Hi! And welcome to our church's website. I think of this website as a window into our church for folks who might be looking for a church, who have recently moved to town, or who are curious about Church and Christianity in general and want to find something out without committing themselves to actually coming to Sunday worship.

 

So, a little about me. I've been the pastor of Higganum Congregational Church for just about three and a half years now. Before going in to ministry eight years ago, I taught Scandinavian Languages and Literature at the University of Colorado. My specialty was Vikings, Old Norse Mythology, Icelandic Sagas, and Swedish language. So, if you ever feel like stopping by to talk about Leif Eriksson and the discovery of America or to chat in Swedish, you know where to find me.

 

I love the outdoors, fly-fishing, kayaking, walking with my dog, gardening. I also love music, playing the guitar and singing in the choir, reading, and being with my family.

 

I have decided to take a new tack at this whole world wide web communication thing... I've started a blog. You can visit my blog at maxolm.blogspot.com. I'l be posting sermons, pictures from fishing trips, thoughts I have about Christianity and being a Christian in the 21st century, and other things that cross my mind. Come on by and check it out: maxolm.blogspot.com. I just started on March 28, so there may not be much there. But there will be.

 

In the meantime, back to this webpage...

 

As pastor of our church, I am the spiritual leader and teacher. That can mean many different things to different people, so let me tell you what I am committed to as our pastor.

 

First, I am committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News that God came to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to set us free from all the things that keep us from living in relationship with God and from being the people that God created us to be. Call it "salvation" or "new and abundant life," but it is certainly the very best news I know of and it is what I preach every Sunday.

 

I am committed to vibrant and engaging worship every Sunday. There are no ordinary, run of the mill Sundays, as far as I am concerned. Worship should never be boring. It's supposed to be a celebration and I try to offer people something worth listening to every Sunday when I preach and we try to offer good music and warm fellowship.

 

I am committed to living into the Kingdom of God as described for us by Jesus in the scriptures. This is not just some pie in the sky utopia which I sit around dreaming about, but a reality which we can be part of. Jesus called it "loving our neighbors as ourselves," and I am committed to living my way into it and inviting others to join me.

 

I am committed to teach people about God in Jesus Christ. Obviously I do this in my preaching, but I also believe that people need to dig a little deeper by getting involved in Bible Study, prayer and reflection, and spiritual conversation. In my experience, many people already know God through the experiences of their lives. They just lack the words to describe their experience or the frame of reference to give their experience meaning. I am here to help people connect the dots. If you are interested in reading some of my sermons, you can click here (sermons) to get an idea of what you might hear on any given Sunday at HCC.

 

And finally, I am committed to the Church. Not just our church, but the Church of Jesus Christ. In our age of private spirituality and personal salvation, I am convinced that true Christian discipleship can only be lived out in the Church where we practice living the life of Christ, where we give and receive the forgiveness we need when we don't succeed, where we bear one anothers burdens, and where we speak the truth in love. In our society of people living in physical, emotional, and spiritual isolation from one another, the church is community. In fact, that would be the best way to describe our church, a group of people who enjoy spending time together and sharing our lives with one another. I believe that God created the Church as an instrument for teaching people how to live honestly in love and peace with one another. And that’s what we do, talk to each other, listen to each other’s points of view, listen to God in our prayers, and try our best to discern what it is that God is calling us to be and do, while having a good time together.

 My first Sunday as pastor at HCC!

Wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome at Higganum Congregational Church.