Skip to main content

More Than I Expected

This is for all you company guys out there. I feel your pain. I was at an all day meeting for a larger group that I am a part of. I didn't want to go. I had other things to do (don't we all?). But I went. I would like to say that my attitude was above reproach and that I had planned to 'make the best of it'. But it was not.

So when our guest speaker started out by telling us how he had planned what he was going to say, I was only half listening. When he told us that he would be ok if what he had to say might only encourage a few of our group, I about shut it down, as my expectation was that it would not be me. After all, what are the odds?

But lucky for me, and perhaps unlucky for you, I listened and now have this to blog about.

Our guest speaker said, "If you died, would your family say you died doing what you loved or would they say the church stressed you out and killed you?" And instantly I removed the arrow from between my eyes. I realized it was me. I'm not about to proclaim an all new me forever and I am certainly not going to RSVP for all the company meetings, but this did encourage me.

At the risk of sounding very transparent, I do love my job. But like many people, I sometimes lose the forest for the trees. In the midst of overseeing many different groups, it can be easy to do. But within each of the many diverse ages and groups are people that look forward to seeing, stories waiting to be written about, and much love to be shared.

Thank you God, for leaving me here. I love doing this.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

Mom

I will travel this weekend to Georgia to celebrate the life of my mom, who passed away just before Christmas.  A Celebration of Life service. That’s what we’re calling it. Because that’s what my mom wanted. She was quite clear on this matter. She didn’t want a funeral. She didn’t want people mourning for her.  As a Christian, she was very certain on her eternal destination and she wanted everything, in her life and death, to reflect that. There will be music, people sharing tributes, and a message given by her pastor.  If that sounds similar to a funeral, I agree. But semantics aside, let me share with you a few more things about my mom. Along the way, you might learn a few things about why I function the way that I do. As I’ve considered my mom’s legacy, a few words have come to mind. Steadfast My mom knew what she believed, lived what she knew to be true, and didn’t really care what anyone else thought about it. I have no inclination to remember my mom as some perfect p...