Category: Ministry

The commercial for 5 Hour Energy says they sell 2.5 million of them each day.  I guess the odds are pretty good that you’ll encounter someone wired on that stuff today or any day.

What do you do to renew your strength?  Take a nap (one of my favorites)?  Take a walk?  Get a snack?  The gist of Isaiah is that trusting God will renew your strength.  Everyone gets weary, even exhausted — except for God that is.

BTW, they also have an extra strength version of their  product in case regular just doesn’t do it for you.

So I called Rick back on Friday night as promised.  In fact, the last thing he said to me before I left him on Tuesday was, “You’re going to call me Friday night, right?”  I assured him I would.

I called about 8 pm.  He answered, “Hey, what’s up?”

I said, “Hi, this is Pastor Bill.”

“Yeah.  What’s up.”

“Well, I promised I would call and see if you got into your new place alright.”

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“She left me.  Went back home.”

I said, “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

“Well, no sense crying over spilled milk.”

“Uh..OK…well, I be praying for you.”

“Thanks.”

And then he hung up.  That was it.  For a guy who needed my help so much on Tuesday, he hardly knew me on Friday.  There were lots of other voices in the background, possibly from a bar.  As much as I wanted to believe differently, I won’t see him again.

My instincts were pretty good on this one.  So I helped out, but perhaps not in the best way.  But you never know till it’s over.  I have to admit, his story and approach were pretty smooth.  Like he had done this before.  A lot.

It feels like it’s been a long time since I went to church.  It hasn’t been more than a week though.  It’s just that I was so used to special midweek holiday services (since Thanksgiving, not counting some funerals), that a full week seems like a long, long time.  From now till Lent begins at the end of February, I’ll only be preaching weekly.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could get my whole Lenten series figured out by then?  I’ve always set out to do that, but have never, ever accomplished it.  I’ve always been writing two sermons a week during Lent, rather than having them prepared.  Perhaps this year will be the year.  All I need is an idea.

I received an email today from the daughter-in-law of one of the home bound members, Minerva, I visit each month.  it consisted of simple thank you, but more than made my day.  Minerva shares the details of each visit with her family, from the baked goods she prepares for me to the flowers I sometimes bring from Sunday’s worship.  The email concluded, “Thanks for bringing such joy into her life.”

I rarely stop to think about the impact a visit makes.  When you live alone and rarely get out, any in-person conversation becomes a celebration.  Every personal encounter becomes a memory that can be relived and enjoyed over and over.

I also realize what an impact a thank you can make.  That one sentence blessed me more than cards, gifts, and other tokens of gratitude for ministry.  It’s not that I don’t like those things.  But I’d would much rather know that for just a moment, I brought joy to someone’s life.  I made someone’s day a little shorter, a little more crowded, a little more memorable.

I can live off of a thank you for days.