As you may have noticed, mostly I post sermons on my blog site. Not today.
The congregation I served, ran out of money for a full or even a part-time pastor. In order to remove the financial responsibility from the congregation council, I resigned. I do not have a call in a congregation at this time.
God had still called me to ministry. Ministry can be inside the four walls of a church but ministry cannot and should not be contained inside only the four walls. God’s people are inside the four walls, but there are far more outside the four walls.
We are all called to ministry. I am called to ordained ministry. When that cannot be done inside the four walls, get outside. God is calling me at this time to be creative in ministry.
In one sense, I seem to be on a sabbatical. In the best case, sabbaticals are sponsored and paid. Not in my case, but God is good and good will provide.
I have been searching and wondering what God has been up to over the last month that I have not been inside a congregation on a regular basis. Not to say I don’t attend and worship at a church. I do and it is a great opportunity to worship in multiple contexts.
Minister where God?
To make ends meet, I have been given a wide variety of ways to minister lately.
I am called upon to care for grieving families when their loved ones die. A local funeral home calls upon me for funeral services when the family does not have a connection to a faith community. What an opportunity to connect with families as we tender their loved one and share tears and laughter.
For this same funeral home, I help pick up those who have died and transport them to the funeral home for perpetration for burial. I am also called upon to usher and transport the deceased to a church and cemetery. All of the above I mention, are as the opportunity arise. All are opportunities to minister.
I also get called upon to do supply pastor. When the pastor is gone for a Sunday, I get to lead and preach in other congregations. This can be both exciting and challenging. Growth opportunities for each and every one of the supplies I do.
I am also a hospice chaplain part-time, on call basis. The patient needs care but so does the family. The families will need care after the death of their loved one. I get to be part of many people’s lives. Even more than I was inside a congregation.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being a congregation pastor. If God has that in mind for me again, I up for that. I am waiting and listening.
Now for the reason for the post today. Between all the on call / part-time jobs, I also deliver food through one of those app deliveries, that cater to multiple restaurants. I accepted a delivery of pizza to a local motel. The pizza happens to be from my favorite Chicago pizza place. Being from Chicagoland and now in AZ, bonus to have.
When I arrived with the pizza, and also a sandwich, the customer wanted to know if I have ever had the pizza. I told him, absolutely I have. In fact I did some commercials for the same pizza place in Omaha NE. He told me he was from Chicago. I told him, me too. I also told him I was a pastor, delivering food, because I did not have a church to pastor at this time. Then I asked the customer, what brings him down to AZ?
This is where you know God put us together. The man from Chicago said, he is down here to get away. He had a death he was dealing with and now a divorce. As he started to go inside the motel, I asked him if I could pray for him. He turned around and said, yes, please. His pain was more evident now.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and the other on the pizza box. I prayed. I cannot exactly say what I said. I know I acknowledged colorfully, what he was dealing with. I asked for him to experience God’s love and for the Holy Spirit to surround him, so that he could have healing, all in the name of Jesus. He thanked me, looked more relaxed and had tears.
What he needed was to be heard, to know God heard his pain and that God will heal him. Prayer, especially with another individual, can, does, and will communicate that.
Let me end with some thoughts on prayer.
Prayer is the most powerful tool that God had placed in our toolbox. It never goes out of style and always fits right. Prayer is so powerful that it scares the heck out of the devil! The truth is, the devil will do whatever the devil can, to stop prayer with fear. The devil is fear, and fear is a liar. List to the song, Fear is a liar. It says it all.
The threat of prayer is powerful too. A woman in the UK was arrested in a buffer zone by an abortion clinic, about six months ago. When the police confronted her about what she was doing, she told them that she might have been praying silently in her head. She was arrested. The devil does not want prayer!
A local pastor here has started up an invitation to bring prayer to as many people as possible. This effort is non-denominational. He just wants to see it happen. Check out the website. See how you can participate and/or bring prayer to your congregation.
https://www.drivethruprayer.com/
Minister where??? Really God?
God’s response. Yes minister there, and there, and there and everywhere. Oh, and YES, REALLY!! John 13:34 tells us to love. When we minister, we love. When we love, we are ministering. Go, and minister!!!