In the Spirit of Sharing by John Michael Kennedy Sharing is one of the greatest gifts in life. We learn through sharing, we accomplish through sharing, and we grow through sharing. So, in the spirit of sharing, I want to share my perspective of being a 29 yr. old Involvement Minister (In hopes of strengthening bonds of fellowship between brothers and sisters in Christ). The more we share Jesus, his love, and our lives together, the richer life becomes. So if you like, you may write back and share some funny, interesting (or boring), or great things about you (Really, Im interested). What its like to be a 29 year old Involvement Minister in 20 thoughts... You will have an awkward hospital visit. You will walk into the wrong room and see the wrong person and not know it because you have never seen them, nor seen a photo of them. You will realize its the wrong person halfway through the visit. You will laugh about it later, but you wont laugh when it happens. You will spend days thinking on and preparing a lesson and no one will say much about it. You will throw a lesson together in 3 hours and some will tell you its the best lesson youve ever presented. You will be perplexed but grateful. You will watch elders, deacons, other ministers, and hundreds of faithful Christians work and live their lives for Gods glory. You will develop a tremendous respect for these people, and how much better they make you. Even though the title is clear, you will still wonder just what youre going to preach on during Involvement Sunday. You will wonder if what youre doing even makes a difference, but just when you need it, someone will write you an encouraging card, or love you with Gods love in some way, and your resolve will be renewed. Someone will ask you for advice about a certain doubt, question, or situation they are experiencing. Little will they know you are wrestling with the same thing. The conversation that ensues is called fellowship. You will always long for more moments of fellowship with fellow believers. You will find yourself in a situation where you have nothing to offer but a listening ear and your presence. You will feel totally inadequate, and yet God will use you for just what he needs in the moment. There will be something you really want to do yourself, but you will be the Involvement Minister you need to be and find someone who could also do the task. You will feel like you whimped out or passed the buck, but you will remind yourself that you work to equip the saints for ministry, not to do the ministry yourself. You will always struggle with this. You will develop friendships with all kinds of people between ages 2 and 82. You will have so many friends you cannot name them all. You will wonder why God gave you a job where you could have so many friends. You will wonder if you should trade in your blue sports car for something slower and beige-colored, because after all, ministers shouldnt drive sports cars. You will resist the daily urge to do donuts in the back parking lot of the church in your blue sports car. You will get a warning sticker for parking your blue sports car in clergy parking at the hospital when you make visits. You will go to summer camp to help Philip. Within the first 30 minutes of being the counselor of the 9th grade boys you will vow never to have kids. Then at the end of the week you will baptize a kid and watch a soul become a new creation in Christ... You will rethink your hasty vow. You will think you have it all figured out, and you will start skimping on your prayers. Something in the near future will humble you and remind you of why prayer is so important. You will return to your prayer life with renewed focus. You will wonder how in the world God could fit so many great workers into the Mt. Juliet church office. You will constantly thank him for the blessing of working with such positive brothers and sisters. You will not have enough time to thank all the people who make it possible for you to do your job and live your life. You will meet so many people in the church who couldve gone pro in music, art, performance, education, or prestigious careers, but instead they decided to do daily, ordinary, loving things for Gods glory. Someone will give you a baby to hold and you will have no clue what to do with it. You will write a bulletin article that doesnt have a single Bible verse in it (But it wont be this one: John 3:16). You will think someone is a visitor at early service. You will introduce yourself and discover they have been a member of Mt. Juliet for 40 years. You will never forget that persons name... ever... again... Hope you have enjoyed my perspective - I anticipate hearing your perspective! JM
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 12:20:01 +0000
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