Category: pastor

Posted in pastor

A hospital visit

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

It’s been a few years since I made a hospital visit. Our pastor is on vacation and since I’m filling in for him for a few weeks, I got the call about a member being admitted from the emergency room.

I’d been to this hospital many times. It was familiar, but different. The automatic entry didn’t open as I approached, a sign pointing me to the other front entrance. Stanchions guided me past a security guard and through a metal detector. That was new. A receptionist found the room number for me, took my picture, and printed out my photo visitor ID tag for the day. This was a new procedure for this location.

I made my way to the elevators. One thing that hadn’t changed was waiting for an elevator. All four working elevators were up at the top floors of the hospital. The stairs were right there behind me, so I took them to the third floor.

I had a great visit. The patient gave me the usual, “You didn’t have to come all the way down here.” I’m thinking, “Of course I did. That’s what pastors do. That’s what the church does. “I was sick and you visited me” (Matthew 25:36).

Our conversation was punctuated by a tech drawing blood and a nurse checking in. I didn’t stay long, knowing that when you’re not feeling well, a short visit is always better. After a prayer I was on my way.

I’m always fascinated with all the activity in a hospital. I marvel at the choreographed flow of doctors, nurses, techs, and other caregivers. I’m in awe of the medical technology. I’m fascinated by the healing process and all that goes into it.

I learn something new about diseases, medications, treatments, and wellness every time I visit someone. I appreciate the opportunity to continue my education!

Posted in pastor

Don’t you have a key?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash

I walked into the church fifteen minutes before my bible class was to begin. My arms were full with a bible, bible class handouts, bottles of water for a children’s sermon, and my alb and stoles for the next few weeks.

The door was open and I met Robert in a church t-shirt. Anne, the previous but now retired secretary, was there too. I asked, “Where should I put my stuff?”

She said, “Don’t you have a key?”

“Um, no, I don’t.” While I’ve been worshiping here for about six months, this was my first time filling in as worship leader and preacher. I assumed that they would be ready for me. That was not a good assumption.

Anne let me in the pastor’s office with the warning, “The door will lock behind you.” Maybe I should just leave it open. “Another pastor did that; someone came and took all of his stuff.” Ok. Not going to repeat that mistake.

A minute later, Anne came with a key. “Here’s a spare.” Awesome. I’ll take good care of it. I hung up my alb and stoles, then went to get ready for bible class.

I knew there wouldn’t be coffee prepared. That only happens on the first Sunday of the month. This was the fourth of five Sundays. I set out my handouts and got ready for the class to arrive.

After a lively bible class, I put my bible in the pulpit and headed back to the office to get ready. I found the microphone and beltpack, but no batteries. Hmm. I asked numerous people where I might find batteries. No one had a clue. Finally, Anne said, “I think we have some in the office.” She found a couple of AAs, and I was ready to go.

The service went well. Afterwards, everyone quickly left, and I hoped that someone was there to lock up. In the past, as the pastor of a church, I checked doors, set alarms, and was usually the last one out. In this context, none of that was my job.

This congregation has been in search of a full time pastor for three years. In the meantime, interim pastors have filled in. Who’s in charge of making sure everthing that happens on a Sunday morning happens on any given Sunday morning? Elders? Ushers? Anyone?

Sometimes it’s good to be on the other side. Now I can help them make sure they are ready for others who may fill in until they have a full-time pastor.

Posted in Ministry, pastor, retirement

Just a regular guy

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-in-white-shirt-and-green-pants-4066296/

Somehow I managed to fly under the radar for about a year and a half. Rick was at my table at bible class last night, along with Dick, Michael, and Jay. The lesson that night, from John Stott’s book The Radical Disciple, was about nonconformity. Disciples of Jesus need regular reminders not to slip into ethical relativism (where the lines between right and wrong are blurred). Our standard is God’s Word.

I shared with the table that ninety-five percent of the weddings I’ve performed were for couples who were already living together. Counseling and marrying them was a step in the right direction.

Rick looked at me and said, “Wait a minute. You did weddings?”

“Sure, lots of them.”

He asked again, “Really? How could you do weddings?”

Dick, sitting to my left, chucked, “He was a pastor for twenty-six years just up the road before his retirement.”

Rick was incredulous. “You were a pastor? I thought you were just a regular guy!”

I assured Rick, “I am just a regular guy. That was my occupation for thirty-six years.”

Rick and I have been friends for about eighteen months. I guess my previous occupation just never came up. And that’s OK. I enjoy being a regular guy. It’s fun love flying under the radar.

Posted in pastor

They’re probably talking about me.

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It is once again a season of growth for our community and our congregation. So, I find myself out visiting a lot of individuals and families who have come to worship with us and expressed an interest in our church. With at least two first-time guests each week, this is keeping me pretty busy and pretty much out of trouble. For now.

In the course of conversation, folks will share their church background and experiences with me, including what their last pastor was like. Sometimes he or she was awesome. But more often than not, I hear a lot of disparaging comments about ministers and ministries. Some of the stories are unsettling, including tales of affairs, embezzlement, addiction and fraud. Others are filled with disappointment, discouragement and disgust.

These conversations always make me feel a little uncomfortable. I do not need to be reminded that every single pastor is a sinner in desperate need of grace. I already know that from personal experience and reminders from those who know me well. I also feel sad as I sit and listen. I’ve had great relationships with a lot of people in the church. I wish more had similar experiences.

The thing that occurred to me the other day was that on any given day, someone is probably talking about me that way. No, I haven’t done anything illegal. But I know I’ve angered, disappointed, aggravated, irritated, ignored, dismissed, insulted, and confused many who have come through our doors. They’re not telling their next pastor nice stories about me. I’m the one who let them down.

It’s good to keep this in mind. It’s humbling. It reminds me not to think too highly of myself. It also sternly reminds me that my self esteem is not built on the failings of others. My worth comes from Christ’s love for me.

Posted in Ministry, pastor

What does a pastor do on a Saturday?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I had a colleague who had a very hard time sleeping on Saturday nights. He always lay awake, worrying about Sunday. So he decided to not even try. Sleeping, that is. He would stay up all night from Saturday into Sunday preparing his sermon, and then preach the following morning.

Good for him. I could never do that. I’d be dozing off during my own sermon! That never goes over well. I’ve got my sermon mostly done by Wednesday and go over it a few times sometime on Saturday. Some pastors have a Saturday night service. For me, that would be a drag. My Saturdays could involve any number of things.

Today I worked in the yard, visited a family mourning a death, ran a few errands and got a few chores done around the house. Other Saturdays I have gone to a movie with my wife, performed a funeral, painted a room in my house, played with grandchildren, had some extended family over for supper and built a play fort in the back yard.

My day off is Friday. If you suggest, “How about Friday?” I will typically answer, “No, that doesn’t work for me.” Saturdays however are flexible. Sometimes I had nothing going on. Sometimes my plate is full.

The one thing I never do is discuss the question, “Do you want to go to church tomorrow?” That’s pretty funny. With retirement on the horizon, maybe we’ll have that discussion. But for now, Saturday means I set my alarm for 4:30. Sunday’s coming!

Posted in Ministry, pastor

A visit to the nearby ends of the earth

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Earlier this week I made all my drop-in homebound visits. Time to move on to my “make an appointment” “spend a little more time” “sit down over a meal” visits. Today I headed out to see Mr. and Mrs. “H”, an appointment I made a few weeks ago, wedged in between many doctor appointments.

I’ve known the “H’s” for about twenty years, and they are my members who live the farthest from the church. They live about an hour drive from the church. For many years they faithfully made that drive to worship with us. But for the last few years, they haven’t been able to attend as often. It’s been eight months since they were able to make the drive.

I remembered the route today, so I didn’t need a GPS to get to their house. It’s a drive through a lot of undeveloped areas of north central Florida. I drove through wooded areas, potato farms. I passed a number of hispanic convenience stores and fern farms, as well as many, many small Baptist churches. Old Florida at its best, as if time stood still. I finally arrived in their small home not far from Lake George, a bass fishing mecca.

Both were actually doing better than I expected. I brought some subs with me for lunch, since in previous visits, they insisted on feeding me. I didn’t think they were up for that, but they still made some strawberry shortcake for dessert. Their little toy poodle was ecstatic to see me, but was relegated to her crate when it was time to get serious.

After about 40 minutes of small talk and extensive medical updates, I did a brief devotion, confession and absolution, and gave holy communion. While they were able to listen to religious programming via the internet, they do not have access to the sacrament, something very important to them. It’s a privilege to bring the means of grace to them.

We had a nice meal together, chatted a lot about possible assisted living scenarios, and caught up on neighbors and church family. One thing hasn’t changed. They have not lost their sense of humor. They never fail to make me laugh! That is their precious gift to me. Of course, I learned long ago that those I go to visit often minister more to me than I to them. They love to hear stories about what’s going on at church and how everyone is doing. I know they miss their church family!

After about two hours there, I thanked them for allowing me to come and headed home. The next time I see them will probably be at a hospital, since some surgery is on their schedule in a few weeks. Visits like this make me realize that some of the most faithful and devout members of a church are rarely able to attend on a Sunday morning. Also, God can create sacred space in the most modest of homes around Word and Sacrament. Finally, my physical presence means the world to them, connecting them with their church family.

It was a really good visiting day.

Posted in pastor

The late Friday afternoon phone message

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jonah Pettrich on Unsplash

It happens a lot. When I get to my study at church on Monday morning, I find that someone left me a message late on Friday afternoon, somewhere in the neighborhood of 4:55 pm. Sometimes the message is important: someone is in the hospital or on the way to the emergency room. Sometimes it’s not urgent at all. A question about the church or even the bible (I really like those questions, but they’re rarely posed).

The thing is, I take Friday off. I’ve taken Friday as my day off for about thirty years. Some pastors take Mondays off. Fridays have always worked out better for me. I like to get a jump on the week on Mondays, and have a buffer at the end of the week before Sunday’s worship and preaching. Saturdays are a wild card day. I may spend a little time at church, or I may have a few visits to make that day. On Sundays, I’ve got plenty to think about and get ready for. My office administrator is there till 1:00 pm on Friday. So if wait until late Friday afternoon to call and leave a message, it may not be heard until Monday morning.

One day I realized that a late Friday message may be intentional. You know no one will answer the phone. You know you’ll have to leave a message. You won’t have to talk to an actual person. You can dump whatever you want, and it’s off your plate and on to theirs. Just like that. I advertise my cell phone and email, and have a broad social media presence, so I know you can get a hold of me in an emergency. But you chose to leave a message on the church phone when no one was around.

I will admit that there have been times when I’ve called someone and prayed that I get the answering machine. That way I could say that I called, but I wouldn’t actually have to talk to the person. Why? Sometimes you just don’t want to have the conversation. Maybe I’ve put off talking to them for too long or I don’t think they really want to hear from me or I just don’t really want to talk to them. But I need to, I’m supposed to and I make the call. But it’s so nice when you can just leave a message.

So I get it. You put it off all week and squeezed it in on a Friday afternoon. Or you waited till late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve to call and ask when services were. Or you were in a hurry and didn’t even identify yourself so I don’t even know who called.

Call me back, OK?

Posted in Ministry, pastor, prayer

No more prayer? Plenty of prayer!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Our county school board recently opened a meeting with an invocation by one of the local clergy. From what I’ve read, this was the first time a prayer was spoken at such a meeting since the early 1970’s. After much conversation and conflict, they decided not to continue that practice.

I remember being asked to give the opening invocation at a high school graduation in Coventry, CT in about 1989 or 1990. Another local pastor spoke a benediction. It was the only time I was ever invited to pray at such a school function. It was certainly a different time and place. I’m not aware of any non-Christian religious organizations in Coventry at the time. Any prayers offered from representatives of the local churches would be from a Christian perspective. Today, you might get a prayer from any of a wide range of faiths in the community that you may or may not be comfortable with.

I also had the opportunity to give the opening convocation at a session of the Iowa state legislature in the mid-90s, when I lived in Des Moines. the senior pastor of our church handed it over to me, and I thought it would be a great experience. It was. Afterwards, I received an impressive certificate signed by the governor of Iowa and my representative. The only comment I received that day was, “Thank you for keeping it short.” Apparently, not everyone invited to pray got to the point as quickly as I did.

I was also invited to pray before an after a special gathering of a garden club in our town last year. They were planting a tree in memory of some members who had passed, one of whom had been a member of our church. My words were overtly Christian, cause that’s what I do, but no one seemed to mind.

I’ve heard invocations at a variety of university and government functions. Unfortunately, they are so watered down in order to include every belief that I don’t think God Himself would even know we were talking to Him. So why even bother?

I believe it is much better for us to pray for our nation and government each week when we gather for worship. I believe it is important to thank God for our leaders in our own personal devotional prayer. I believe it is much more important to teach our children to pray and be good citizens of both heaven and the United States. It has been a privilege to gather with teachers and students around school flagpoles for prayer. I am thankful for the chance to teach children about prayer in the school at Good News Club each week.

If we are taking advantage of the many opportunities we have to talk to God, we won’t have to worry about trying to wedge one into a community meeting. Plenty of them will have already risen before Him like incense.

Posted in faith, Ministry, pastor

“I know Clara Reuben!”

Posted on by William Douthwaite

At last summer’s synodical convention in Tampa, the exhibitor hall was a great place to escape some of the long business sessions and presentations when my brain and bottom just couldn’t endure any more. Every Concordia was represented along with every shape and size of ministry at home and abroad.

One morning I stopped by a booth promoting a ministry to Jewish people. I don’t remember the name of the ministry or the person I spoke with, but I do remember speaking about the time Steve Cohen came to my congregation to do the presentation Christ in the Passover. I then shared how years later I had met Clara Reuben, who did some amazing Jewish outreach on Long Island and in South Florida.

At the mention of her name, his face lit up and he exclaimed, “I know Clara Reuben!”

What a small world! Clara was the great-grandmother of one of my confirmation students. I visited Clara a number of times during the last year of her life when she lived in my town. I was privileged to be one of the few Clara never expelled from her home. Clara began every visit by asking, “Do you love Jesus?” She would always tell me, “I kicked the last minister out. He didn’t love Jesus!” And then she would double-check, “Do you love Jesus?”

Of course I do. But more importantly, she did. No nonsense here. No political correctness or cultural sensitivity. You either love the Lord or not. No pussy-footing around. Just cut to the chase. Either he’s Lord, or he’s not. Got a problem with that? Get out!

We could all learn a lot from Clara Reuben about outreach, evangelism and faith. I know I did.