when it's easy to be a pastor

Tonight was one of those easy to be a pastor times. Our church is going through the Alpha program for the second time, and the leaders invited me to attend tonight, the night where they focus on healing. After the teaching, everyone took a few minutes to listen for God's voice, especially paying attention to any words, images, or impressions that came to mind. Several people in the group then shared what they heard, and we spent time praying for each other in small groups. It was exciting and thrilling to hear and see the Holy Spirit at work in very real ways, using people as instruments of healing and love.

These experiences help sustain me. Though I have seen God's healing touch at work many times in my life, each new instance amazes me. Thank you God, for allowing me to see your power, beauty and love tonight.

Cell phone spirituality

This past Sunday morning, I groggily woke up without the aid of sunshine and reset all my clocks to an hour later. Bedside alarm, microwave oven, living room clock, watch- they all needed to be fixed. When I looked at my cell phone, though, I happily noticed that its time was already correct. Somewhere in the middle of the night it had silently communicated with the closest cell tower, received pertinent information about the time change and adjusted itself. I smiled at my smart little phone and a strange warmth crept through my heart.

Ok, so maybe I'm just slightly too fascinated by technology's little magic tricks. It just got me to thinking. Do we check in often enough?

God gave me a specific direction ten years ago. It was a powerful message, but not the last. If I had just followed that call and never checked back in for redirection, I would be way off course by now. I need to be in constant communication with God: checking for updates, submitting to maintenance, receiving new directions.

So does our church. What God called us to do 20 years ago may not be what God is calling us to do today. In fact, it most likely isn't. Just like a clock that is an hour off is useless, and maybe even detrimental, so is a person or a church that is not constantly listening for God's new direction.

So, let's spring ahead.

P.S. My apologies to those of you whose cell phones didn't work properly this past Sunday, especially Jason and Rob. In no way is this blog meant to discriminate or ridicule. It's not your fault that my stuff is better than yours.