Each Saturday evening I go through a little ritual- I stand in front of my closet and wonder, how did it get to be time to get ready for Sunday again? Didn't I just do a Sunday? This week I inserted a variation- how did it come time for Thanksgiving again? Didn't we just have Thanksgiving? Oh, that was last year. Time passes- whether we are having fun or not.
As I listened to the heavy rainfall last night and early this morning I began to wonder...just what effect do my words Sunday after Sunday have? I know God has promised that His Word will always accomplish it's purpose (see Isaiah 55:11). But there are days and weeks I wonder if I'll live long enough to see God's Word bring the fruit I long to see.
Then, I read the book of James this morning. And what did I read? James 5:7-8"Therefore brothers, be patient. . . see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains? You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts because the Lord's coming is near."(HCSB).
So, it is Sunday again. It is thanksgiving season once again. I will patiently wait for God's promise to be fulfilled.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Prophets and Pastors
Tucked away in the Old Testament book of Hosea is a declaration of God that I'd never paused long enough to see before. "The LORD brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet, and Israel was tended by a prophet" (Hos 12:13). Interesting. When I wonder exactly what it is a pastor does some days this is a reminder that though God could act independently of human agency, He chooses to reveal His presence, His purpose, and His power through humans like, well, me! Yes, God set His people free from the Egyptians by His mighty hand, but Moses was His chosen instrument through which He revealed Himself.
This statement is a reminder that God still desires for men and women who will willingly place their lives in between God and His people- individuals who will wait to hear from God, individuals who will speak accurately the things of God, and people who will listen carefully to the heart of the people to whom God has called them. May I be that kind of prophet. May God continue to 'tend' His people through me!
This statement is a reminder that God still desires for men and women who will willingly place their lives in between God and His people- individuals who will wait to hear from God, individuals who will speak accurately the things of God, and people who will listen carefully to the heart of the people to whom God has called them. May I be that kind of prophet. May God continue to 'tend' His people through me!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Last Thursday and Friday I was privilged to facilitate a meeting of county officials designed to update a comprehensive plan for services offered to children and their families in Douglas County. Several thingks are striking about this group of county and state officials- some elected officials, and some social service professionals-
1. a common commitment to outcomes. Everyone in the room for those meetings really wants to provide the best and most effective opportunities for children and their families. Both days we struggled with how to assist families in overcoming the culture of poverty and hopelessness that threatens many families in our communities.
2. a shared vision of a better future. Everyone in the room wants to see a community where everyone thrives, where every member of the community is valued, where everyone is able to offer their unique contribution to the whole.
3. a clash of values. The challenge comes when well-meaning professionals- all of whom have a great deal more experience than I have in the social service realm- seek to apply limited dollars to what is a growing problem.
The discussion was honest and pointed, but all was done in a civil and respetable tone of voice. As a pastor- a veteran of thirty years of Baptist business meetings at the local church level, the associational level, the regional level, and some limited exposure to national denominational level business meetings- it strikes me that even good people with well meaning and well intentioned ideas will disagree about some of the most basic of issues. The challenge is not to force everyone into agreement, but to create a climate where people are free to discuss their differences and where people appreciate the differences between them rather than acting from fear and anxiety.
I overheard a suggestion that intrigues me- what are the parallels and constrasts between our culture and the culture of the nations of Israel and Judah during the monarchy and period of divided kingdoms? What leadership lessons can we learn? What spiritual principles can we appropriate and apply? Interesting questions that I hope to explore as I have time...
1. a common commitment to outcomes. Everyone in the room for those meetings really wants to provide the best and most effective opportunities for children and their families. Both days we struggled with how to assist families in overcoming the culture of poverty and hopelessness that threatens many families in our communities.
2. a shared vision of a better future. Everyone in the room wants to see a community where everyone thrives, where every member of the community is valued, where everyone is able to offer their unique contribution to the whole.
3. a clash of values. The challenge comes when well-meaning professionals- all of whom have a great deal more experience than I have in the social service realm- seek to apply limited dollars to what is a growing problem.
The discussion was honest and pointed, but all was done in a civil and respetable tone of voice. As a pastor- a veteran of thirty years of Baptist business meetings at the local church level, the associational level, the regional level, and some limited exposure to national denominational level business meetings- it strikes me that even good people with well meaning and well intentioned ideas will disagree about some of the most basic of issues. The challenge is not to force everyone into agreement, but to create a climate where people are free to discuss their differences and where people appreciate the differences between them rather than acting from fear and anxiety.
I overheard a suggestion that intrigues me- what are the parallels and constrasts between our culture and the culture of the nations of Israel and Judah during the monarchy and period of divided kingdoms? What leadership lessons can we learn? What spiritual principles can we appropriate and apply? Interesting questions that I hope to explore as I have time...
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