Dear Fellow Children of God,
I was recently part of a conversation that truly warmed
my heart.
I was attending a board meeting at church when we began discussing
the next time the board would meet.
Since there were complications with our normal meeting time we looked at
other options for when to meet. One of the
options was for the board to meet on a Sunday between worship services. But, as we discussed this option one of the
board members realized what that meant and exclaimed, “But that means I would
need to miss the ‘Genesis’ [adult Sunday School] class.”
I responded, “Actually Sunday School and Bible classes
are what God’s church is really about, and are really more important than a
meeting.”
In turn, the person responded, “No, I would have to miss
that board meeting. I’m not going to
miss the Genesis class.” As pastor of
St. John, I like that response! It warms
my heart to see someone putting first things first.
When
a new pastor is ordained into the ministry or installed as new pastor in a
congregation, the other pastors gather around the new pastor at the end of the
worship service and lay hands on them and bless them. Usually the pastors each share a Bible verse
as they bless the new pastor. The verse
I normally share is from Acts 20:28, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his
own blood.”
The point I make when blessing new pastors is that they
need to take care of themselves so that they are able to give God’s care to others.
This includes physical care. But even
more this care includes nurturing of our own relationship with our Lord. How can a pastor help someone else in their
walk of faith with our Lord if the pastor is not alive in their own walk?
Whether you know it or not, pastors struggle with faith just
like everyone else. A good pastor does
not serve others out of their own righteousness or their own strength. A faithful pastor serves others because they
know personally the love and mercy of God in Jesus. They know that Jesus died and rose for
them. That knowledge and faith is a gift
from God as He works in our hearts by His Spirit.
But, God has given ways or means for His children to keep
their faith alive and strong. I
personally depend on my daily devotional time.
This past week I have been reading from the book of Daniel, the epistles
of John, and the Gospel of Luke, with prayers and devotional thoughts included.
And, part of God’s
plan to nurture and care for our faith is regularly spending time with God’s
people in worship and Sunday School. There
we hear the word of our Lord Himself and get to apply it to our life. There we
can apply the forgiveness of God and the mercy of God and the guidance of God to
our needs and our struggles.
In our current world we all have more opportunities than
we have time. So, we have to make
choices. Making good choices means
having our priorities in order. The
advice in Scripture to the pastors of Ephesus is good advice for each of
us. “Keep watch over yourselves . . .” A really good way to keep watch over ourselves is
to spend time with other Christians considering the wisdom and love and
guidance in the Word of God.
A Child of God, Seeking God’s Priorities for My Life,,
Pastor
Jonathan
P.S. This Sunday, as Genesis teacher, Jim Summers,
is traveling, Pastor David Sternbeck will present Bible Class about God’s work
through Lutheran Indian Ministries.
Please note, even with Jim out of town there WILL BE Bible Class.
****
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’
- I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St.
John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new
names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for
the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail,
please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this
message. . .
****
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