At this writing we are “in between” pastors.
But in between is not without in this case. A university professor from our nearby
denominational school has been filling in for us. I like the sermon he preached
tonight more than almost any I’ve ever heard, because it was so poignant and so “there there.”
The minister spoke
from the First Book of Thessalonians, but he might just well have chosen any of
St. Paul’s books. Because Paul is Paul is Paul. For my money, outside of
Christ, Himself, there never was a man like Paul.
The subject of the
preacher’s sermon included the themes of:
Character,
Vulnerability, Sensitivity, Empathy and Impact.
These adjectives
might easily have listed “Paul” as their example in Webster’s Dictionary.
I sat transfixed,
as I rarely have, as the professor summarized a man who cannot be easily or
briefly summarized. Tears coursed down my cheeks. And as much as I attempted to
stem that flow, words like Impact,
and phrases like Passing the Mantle
renewed the liquid tide.
For I am about Impact.
It is my life. It
burns within me, “and will not let me go.” Oh, it would be easier to “just go
about my business,” but I can’t, and I won’t.
One illustration the professor used tonight
involved a question he had previously asked another elderly professor at the
university.
“Doc, you’ve been
forced to travel a lot in your ministry. What keeps you faithful to your wife?”
The answer has remained
with him through the years.
“Well, Bill, someone has to set the
standard for our students. Someone
has to model God’s faithfulness for them. I decided it might
as well be me.”
As a counselor, I
am in the place to raise up disciples. And I can’t imagine putting myself in a
place to let them down.
Tonight was a good
example of what I can “get off on.” It beats the socks off “just being
mediocre.” During our congregational prayer tonight, I walked across the
sanctuary, between and through several pews and aisles, in order to pray with “Sarah,”
one of my current ‘disciples.’
I sat behind her,
and placed my hand on her head, and prayed a prayer of resolution and
gratefulness for her. After the prayer was concluded, I left her a copy of the
devotion I had recently written about her.
Having sat back down, I looked back at Sarah. She had opened
the envelope, and was eagerly reading the pages.
When she finished,
she glanced up, and our eyes met. The most amazing smile lit up her face.
Tell me that Impact
isn’t worth it all.
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