I cannot help but applaud the actions of a young wrestler at the Iowa State Wrestling Championship 2011. Joel Northrup a young man from Marion Iowa refused to wrestle a girl and showed up at the mat and gave up the match by default to her. He showed a tremendous amount of poise, character, and graciousness. He did not make a spectacle of himself but quietly honored his personal convictions. It turns out that he was home schooled and his father is a Pastor. I cannot help but imagine the impact this one teenager will have in his community. I think it is a great reminder that the world is watching what we do, even if we are a minority in a very large world.
Archive for February, 2011
Making a Difference
Posted in Uncategorized on February 17, 2011|
Insignificant Events
Posted in Random Thoughts on February 5, 2011|
This past week has been an encouraging one for me. I have had a number of situations that remind me of the value of staying in one place for a long time. I believe the goal of any Pastor is to know that he is making an impact on the lives of the people he deals with each week. Today, I had a man in the congregation who was going back for his second interview on a possible job. Our relationship goes back over many years of being a friend to him and his family and being his Pastor. I waited till later in the afternoon and texted him asking him how the interview went. A few minutes later he called. He said he had just got off the phone with his mom. He told me I was third on his list to call. First he called his wife, then his mother, then me. It was just a passing comment in a 10 minute phone call, but a very important observation.
As we hung up, I stopped to thank God for the encouragement. It wasn’t a big thing, but it was a very significant thing. After a great interview, He wanted me to know as soon as possible. Sometimes in ministry we look for the big things that happen in people’s lives. We want to know that we are investing our lives in something that matters. I often wonder if we miss the significance of these kind of events. When I got home tonight, I had 2 emails from people in the congregation sharing ways that God was working in their lives. This is a GREAT time to be in ministry. This month, I am going to focus on looking for significance in seeming insignificant events.
As Red Green says “Hang in there.- We are all in this together.”
Upcoming Small Church Conference
Posted in Uncategorized on February 3, 2011|
RHMA is an organization that I have followed for a number of years. They have a genuine burden for small church ministries. Each year they hold a conference for small churches. I have been wanting to attend one of the conferences for the last 4 years and looks like this year I will finally get to attend. The topic is a very relevant one for our world at the time – “Winds of Change in Rural America”. As a disclaimer, I get nothing for mentioning this and am attending purely as an attendee. I will let you know what I learn. If you want more information, here is the link. Winds of Change Conference
It is April 4-6 in Illinois with Mark Dever as the featured speaker.
Small Church.com 