Affirmations

Today I heard this from one of the church members about the Prayz service: "I have been waiting for 35 years in this church for a service just like that one was today!"  I almost cried, seriously.  I think that some days things just click and the Spirit really moves.  Today was one of those days.  The songs were great, people were moved, people actually looked alive, people prayed, people encountered God today in our service, and there is really nothing else I could have asked for!  It was awesome!  If we keep having Sundays like this one, I will know that all of my hard work will be paying off and that we are really moving in the right direction!  I feel really affirmed.

It was just a busy weekend as far as ministry goes.  On Friday night I ended up on the phone for about half an hour with a mom who was worried sick about her son in college who came home from a certain Christian group (I won't name names here...) retreat and seemed like a totally different person and was acting strangely and doing things that were out of the ordinary.  I hated to say that I had heard the same story before coming from others who have been involved in this organization and it brought back some interesting memories on my end.  I was glad that today when I saw her she said that things seemed a little better.  It just amazes me sometimes what Christian groups sometimes teach people that really do not have much to do with God's grace and the love of Jesus.  I won't get too much into that here.  On Saturday I had a pre-marital session with a couple about my age, and we had a really good session.  It was their first one, and their wedding is in July.  They were really nice people and seemed to have really thought through some important relationship and spirituality issues.  I was a little nervous before they got there simply because it was only my 2nd couple to work with on a wedding, but it ended up being a really good time, and I feel honored that I get to do their wedding in a few months.  I then went over to the hospital to see some church members, one of whom is having open heart surgery tomorrow morning.  She has had heart problems on and off for awhile now, so hopefully things will look better after the surgery.

It was a busy weekend, but I like to be busy.  It was a good weekend as well..and today was a great ending to the weekend.  I am so glad to be a part of such a great church and that I have the opportunity to be a United Methodist pastor.  It is certainly not easy, but days like today and weekends like this make it all worth while!  Amen!