One of the more pleasant surprises of this blog the past few years is the opportunity to interact with the spouses of pastors. I use the term “pastors” to refer to the lead pastor of a church most of the time, but my comments are not limited to that one position. It could also refer to other staff positions at a church.

Many of the comments I have received have been shared in anonymity, and I certainly understand the need to keep names confidential. But the comments are real and verbatim. And many times I can feel the hopes and hurts that come with these comments. Here are the eleven most frequent thoughts from pastors’ spouses:

1. “I’m lonely.” This statement was the most frequent by an overwhelming margin. It overlaps with some of these other statements, but it needs to stand on its own as well.

2. “Your critics hurt me too.” Pastors are criticized regularly, even frequently. While the pastors are indeed hurting, they need to understand their spouses are hurting as well.

3. “I wish you would give me more time.” Many pastors’ spouses feel like their marriages were not healthy because the pastor put church members first.

4. “Please don’t use me as a negative sermon illustration.” Even when it’s spoken in humor, pastors’ spouses can be hurt by such illustrations.

If you are interested in the history of New York City, here is a wonderful 500 year animated timelapse video from the perspective of the new One World Trade Center.

Just after the cab passes the 250-foot mark, which puts the riders in the 1760s, St. Paul’s Chapel rises prominently on the same site that it occupies today. George Washington prayed there after his inauguration as President in 1789.

The animated timelapse video will open May 29th in the elevators going up to the observatory of One World Trade Center. It was was designed and produced by the Hettema Group of Pasadena, Calif., and Blur Studio of Culver City, Calif. The overall architect is Montroy Andersen DeMarco of New York.

One of the common concerns I’ve seen come up again and again about blogging (and Twitter… and Facebook…) is that it’s inherently selfish. Well, while I think that critique is a tad overstated, there’s no denying that blogging certainly can stroke our egos.

No one said that pride was logical.

Or intelligent.

There’s a sense in which we all (even introverted weirdos like me) love attention—and on the Internet, it’s surprisingly easy to get it. Now, the best way to get people to pay attention to what you’re saying is to have something worth saying… but sometimes that takes too long. Here are a few ways you can get attention on the Internets (even if they’re not the rightway):

1. Start an online “discernment” ministry. There is an art to the discernment ministry. I’m always impressed at how someone can write a post smashing theological progressives/liberals/whatever-you-want-to-call-them by citing a conservative celebrity pastor can then turn around and smash said conservative celebrity in the next post (or paragraph). That takes serious skill, though I’m not sure it’s what Jude had in mind when he exhorted us to contend for the faith.

2. Culture guerrilla warfare. You too can become the voice of your generation (maybe) with the time tested practice of not-so-subtly implying someone may be on the wrong side of history, theology, and/or your own preferences on any number of hot-button issues (and best of all, this approach works regardless of where you land on the theological spectrum!).