Coming to the Still Waters

  We had to break out the "mallows."  I am looking for all the good things about furlough and this is definitely one of them, seeing family.  We are onlookers as we remember bringing up four of our own and the craziness at times.  We are watching ourselves as our children take up the mantle of raising children and providing for them a stable home environment to experience.  We have much to pray for and these times add fuel to our urgency to find our knees before our God for our children and grandchildren. Another Sunday in the pew and as I am looking for all the good things about this furlough, this is also one of them.  Preaching every Sunday doesn't give you the opportunity to experience what those who are sitting in the pew are taking in.  You would think it would be everything you are saying but really it might be just one thing that is said that sticks or commences into more thought later.  This was my experience this Sunday as we attended church with our family in C

  I'm calling this a furlough and not a vacation because the definition of a furlough is, "A furlough is a mandatory temporary leave of absence from which the employee is expected to return to work or to be restored from a reduced work schedule."  I don't know about the "reduced work schedule" with my online masters class and all the "honey do" projects but I am not complaining because this time has a purpose for me in many ways.  The change of pace is allowing me to set up some habits I will hopefully carry over into the next assignment.   One of those habits will be the bi-monthly coaching calls to the newly installed pastor at my last assignment.  It was the highlight of my week to give encouragement to him; ask and listen to his new challenges; and pray for his ministry.  I am now in my 35th year of ministry and I think of all the experiences the Lord has given me to live through to now share with others.  I am humbled to be asked to do this

  A week out and I am adjusting to my new schedule.  Part of my routine is a morning walk, about 5 miles around the perimeter of the park in the early hours.  The picture above is a memorial pond which gave me a pause this morning with its reflection of the sunrise and landscape.  The walks help me in so many ways.  Not only do I need them physically but mentally.   I have an old walkman type cassette player with a radio that I tune to Moody Radio and listen to the Kurt and Kate morning show.  News, weather, chit-chat and music fill my ears but what I key in on is the music.  I multi-task so much that music just becomes background noise to help me focus on the task before me.  It has been awhile since I have listened to a song solely to hear it for its own worth.   I pull out an ear bud when a fellow walker approaches so I can say "good morning" and some of the faces are becoming familiar to me.  It is a good way to start these days of waiting.  Praying for a future assignme

  I call this post, "My View From The Pew" because that's where I was before climbing into the packed car in the parking lot of the church and heading south.  Roughly 30 hours later I was pulling into the driveway of our "home base"  1968 Fieldcrest single-wide in Betmar.  I hope I was discrete enough with my phone not to distract Pastor Zach from the preaching of God's word.  Below you can view the service that included my start and his finish of the service but it was really my finish and his start of ministry to MVBC. Some might look at the picture and say, "mission accomplished" but I would not want that attributed to me solely.  It was the church and its leadership who finished out the process to see God bring together this union.  There are many churches who bail out before completing the steps.  Some seek what seems to be easier and quicker solutions rather than working hard at what many other churches have proven to be a process that allow

  A new year has come upon us after a year with many challenges and some of those challenges did not end with 12/31/20.  We take some of them into the new year albeit that we would have loved for them to have ended at the stroke of midnight and the dropping of the ball.  Pastors and church leaders continue to walk through waters that involve difficult decisions.  Here is an anonymous letter from a pastor to another pastor for some guidance during this time.  I think this gives a good indication of what is going on in the heart of a pastor. Bob, I just wanted to ask for your prayers.  It’s been very discouraging dealing with all the Covid issues.  As a pastor, I feel like much of my life’s work is slipping away. I know we can never please everyone, but I am so disappointed in our people’s lack of love.  When we closed on-campus services, some were upset with us.  When we resumed on-campus services, some didn’t like that.  We didn’t require masks, and some didn’t like that.  Now we are a