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.”