Memorial Stone Eleven: Church Reflections!

       It happened in the mid 1970’s at an Assembly of God Church on Bijou Street in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Our family had been invited to a revival. Somehow my dad was even in attendance, though it was a few years later that He committed his life to the Lord.

The small red brick Church did not have more than 15 pews and I was sitting on a back one! I was about 15 maybe 16 and while the older evangelist was passionate and fiery I was bored and not really paying attention to his message. 

Suddenly he fixed his eyes on me, and in front of that small gathering said: “Young Man come up here”. I reluctantly left the relative security of my back pew walked up, and waited for him to dress me down for appearing so disinterested.

 I was shocked when he did nothing of the sort instead he lifted up his hands and announced to the congregation: “The Lord just told me that this boy will become a great preacher one day, if a wreck doesn’t kill him”

He then touched my head and instructed me to lift my hands in praise. I never had thought for a moment prior to that night that I would ever become a preacher! 

I liked being on the other side of the pulpit…where one can day dream and think about what to have for lunch if the sermon goes on for too long:) The seed of my life’s career was planted in my heart that night.

 It is an incredible honor to stand before Gods people week after week, and speak to life issues with an open Bible before me. 

In every Church I have pastored I have known the Love of Gods people. In a few (Not all) I have been on the receiving end of biting and harsh criticism. In some instances so severe, that if I wrote about it, you wouldn’t believe it. In some Churches you will find power hungry and heartless people who are truly wolves among sheep. Thankfully the Lord is in control and I have learned this promise time and time again:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). ESV 

I am far from where I want to be as a Pastor and I certainly don’t think of myself as great. I am in fact the slave of an illustrious master! The Lord has been so very kind to me, and if I had a 1,0000 lifetimes, I would give everyone to Him…and I would be honored to give each of those lifetimes to him as a preacher of the Word of God! 

One of my favorite preachers of all time, whom I look forward to meeting in heaven, is Peter Marshall. Peter summarized for me the task the privilege of preaching when he wrote:

"You must root your preaching in reality, remembering that the people before you have problems, doubts, fears and anxieties gnawing at their faith. Your problem and mine is to get behind the conventional fronts that sit row upon row in the pews, consider for example, the needs of the people who will come to hear you preach.

Use your imagination as you try to deal with problems that are most real to them. If, when you write your sermons, you can see the gleaming knuckles of a clenched fist, the lip that is bitten to keep back tears, the troubled heart that is suffering because it cannot forgive, the spirit that has no joy because it has no love, if you can see the big tears that run down a mother's face, if you can see these things, preach them. Preach them--and get down deep."

My goal is to become that effective, bringing Gods Word to His people!

This song reminds me that from the moment I received the forgiveness of God through His Son, I have been on a great adventure, thank you Lord for the privilege!