Tonight was the final night of the conference. Once again it was a day full of great sessions, good preaching and enjoyable fellowship. As with any seminar, there is much to process and assimilate into my life and ministry. I am asking God for the wisdom to know what too use and what to ignore.
As I look back on today’s events one seminar really comes to mind. Marty Giese is finalizing a research project on “rurbanization”. This is a term which applies to the blending or rural and urban mindsets into a faith community. The concepts were very helpful to help the pastor navigate this minefield of differing relationships and thought processes. I plan on doing some further reading and research and will share some of my thoughts with you further down the line.
The main thing I take away for these last few days is the great needs and opportunities in rural America. I am guessing there were about 400 people at this conference from New Mexico to the East Coast and from Canada to Arkansas. Each of these people had a burden and passion for reaching their communities for Christ. It was encouraging to know that we are not alone. It is easy in ministry to develop the “Elijah” complex that I am alone, but opportunities like this remind us we are not alone. God has many out there fighting the same battles.
It is my prayer that you would call a fellow pastor this week. Encourage one another and watch what God does in both of your lives. A Canadian TV show which is popular on public TV in our area is The Red Green Show. He ends each show by challenging men to “Hang in there, we are all in this together”. My fellow pastor – “Hang in there, we are all in this together.” This week was a great reminder of that simple truth.
