Is your name in the book

A few Sundays ago it was just the kids and I so I decided it was high time they started going to big church. "Big" church refers to the adult service. We've always called it that. They will be going into kindergarten next year. They should be able to sit still for a while. Should.
Luckily our church knows how hard it is for kids to sit still and provides a bag full of puzzles and crayons fore each child that one can pick up on the way int service. My 10 year old found a sewing toy that was way below her grade level. However it entertained her for quite some time. Alex colored the pictures and traced through the mazes. William....wanted nothing to do with the bag of goodies. Instead he picked up the Bible from the rack in front of us. He "read" it upside down at first. Then I gently turned it the right way.
I turned my attention back to the service only to be interrupted by a loud whisper.
"Mom!" it was Will.
I looked over and mouthed for him to shush.
He continued... "Mom! It's my name!"
Sure enough... He had found his name in the Bible.
"They will.... He will... God will..."
His name was all over the place throughout the entire book. He was so excited!
It made me ponder about another book... The Book of Life.  How many of us will be looking for our name there and be overcome with excitement to see it? How many will never appear?

Easter 2019

Alex draws mommy

I need to immortalize this picture. I want to embarrass my son with it when he gets older and I need to make record of it because it was absolutely hilarious to receive. This is a picture that Alex drew in school. When I picked him up he was so excited to show it to me. He said, Mommy I drew you and your boobs! I asked him why?! His answer was, because you're so pretty. Note that my boobs are right under my eyes and that my smile is underneath them. Clearly he doesn't have the anatomy correct so I'm not too worried at this point. And I promise I don't walk around nude. It really did make me laugh out loud for a really long time. I'm not even going to ask with the scribble at the bottom of the circle is. I'm just going to stick with the fact that he thinks I'm pretty!

 

A different set of circumstances

This past week I went to a funeral at the church I where I grew up. I haven't been there in decades, however everything was exactly the same as the day I left. Everything. Even the man standing in the pulpit. My dear friend Dwayne was officiating over the funeral of a long time friend of his. He was the youth minister there when I attended in college. I don't think many people consider the trials that a pastor faces. In fact I'm pretty sure that many think they are overpaid for the amount of  "work" they do. I haven't met one yet that actually gets paid for ALL the work they actually do. There are only a handful of Joel Osteens out there. Most of your pastors work a real job and pastor a church. They are on call 24 hrs a day. Some live on the church property where every move they make is watched. They are ridiculed and scrutinized for every word they say and every move they make. If you're Baptist, you'd better not ever be seen with alcohol in your hand even if the church members get drunk on Friday nights. There's a different set of rules. To find someone to be your partner, your mate...is a grand feat that is usually only accomplished if the woman is naive enough to marry you young. Because young people still have enough optimism to think they can change the world. If you happen to make it through those early years without finding a mate the chances of marriage without extreme compromise become slim.
Think about it. Who does the man who has to bear the problems of his congregation go to when he has a problem? They are not super humans. They are not immune to wants and desires. They are not free from struggles or pain. But they are an island. They are expected to survive all on their own with all of our expectations and none of our grace.
So this week I watched my friend hold in the tears. I watched him compartmentalize and put his own grief aside so that he could be the pastor for the family... For the church. He performed a heartfelt service for which she would have been proud. He had to endure the wailing of her children and see picture of the two of them on the slide show, all the while keeping it all together for the good of everyone else. Sacrificing his own emotions for theirs.

In an article by Chris Griggs entitled "A week in the life of an Ordinary Pastor", he gives examples of what he faces daily.

On Tuesday afternoon, the pastor is pulling into the church parking lot after a long lunch meeting with a member when his phone rings. “Hello pastor. As you know, my wife is still recovering from surgery. It’s been a really hard couple of weeks, and I just wanted you to know that nobody has cared for us. Well, a little, but not like we expected. I appreciate you coming to the hospital to pray with us, but we won’t be coming back to your church.” The pastor offers an apology and hangs up the phone—discouraged.
An hour later, he makes a call to check on a sick member. “Pastor, thank you so much for the call. We’ve been so overwhelmed and blessed by the way the church has loved and cared for us during this crisis. Thank you for everything.” After praying with them, he hangs up the phone—grateful.

As he prepares to leave the office for the day, a deacon drops by unannounced. “Hey pastor, do you have a minute? Listen, some folks are really struggling with what happened in that last business meeting. They don’t feel they had much of a voice in the decision, and they’re pretty upset. Just thought you should know.” The pastor leans back in his chair—fearful.
That evening, at a local restaurant, another deacon stops by his table on the way out. “Good to see you, pastor. Listen, I want you to know that we are thankful for your leadership. We support you and the other leaders. Let me know if there’s anything I can help with.” He finishes his meal—encouraged.

Wednesday

The next morning, he takes a break from preparing for Wednesday Bible study and checks his email. “Good morning, pastor. I was hoping to meet up, but everyone’s busy. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we’re going to start visiting other churches. Just looking for something different.” He hangs his head and lets out a deep sigh.
Later in the day, he opens a card that came in the mail. “Pastor, thank you for preaching the Word each week. My family has grown so much in the Lord, and we appreciate your hard work to carefully teach us the Bible.” He tucks the card in his Bible so that he can read it often.
That evening, his phone rings at 10:20 p.m., which is unusual. “Hey pastor, Mom isn’t doing well. The hospice nurse says it won’t be too much longer.”
“Okay, I’ll be right over.” He gets out of bed and gets dressed.

Thursday

After returning home in the middle of the night, a notification on his phone wakes him at 8:45 a.m. It was a long night, but he grabs his phone and plays the voicemail. “Pastor, I came by to see you at the office . . . again. Where are you? I need to talk to someone and nobody is ever around. Call me.” He hangs up the phone—exhausted.

Saturday

Early Saturday morning he sits at his kitchen table, working on the sermon he tried all week to finish by Thursday. He types out the next sentence feeling disappointed in himself—yet another Saturday where he still has sermon work to do.
Saturday evening, around 10:30 p.m., after a full and fun day with his family, he kisses his wife goodnight and makes his way back to the kitchen table to finish up his sermon. Finally done hours later, he quietly crawls into bed and falls asleep praying.

Sunday

The alarm goes off early on Sunday morning. The pastor prepares for the day. He gathers with the saints to worship Jesus, enjoy the fellowship of believers, and preach about the grace and comfort of Christ.
He walks among the flock, shaking hands, listening to prayer requests, and welcoming new faces. After lunch, he grabs a quick nap in his recliner before it’s time to head back for evening activities. His heart is thankful for the call to be an undershepherd of Christ’s flock.

I have another friend from Black Mountain, NC, Pastor Melton, who has pastored a tiny church there for decades. He worked a full-time job at a factory to support his family and pastored the church on the side. Do you think the members expected less of him because he had another job? No. They still called him no matter the time because their needs superceded his. 

However, because leading a flock is a calling, you won't hear them complain. They won't ignore your call. They will show up at the hospital. They will literally sacrifice their own life.. To help you with yours because the desire to do what God called them to do will always win out over themselves. 

God is the only glue that can sustain a person through the torture and blessings of leading a congregation. Otherwise they would have thrown up their hands and quit a long time ago. 

So if you ever find yourself envying the preacher because he only works on Sundays or if you find yourself feeling animosity because he didn't pay you enough attention, think of this article and know that they really aren't doing it for you in the first place. They've sacrificed their entire life for the Man upstairs. Their time,  money, emotions, their potential for making money and their families are all second to the calling. They are not superhuman. They are regular people called to serve a supernatural purpose. Remember that.