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

Now there is something you don’t see very often!

After the halfway point on my walk this morning, heading back towards home, I saw something you don’t see every day.   It was a mockingbird chasing a hawk.   The hawk was probably five times the size of the mockingbird.   But the chase was all in the attitude.   The mockingbird was squawking and chirping in a language that would make a sailor blush.   The hawk wanted no part of it and was trying the flee but could not get away from the mockingbird. What had the hawk done?  What had agitated the mockingbird so much?  Had it been a transgression?  Was the hawk just too close for comfort?  Or did the two have a history.  I was walking a bit later than normal and had not yet seen this routine.  The unusual scene distracted and entertained me as I reflected on a myriad of permutations. As I’ve felt like the one receiving the squawk most of my life as a leader, I was surprised at how proud I was of the little mockingbird.  Maybe ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The A.I. Assisted Sermon: Hello world!

By now, you have probably seen reporting on A.I. (Artificial Intelligence).  The format of the reports are almost humorously consistent.  There are a few moments of explanation on how computing reached this point.  There is a mention of A.I. being the quickest technology to reach one hundred million users. Then, the report often concludes with the pundit explaining that a portion or all of the report was written by A.I.  So, before I proceed. No, this blog was not written by A.I. Viewing these developments with some level of skepticism, I thought I would test A.I. out myself.  I had worked as a UNIX architect for almost a decade before responding to my call into ordained ministry. I still enjoy using technology to accomplish tasks.  Recently, I attended a Board of Ordained Ministry meeting where a few of my colleagues posited that A.I. performed better on some of the commissioning questions than several of the candidates.  Could this be right?  So...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who Is My Neighbor?

Lent begins this Wednesday, and I am eager for the journey ahead. Our Lenten sermon series,   Iconic , invites us to explore stories and teachings of Jesus that have become deeply embedded in our culture. This week, we begin with the parable of the   Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) —Jesus’ response to the question,   “Who is our neighbor?” This question remains just as relevant today. Jesus’ answer was as surprising then as it is now: the hero of the story—the Samaritan—was the least expected to stop and help. Cultural biases and stigmas of the time made this story jarring. And yet, Jesus doesn’t simply answer the question outright; instead, Jesus poses one of his own:   “Which of these was a neighbor to the man?”   The lawyer who initially asked the question is confronted with his own biases and is forced to acknowledge the shocking conclusion:   “The one who showed mercy.”  Jesus then commands,   “Go and do likewise.”   Too often, devotional...
Post a Comment
Read more