The Ninth Bishop of Texas: The Defiant Gardener

Sermon preached 3.C Good Shepherd Austin 2013

Quotes

"Christianity is not a theory or speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a life and a living process." Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"Most people are willing to take the Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under, but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer." Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Perfection, in a Christian sense, means becoming mature enough to give ourselves to others." Kathleen Norris
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." John Wesley
"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." G. K. Chesterton
"One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans." C. S. Lewis
"When we say, 'I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,' we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the church seldom asks us for forgiveness." Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey
"Christians are hard to tolerate; I don't know how Jesus does it." Bono
"It's too easy to get caught in our little church subcultures, and the result is that the only younger people we might know are Christians who are already inside the church." Dan Kimball

Blog Autobiography

You, the people of this diocese, have witnessed my journey and helped to prepare me for the ministry I hold as bishop. As the son of an Episcopal priest, I grew up in churches around Houston. I have lived and worked for the Church in Austin, Temple, Houston and College Station. At Camp Allen some of you were my counselors; some of you were my campers - including several who are now priests. It was here, among you, that I first heard a call to ministry. I pursued a degree in fine arts, then - with the support of St. Paul's, Freeport and All Saints, Austin - I attended Virginia Theological Seminary and graduated in 1995. I was ordained at Christ Church, Temple. JoAnne and I met at Camp Allen and were married in 1990. Our two beautiful girls, Caisa and Zoë, are the delight of our lives. As a family we enjoy the outdoors and fishing. I have served the Diocese of Texas for more than twenty years as a youth minister, camp counselor, priest, consultant, workshop leader and Canon to the Ordinary. I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to expand that work, and to work energetically and faithfully for our future.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The Defiant Gardener

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