Ask Me Anything Questions

Greetings Friends! If have come to worship at Rinn Church recently, you’ve probably heard of the Ask Me Anything (AMA) box. To give you some quick background, AMA is a segment done by the website www.reddit.com. In it, the public is invited to ask powerful people (politicians, movie stars, inventors, etc.) questions in an interview forum. It’s surprisingly effective and produces some candid answers. Thus, I thought I would bring a version of it to Rinn to help you get to know me as your new pastor. My plan is to answer in future newsletter articles, blog posts, sermons and face-to-face conversations. So please feel free to fire away with your musings! With that out of the way, here are two recent submissions:

 • When you get free time, what do you like to do? –Sharon Thompson

 Good question! I am actually an introvert. So when I get free time, I usually take a moment to zone out in front of the TV or with a good book. It’s hard existing in a hustling, bustling world. Therefore, it helps me to recoup energy before I do anything overtly fun. After this happens, I enjoy activities like cycling and playing various sports. I used to do much more than I do now, but I haven’t been as active since I blew out my knee playing softball a couple years ago. Otherwise, I also love to study history, play various video games and participate in the “geek” culture that is so popular in America., That’s right, I am an avid fan of things like Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galatica, And whenever I see a trailer for a new Marvel Comics superhero movie, I squeal with joy and watch it several hundred times before joining online discussions about it. Back in high school, this sort of behavior got me teased. Yet nowadays, it is amazingly fashionable. The times, they are a changing!

 • Are you liberal or conservative? Ha ha, just kidding. - Anonymous

 This query may have been made out of jest, but it touches on an important issue. My old barber used to joke that religion and politics were two things he would never talk about in his shop. They were always in conflict, so he felt it better not to bring them up (especially when he had sharp scissors in his hand!). That being said, I believe there has to be some interaction between faith and politics. It must be done carefully, however. One must never come to fully define the other, as stated so well in the First Amendment. This is my one concrete political belief. Other than this, I hold to perspectives from both major political parties and I regularly vote for the person I believe will best carry them out. As far as existing with those who believe differently, I feel Methodism’s Founder, John Wesley, said it best when he wrote:

 “I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them: 1) To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy. 2) To speak no evil of the person they voted against. 3) To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

Essentially, I am an independent who tries to love everyone as God loves me, while letting that belief guide who I vote for. I know that’s a real brief explanation, so please feel to follow up with me in person if you are interested. I think that’s a great start to this AMA experiment. If you’d like to participate, the box will be outside the sanctuary for the next month or so. Or feel free to email me your queries at rinnpastor@gmail.com. Keep writing friends, and I look forward continuing the awesome start I’ve had with you! Until next time.

In Christ,
Bryson