It was one of those weekends where Tim and Andrew got to do all the pastor things. Between the two of them there were three funerals and a wedding, which meant a lot of time in suits, a lot of time behind microphones, and a lot of pastoral care packed into a few days.

Andrew also added a brand-new ministry experience to the list by blessing a fire truck. We’re pretty sure that one wasn’t covered in seminary, but at this point the City of Safety Harbor knows who to call when something needs prayed over.

In preaching news, apparently both guys had too much to say this week. Tim had to speed up a recording of his own sermon just to listen back to it, while Andrew realized in real time that he needed to land the plane and cut an entire page from his manuscript while preaching. Sometimes sermon editing happens on Thursday. Sometimes it happens in front of the congregation.

Behind the scenes, Lakeview is in the middle of annual staff reviews, which always makes for some interesting conversations about ministry, expectations, and leadership. Safety Harbor has a different personnel problem: people who aren’t actually coming to church keep using the church parking lot, and Andrew is learning the delicate pastoral art of telling people, lovingly, to move their cars.

It’s funerals, a wedding, a fire truck, long sermons, annual reviews, and parking lot enforcement. Basically, all the things they told us pastoral ministry would be.