Skip to main content

Without power...

Today, Laura and I are preparing to embark on a mission trip to Haiti. As we prepare, my thoughts race to recent mission activities that I have participated in and my role as the pastor of St. Paul UMC in Bridge City, Texas. This past spring, as part of a group of those ordained this year, I went on a mission team to the border with the bishop and cabinet. I was asked to give the first devotional. It was a little intimidating. I prayed for the right words to help the team, but I could not get the vanity of our efforts out of my mind. How would our team make a difference? I was struggling with my thoughts. I had a text and a good quote from Dietrich Bonhoefer. But, something was missing from what I had prepared. As I got dressed, a previously unnoticed note from my daughter fell out of my folded shirt. It read, "Dear Daddy, I hope that you have fun working on houses (Houses was crossed out and stuff written above.) with the bishop. I hope they know how very important you are. You are a nice Daddy and a good pastor. I love you!". It was a great letter and the first multi sentence letter that Kate had written me. But, she had misspelled important. She had dropped the are an put an e instead of an a. Her inspired note read “I hope they know how impotent you are.” Wow! What a word of truth. Impotent - without power! Me and the entire team were without power. We would not make the difference. God would make the difference!
The power of the Holy Spirit would transform our impotence into a display of God's power. This morning, as I'm away from St. Paul at a wedding in San Antonio, I have no power to change the pre-work I did to prepare the congregation for my ten day absence. I can only have faith that God's power will be displayed through the lay leadership of the church. Likewise, as I prepare to depart for Carrefour, Haiti tomorrow, I know that my gifts are not in cinder block construction. But, I place my whole trust in the risen Lord! In the power of the Holy Spirit, I will proceed boldly. May God bless our efforts beyond our understanding.

Comments

  1. Sarah BJune 14, 2011 at 10:50 AM

    I was really touched by these comments Sunday morning. And I'm enjoying your updates. Not sure if you'll have the energy to keep it up all week, but I can tell you, it's worth the time and effort to capture the thoughts in the moment. Blessings as you build!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reading the Bible in Community

For people who are unfamiliar with the Bible, studying Holy Scripture can seem an intimidating experience.   There are so many things about the people, places, and situations described in the Bible that it can seem as though one has to be an expert in biblical studies to be able to grow through Bible study.   This is not so.   Let me encourage you in your study of Holy Scripture.  If you seek to learn about God through the study of scripture, God will meet you in that endeavor.  No matter how brilliant or simple you consider yourself, studying the word of God will vitally shape your daily walk in faith.  The word of God is accessible to you, at any level of reading comprehension, historical understanding, etc..  Because, when we read Holy Scripture, we do not read it alone.  As Christians, when we read the Bible we ask God to allow the Holy Spirit to inspire our reading so that the words from the text become real in our current lives and life situ...
1 comment
Read more

Walking where Jesus walks...

This morning as I wait to travel to Israel, I'm incredibly excited about being able to walk where Jesus walked.  I have been asked to lead a devotional for my group at the Mount of Beatitudes, the place where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount (read Matthew 5-8).  Every time I begin reading to prepare I become overwhelmed by the beauty and authority of Jesus' sermon.  To think of delivering a message in that spot where Jesus taught and spoke seems overwhelming.  But then, I remember that isn't that what we as Christians are called to do in every way, every day?  We walk where Jesus would walk.  We speak what Jesus would speak. In a world full of hurt and broken lives we are called to walk and speak int the situations that Jesus calls us through our baptism to care about.  As I journey on this pilgrimage, my prayer is that God will continue to lead me and challenge me to grow in my awareness of God.
1 comment
Read more

Grace lessons from the sidelines...

The game had gone horribly wrong.  For that matter, the whole season had been a struggle.  My nine year old daughter Kate’s soccer team were woefully bad.  They were so consistently out played by their opponents that the other teams would try to change up their formations and pass the ball so as to not run up the score (at least the classy ones would).  Her coaches were nice people doing the best they could and I appreciated their dedication to my daughter and our team, but they were not really soccer people.  Losing a soccer game is not the end of the world, but consistently watching girls you care about be beaten ten plus to zero because on goal kicks your team kicks the ball to the center and not the outside is heart wrenching to someone who is a soccer person. However, losing was not the most difficult thing.  Watching Kate become demoralized was the worst part.  In our family, we have a rule that you try and give your best... always.  It is o...
Post a Comment
Read more