These people I've had the honor and privilege of serving are among the finest. They are just regular folks who do not try to be something other than who and what they are. They are genuine and sincere and extremely hospitable. My successor will not take long to realize how lucky he is to have been given such a charge. I am confident that they will receive him as well as they received me. My only prayer is that he will appreciate this charge for what it is and what it can be.
Peace.
“Transitions”
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
The Lord our God has a plan. He has an awe-inspiring, overwhelming, incomprehensible layout of precisely what He pleases to do and exactly how He intends to go about it. Though man may try to throw a monkey wrench into the works in his own attempts to manipulate worldly blessings even with good intentions, such as how Abraham and Sarah treated Hagar, in the end the Lord’s will and way will prevail.
Last week I shared with you my thoughts about learning to appreciate the moment, whenever that moment happens to be, to have time to revel in the presence of YHWH.
But even as we learn to give ourselves up to those special moments, we must also learn to listen to the “still, small voice”, the very same Voice that guided Elijah from the cave and encouraged him to keep moving. Elijah moved because he knew Whose voice was urging him on.
Elijah’s time had ended, and along came Elisha. Moses’ time had ended, and along came Joshua. John the Baptist’s time had ended, and along came Jesus the Messiah.
Even as Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry, He was already planning for His own departure by choosing apostles, though they had no idea at the time, who would continue His work on earth long after His Ascension.
Just as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is a time for everything and in our own human ability to comprehend, that time for us is FINITE. Just as it is time for something to begin, there is also a definitive time for something to end – to make room for the NEW. The time, however, belongs to the Lord God. Time is His to manipulate and to control. Though we could wish that the Lord would be more mindful of OUR concept of time, the fact is that His time – like His thoughts and His ways – is not ours.
More than this, however, is our sense of priorities and duties to fit within that finite time. Just as we need to be mindful of His presence in our lives, we must also be mindful that His presence has purpose and meaning just as our lives have purpose and meaning, even if we cannot readily discern what that purpose and meaning may be.
In the past few weeks I have taken stock of my own priorities and sense of duty. I entered into the ministry prepared to have a little fun. After all, how fun is the idea of standing at a pulpit and talking uninterrupted for 15-20 minutes with little chance for rebuttal?? I had no idea how humbling the experience would become. Not long after I started preaching, my prayer changed from “Lord, give me light” to “Lord, please don’t let me screw this up!”
I have also discovered, in taking stock of my priorities and sense of duty, that perhaps it is that I entered into the preaching ministry and ordained candidacy process a bit prematurely. There are other things that have to be taken care of first, and I have found that there are not enough hours in the day and the week to fully commit myself to everything that needs to be done.
When I wrote down everything that requires my attention, and church & family tied for last place, I knew then that the voice I had been listening to was my own urging me to somehow try to break land-speed records by trying to take on more than any one person should be expected to do. Maybe I was trying to prove something. What I DO know is that I was not listening very well.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
The Lord our God has a plan. He has an awe-inspiring, overwhelming, incomprehensible layout of precisely what He pleases to do and exactly how He intends to go about it. Though man may try to throw a monkey wrench into the works in his own attempts to manipulate worldly blessings even with good intentions, such as how Abraham and Sarah treated Hagar, in the end the Lord’s will and way will prevail.
Last week I shared with you my thoughts about learning to appreciate the moment, whenever that moment happens to be, to have time to revel in the presence of YHWH.
But even as we learn to give ourselves up to those special moments, we must also learn to listen to the “still, small voice”, the very same Voice that guided Elijah from the cave and encouraged him to keep moving. Elijah moved because he knew Whose voice was urging him on.
Elijah’s time had ended, and along came Elisha. Moses’ time had ended, and along came Joshua. John the Baptist’s time had ended, and along came Jesus the Messiah.
Even as Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry, He was already planning for His own departure by choosing apostles, though they had no idea at the time, who would continue His work on earth long after His Ascension.
Just as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is a time for everything and in our own human ability to comprehend, that time for us is FINITE. Just as it is time for something to begin, there is also a definitive time for something to end – to make room for the NEW. The time, however, belongs to the Lord God. Time is His to manipulate and to control. Though we could wish that the Lord would be more mindful of OUR concept of time, the fact is that His time – like His thoughts and His ways – is not ours.
More than this, however, is our sense of priorities and duties to fit within that finite time. Just as we need to be mindful of His presence in our lives, we must also be mindful that His presence has purpose and meaning just as our lives have purpose and meaning, even if we cannot readily discern what that purpose and meaning may be.
In the past few weeks I have taken stock of my own priorities and sense of duty. I entered into the ministry prepared to have a little fun. After all, how fun is the idea of standing at a pulpit and talking uninterrupted for 15-20 minutes with little chance for rebuttal?? I had no idea how humbling the experience would become. Not long after I started preaching, my prayer changed from “Lord, give me light” to “Lord, please don’t let me screw this up!”
I have also discovered, in taking stock of my priorities and sense of duty, that perhaps it is that I entered into the preaching ministry and ordained candidacy process a bit prematurely. There are other things that have to be taken care of first, and I have found that there are not enough hours in the day and the week to fully commit myself to everything that needs to be done.
When I wrote down everything that requires my attention, and church & family tied for last place, I knew then that the voice I had been listening to was my own urging me to somehow try to break land-speed records by trying to take on more than any one person should be expected to do. Maybe I was trying to prove something. What I DO know is that I was not listening very well.
When it finally occurred to me that perhaps resigning as your pastor was my only option, my first thoughts – of course – were of you and how this might affect the work that I had hoped we could begin here. I know that when I first arrived, there was an enormous need for healing. Regardless of fault or blame, bad feelings lingered though the spirit of this church was still intact. You overcame those bad feelings and, perhaps without realizing it, you resumed your function and ministry as a church.
Though this is a part-time charge for a pastor and maybe a part-time church for too many of us who are busy running in too many different directions at once, this is still an active and ALIVE church with a FULL-TIME MISSION and calling: to make disciples for Christ.
Whomever is at the pulpit is not nearly as important as remembering that as long as He is allowed, the Lord God will take care of the future of this church and any other church that chooses to follow Him and let Him lead the way.
I now know that my time here has come and gone; my “season” has ended. But we need only look at the transition between Moses and Joshua to understand that when the Lord God begins a great work, He is not about to abandon all that HE has accomplished, and He certainly will not stop until He is finished. I know in my heart of hearts that your Holy Father is not finished here.
I pray you will understand that for the very sake of my ministry – and yes, I do still have one just as each of you still do - my family, and my health, something had to be put on hold. My family and I will be forever grateful for your hospitality and your friendship. I also pray that one day you can come to fully realize how positively you have impacted my life and the lives of my wife and children.
We will always carry with us a deep and abiding love for this church that we had not felt for some time. You welcomed us, AND – I am quite certain of this – you have blessed us far more than I could have possibly blessed any one of you.
Transitions may be unpleasant for some of us, but the good that can come from these transitions is immeasurable when we place our complete faith and trust in the Lord our God and embrace the reality that time is not ours to command or control.
May you continue your journey in faith and in service.
AMEN.
2 comments:
Michael,
As one who is now a certified candidate for ordained ministry, and who, like you, is needing to complete my BA before going on to seminary, I thank you for your service to God and the UMC and I wish you well. The decision that you've been forced to make has been a tough one.
I'm impressed with your thoughts and the passion that you've shown in what you've shared with us. Take this for what it's worth, but I have a feeling that God's not finished with you yet, my brother.
May God's blessing continue to be upon you and your family.
Wayne
Thank you, Wayne. I truly had a good time with these wonderful folks, and I look forward to one day being able to serve another congregation.
You're right: He's not done with me, and I'm more certain of this now than at any other time. In fact, He is not done with any of us until that Final Day.
I pray that you will keep the faith in your journey and know that even, and maybe especially, the little things are what matter most to a congregation of seekers.
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