on our fifth home since 2008. It’s a lot. Probably too much, to be honest, but you go where you need to and when you need to.

So, what have I learned?

I have learned that even with a broader depth of experience than many of my peers over the years, there is still a lot that I didn’t know. I personally would love to delete every website comment I made prior to about 2015 because I just don’t know if I agree with them anymore—and maybe half the ones since then! I might say the same things; I might say the same things in different ways; some I might completely disown.

I have learned that you can do the best you can and it will still fail. You will still fail. That does not make me a failure, or you one. It means you failed, yes, but what you do is only part of you who you are. 

I have learned that I talk too much and don’t listen enough. And still do.

A key thought, though, is this: I have learned that some folks do not accept that others are allowed to keep learning. It is important that we all keep learning, and it’s important that you let other people learn. Across those last 14 years, I have been rejected for jobs that I am glad I didn’t get; rejected for some I wonder if would have been good; but it’s all water over the levee at this point. There’s only one that still stings: a church in 2010 called a church I worked for in 2000-2002 and took that pastor’s word that I was immature, as if I hadn’t learned or grown in the life experiences across the 8 years since that time.

It bugged me that they then didn’t ask me about it. 

Here’s the rub, because I don’t really want that job (I like the one I have): I wonder how often I’ve done that? Judged someone based off of a long-ago portrait? Now, some character traits show easily and you it’s hard to change, but do we evaluate a person at 40 based on whether or not they were mature at 22? 

Do we in Christian circles judge someone’s theology based on papers they wrote at 24 and before they even knew Greek or Hebrew or what “homoiousious” means? 

Make space in your life to learn, but keep at a close second this truth: allow for the possibility that others have learned, as well. You are not who you were 14 years ago; make no assumptions that the other person is, either.

(Oh, and I haven't learned how to make anything but a flat text blog post.)

Sermon Recap for March 6 2022

Here’s the sermon from yesterday, along with the audio player that has all the sermons for a long, long time archived.

Sermon Recap and Weekly Wrap-Up for February 20 2022

Sermon Recap and Weekly Wrap-Up for February 20 2022 

Good Afternoon! Here's this week's recap. Remember that you can find the previous week's materials through the same links, in case I forgot to post last week🙂 

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. 

You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon. 

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast 

Audible Link is coming soon! 

Search "Doug Hibbard" to see if it's there yet Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons 

 Sunday's sermon was from Exodus 5  

 Books this week: 

 Digging up Armageddon by Eric Cline: this is a great look not only at the archaeological finds at the site of Megiddo but even more it's a look at the ins-and-outs of a dig. All of the personnel matters, administrative matters, and even the "figuring out how to do archaeology as we go" that was happening in the 1920s/30s. (For those who haven't taken a class in the field, that's the era where archaeology tries to shift from the treasure-hunting type of digging into a true scientific discipline. Even those who weren't treasure-hunters were still often seeking something specific: "I'm looking for evidence of Greek siege of this city in 1300 BC" and the discipline has since morphed more into "Something was here, we'll figure out what it was." Much of that shift happened in the 20s and 30s.) 

The Discovery of Grounded Theory by Barney G. Glaser. Look, folks, I'm also an academic historian. This is a book in academic sociology. It's good for what it is, but if you're reading a mediocre pastor's blog, you're probably not looking for how to develop social sciences theory from incomplete data. It's on the list because I read it, not because you should. Unless this is your kind of thing. 

Mending a Fractured Church: How to Seek Unity with Integrity by Michael F. Bird. This is good--probably a necessary read for most church leaders (both "official" like the pastor and "unofficial" ones who typically actually direct a Baptist church). Bird and his contributors highlight the need for church members to pay attention to their own hearts, the means attempted to work on church issues, and the end goal of follow Jesus. Honestly, it makes me wish we had standards of required reading for ministers and church leaders in Baptist life. 

 Extra video:

Sermon for February 6 and Week-in-Review

 

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is coming soon! Search "Doug Hibbard" to see if it's there yet

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Other updates from the week:

Last week’s book is short and simple: The Apostle’s Creed from Lexham Press, written by Ben Myers and illustrated by Natasha Kennedy. It’s a younger audience-oriented introduction to the Apostle’s Creed from history and it’s in the Lexham Press FatCat series, so there is a cute cat throughout! It’s fun. And easy to read.

Weeks in Review through January 31 2022

 

Some weeks, it just does not happen. I don’t even know what “it” is those weeks, but “it” doesn’t happen. That’s been the past couple of weeks. Truth is, a few things that shouldn’t have gotten to me got to me. Then, the annual bronchial/respiratory infection got to me. When your blood oxygen level isn’t getting much past 90% most days, the brain doesn’t function well. Now, though, I can breathe and we're back on track :)

So, sermons:

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is coming soon! Search "Doug Hibbard" to see if it's there yet

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Video:

Audio:

Books the past two weeks:

First book was Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs from National Geographic. It’s a gorgeous hardcover book detailing 100 archaeological and anthropological finds that help round out the story of humanity. The various authors are given 6 pages to give the story of the find, its context, and its relevance. Some of that space is also given to full-color pictures and illustrations. So, it’s not a deep-study book. You’ll get a recap of such finds like King Tut’s Tomb or Petra or other finds around the world, hopefully launching you on further study into those parts that interest you. A great book to have in your living room to leaf through at various points throughout the day, and a good history supplement into your teen’s learning situation.

The second book was The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg. This is more of a self-development book based in classical philosophy than anything else. It’s a good read, and many of the practical ideas are very helpful. I would caution that if your groundedness doesn’t come back to Jesus, you’ve got trouble, but beyond that much of Stulberg’s work is right on. He especially helps the reader by wrapping up each chapter with a guided moment of actual practice of the idea. Many a Christian inspirational work would benefit from that habit: give the reader some specific application rather than nebulous “How does that make you feel?” moments. I liked it, but I would caution against grabbing all of Stulberg’s take on Stoicisim without discussing the thoughts and ideas with others who have studied philosophies and history.

January 10: Week in Review

Good afternoon, good evening, good night, or good morning! Here is this Monday’s post, with 3 major components.

First, an out-of-date Sermon Recap. I failed to get last week’s sermon uploaded, so here it is. Sermon was from Ecclesiastes 12, sparked by a friend’s social media question of “If you were preaching the last sermon you would ever preach, what would you preach?” While the actual answer differs based on congregation context—if I were preaching to a group who had never heard the Gospel, I would preach a different sermon than to a church that has heard it for years, especially from me---my answer comes from Ecclesiastes 12. Here it is in video form:

Second, the up-to-date Sermon Recap

More Sermon Info:

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is coming soon! Search "Doug Hibbard" to see if it's there yet

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Final Monday Note:

Last week’s book was Four Thousand Weeks:Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. Very fascinating read, mainly noting that we cannot really manage time well enough to really get *everything* done. We are limited (hence the “Mortals” part of the title). Each chapter was good, although if you’re after straight practicality, jump to the appendix for the “10 tips” list. This was my summary of them:

Appendix points:

1. Adopt the fixed volume approach to productivity: use two to-do list: “open” and “closed:” work from the “closed” list and add only to it from the “open” list when something is completed. Use pre-determined boundaries: I am working in these hours, and not working outside of these hours.

2. Serialize, serialize, serialize: postpone everything but 1 item.

3. Decide in advance what to fail at: choose where to fail rather than failing accidentally; you will come up short on something, so pick the something

4. Focus on what you have gotten done—note the wins/completions

5. Consolidate your caring: decide which activism, charity, politics will get our limited attention

6. Embrace boring and single-purpose technology. Don’t be able to do everything anywhere. Have to do some things in some places.

7. Seek out novelty in the mundane: or liturgy or worship: be meditative and focus on what is happening now.

8. Be a ‘researcher’ in relationships: adopt a deliberate attitude of curiosity

9. Cultivate instantaneous generosity: give on the impulse, whether in funding or even more in contact/relationship, except when you’re doing it to be distracted

10. Practice doing nothing: embrace the idea that your life is not a commodity but to let things be as they are, do not need to manipulate the experience or the people around you.

That’s it for Monday! Just a reminder, Ann and I still do our Morning Reflection videos. They air live on our Facebook page (that we will, SOMEDAY, do something else with) and then show up on YouTube later.

Last Sermon Recaps for 2021

Well, here they are! The last sermon recaps of the year. I haven’t gotten the audio set right for the podcast app, but I’ll have that done by next week.

Here are the YouTube videos: