Not once did the thought occur to me. Not once.
We knew at 10 weeks we were having twins, courtesy of those dandy new ultrasound machines. And we were excited. Fresh out of school, still using wedding dishes, living in our own home, and picking out not one, but two sets of names.
Two boys? Joel Andrew and Jeremy Adam.
Boy and a girl? Joel Andrew and Jessica Leigh.
I was pretty quiet as we headed home from that latest ultrasound. The images were beginning to form in my mind for the first time.
Two girls?
Cosmic shifts started taking place in my little brain. And they all culminated in a wedding.
Since I was old enough to understand what fathers were, I wanted to be one. I was blessed to have a dad who loves being a dad, to this day. In whatever ways I have failed to live up to his example, I caught the whole load on that one. And in doing so, three deep convictions emerged:
- I would be the first representation of the nature and character of God to my children.
- We were called to raise adults, not children.
- Mommies build nests, but for daddies, children are arrows in their hands, and my job was to launch them.
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Thirty years ago, on the first Sunday of April 1978, I became part of a church pastoral staff for the first time. (This is me about 10 years later, in 1988.) Yesterday the awesome people I get to do life with every week made a special day even more special by surprising me with a gift clock.
Over the last 30 years, the Lord has been a very faithful teacher, even when I wasn’t being faithful to him. Here’s a sampling what I have learned, and continue to learn – listed in reverse order of impact.
30. There is nothing on God’s green earth like a seventh or eighth-grade girl.
29. To be effective in youth ministry, kids should see you as an advocate, and adults should see you as an authority. When that gets reversed, it’s time to get out of youth ministry… maybe be a senior pastor.
28. Age, young or otherwise, does not dictate your effectiveness in ministry.
27. The truth of God’s word and a love for people transcends culture and location.
26. Like Jonah, you can’t run from your calling for very long.
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I love pastors. I love being one most of the time. Michael Spencer, aka the Internet Monk, has helped remind me why. (Read here if you dare, and remember why it’s important to pray for and encourage YOUR pastor, whoever it may be.)
A. W. Tozer used to tell this imaginary story. It’s the first Palm Sunday, and here comes Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds are shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Some in the crowd throw their coats in the road; others spread out palm branches. “Well!” says the donkey, swishing a fly off a mange patch. “I had no idea they appreciated me like this! Listen to those praises, would you. I must really be something!”
Funny, isn’t it? The only thing the donkey did was bring Jesus to the people. And that’s all an effective pastor does, too. For a donkey to receive the praise offered to Jesus is silly. For a pastor to do so is suicide. The effectiveness of any and all ministry is measured by how well we bring Jesus to the people.
E. V. Hill once said that “preachers are like fertilizer. Pile them up and all you get is a big stink. Spread ‘em out and they can do some good.” [click to continue…]
