The Heart of a Pastor

"Vacation"

I am on vacation...

...but not really.  As Christians we are never really on vacation, but as for pastoral duties I am on vacation...

...well...not really.  I went down to my favorite coffee shop to enjoy some time away from my cell phone and visited with a group of ladies (one of which is from Salem).  One of the ladies in that group is recovering from back surgery and is still in some pain.  I guess some pastoral care was taking place.

After that group left I made my way over to another group of ladies to say "Hi".  They had just finished a Bible study at their church.  They noticed a saying on my shirt that had a Bible verse attached to it and wanted to know what it meant.  I couldn't remember so one lady pulled out a Bible and I looked up the verse.  I guess a mini bible study took place.

On vacation?  I guess that is a very subjective word because Christians should never be on "vacation". 

And what will tomorrow hold for me...on my "busy" vacation?  I will be looking forward to spending some more "vacation" time down at the coffee shop.

Take care and God bless!
-edh-

God is AWESOME - part 2

Allow me to continue with my story (testimony) of God's awesome faithfulness and love...

As the pastor at Salem Lutheran Church and Belmont Lutheran Church I serve as the primary pastoral care giver (I still encourage others to engage in "pastoral care" for one another though).  I visit with people and am present with them when a loved is dying, seriously ill, or whatever the case.  I am there to provide words of comfort about God's love and faithfulness in a time of pain and need.  I am accustomed to that and find it a great privilege to be with people during these times.  And when I provide pastoral care I know that it is not me alone but God working through me.  When I am called to the bedside of someone who is dying; I am in prayer - asking for wisdom, compassion, empathy and the words (if needed) to bring comfort to the loved ones (and/or to the one who is dying).  I am accustomed to providing pastoral care.

But on Sunday (Jan. 13) I found my myself on the other side of the coin - the one receiving pastoral care.  As I mentioned before, this is the first time that I, personally, have had to deal with the death (or impending death) of a loved one since becoming a pastor.  I have dealt with the death of loved ones before, but this seems like new territory for me (can any other pastors relate to this feeling?).

Anyway...following worship on Sunday a number of people expressed their sympathies and told me that I and my family would be in their thoughts and prayers.  All of those comments meant the world to me.  It showed me in a very real way the community we have become - we rejoice with those who are rejoicing and mourn with those who are mourning.  What a great privilege.  Then came "Jane"...

...Jane is a woman who is in her 50s but has the mental capacity of a child.  She attends worship regularly and is as sweet and innocent as a child.  And as a "child" Jane has a hard time understanding and dealing with illnesses and death.  As Jane came through the line, following worship, she shook my hand and said, "I hope your grandma gets better soon".  This took me back a little bit as I responded to her, "Jane, she's not going to get better."  Of course Jane did not understand this and went on to tell me that she is going to see her "mommy" today.  But it was the person who was in line following Jane that I will remember...

"Mary" was next in line.  After hearing what I said to Jane; Mary said to me, "Pastor, you know that your grandma WILL be better." I knew exactly what she meant.  That comment made my eyes well up with tears as I responded, "You are absolutely right...thank you." 

Once again...God is AWESOME!!!

God gave me exactly what I needed at just the right time through Mary.  Even though I preach the very thing that Mary said to me...I still needed to hear what God said through Mary.  I needed that gentle reminder.  I needed the Gospel proclaimed to me at that moment.  Mary wasn't correcting me, but rather Mary was providing pastoral care.  To her (and to many others) I say thank you.

I know that as Christian I am never alone...God is always with me.  But I am also glad and thankful I live in such a caring community.  Even though God is always with me, this impending death of my grandma would be difficult alone. 

Thank you God for your awesome love and faithfulness.  Thank you God for giving me (and all your children) exactly what we need.  Thank you God for strengthen me when I need it the most.  Thank you God.  And I thank all of you for your prayers and notes of concern.  I truly appreciate it.  I will keep you updated on how things are going. 

Thanks again and God bless!
-edh-

God is AWESOME!!!

Sunday (Jan. 13) was a difficult morning for me (as I mentioned to you trying to type my Sunday Morning Prayer).  But I should say that it STARTED OUT difficult. It ended up in the awesome glow of God's amazing love.  Allow me to tell you the story...

On Sunday morning, after I posted the Sunday Morning Prayer, I went up into the sanctuary to prepare for worship.  I run through the sermon one last time and review the bulletin.  I look at the announcements and decide which ones I am going to highlight and in what order.  The final announcement item is always the prayer requests where I highlight the updates from the past week.  And this was where I was planning on telling the congregation what was going on with my grandma.  This was immensely personal, but I wanted, and frankly needed, their prayer support.  I stood in the sanctuary "practicing" the announcements (does that sound weird...to practice announcements?).  Anyway...I was "practicing" the announcements and when I got to the prayer requests my eyes started tearing up and I could not get the words out of my mouth about my grandma.  It was just too hard.  It took me a couple minutes to compose myself and tried again...but to no avail.  Eventually I went to my office; wondering how I was going to do this.  At Salem, Connie said she would come up and help me, but at Belmont I was on my own.  I wondered how I was going to be able to lead worship - I needed strength and focus.  So I prayed...

...then my cell phone rang...

...of course my heart skipped a beat or two when I saw it was my mom.  I remember saying out loud, "Please God, not now.  I can't handle this now."  With my hands shaking I answered the phone and heard my mom's voice.  Immediately I knew that I wasn't going to receive the news I feared at that moment.  Instead mom said that grandma woke up at 2am and was very talkative.  Actually she was more talkative than she had been for months.  At that moment I got goosebumps and felt a strength course through my body.  My tears dried up and I felt a new sense of energy for the morning.  Upon answering the phone I felt I was unable to go on with the morning and lead worship affectively.  But that simple phone call -- 5 minutes before I was going to leave for Belmont and as I was praying for strength -- I got exactly what I needed.

GOD IS AWESOME!!!

God knew what I needed and gave it to me so I could lead his people in worship and speak through me in the sermon.  God saw my pain and granted me comfort and relief.  And as I sit here, I am still in awe.  Not because I am surprised or blown away that God actually did what He did, but I am blown away by His awesome love, care and concern for one of His hurting children.  God always seems to come through so His purposes can be accomplished.  Not only did God give me the strength and focus to lead worship on Sunday, but God also gave me a testimony to share with others - for His glory.

God is indeed awesome...but there is more to this story...one I will continue later.

Take care and God bless!
-edh-

Celebrating New Life

It has been a few days since I have been around here.  When I last showed up I asked for prayers for two people: Lois and Gordon.  I don't have any updates on Lois but as for Gordon...he died on Monday afternoon (Nov. 19).  Since then I have been busy with the family and doing sermon prep for three sermons (Thanksgiving Eve, Gordon's Celebration of New Life service and Sunday's sermon).  Needless to say I have been a little overwhelmed, busy, tired, etc. 

Today (Sat. 11/24) is the Celebration of New Life service (formerly known as a funeral service) for Gordon at 10:30am.  Gordon was a very prominent member of the Jackson community and he will be missed by many.  He was one of the founders of a corporation in Jackson called AGCO.  They manufacture terigators and other implements.  AGCO is one of those companies that keeps Jackson alive.  Besides AGCO, Gordon has been extremely generous in his giving to the church and the community.  About a month ago Jackson lost a prominent citizen and now we are losing another one - two within a couple months.  It is a heavy blow to our community. 

The sanctuary at Salem can hold up to 250 people, but we are set up for 400+.  Our fellowship hall is set up with chairs and a big screen TV (loaned to us by the Coast to Coast store in town) that will carry a live video feed.  It is going to be one awesome celebration this morning, but please remember the family in your prayers all the same.

Next week I am hoping life returns to normal somewhat.  I would be taking a little vacation time next week, but I still have a ton of Advent/Christmas stuff to finish up.  Oh well...I guess vacation will have to wait till later.

God bless you all and I will talk to you later.

-edh-

Monday morning check in

A tough couple days and a prayer request
Good morning!  A very short and busy week is upon me (and many of you as well).  For me I have a heavy pastoral care load with a parishioner in hospice (Gordon) and another parishioner, who I just found out, has cancer (Lois).  It has been a tough couple days.  Please pray for Gordon and Lois as they deal with their present "suffering".  My hope is that they can look beyond this to their promised New Life in Jesus Christ and receive strength and courage to endure.  The road won't be easy, but they are never alone.

Sermon
The sermon I preached yesterday (Nov. 18) hit home for me more than others.  The text from Luke 21:5-19 talked about the signs of the end.  The way I took this is that we are not to focus and dwell on the signs now, but put our hope in what they point to.  Suffering must and will happen in this life, but if we only focus on the now, we miss the Good News.  It is looking ahead that gives us strength.  I found myself thinking about Gordon and Lois as I preached this sermon.  Gordon didn't hear this sermon but Lois did.  I hope she finds strength in the promise God has made to her in Jesus Christ.  It is going to be a tough road for her. 

I have just posted this sermon on my sermons blog at:  Sermons by Eric.

Personal stewardship update
My weight loss is still going well.  I have finally hit the 20 pound mark.  I had been sitting at around 17-18 pounds for a couple weeks but now I finally moved past it.  My goal is to lose another 10 pounds and then re-evaluate.  It is so nice to wear clothes I haven't been able to wear for years.

As for my running, that has been put on hold.  I still plan to run the Twin Cities Marathon next October but right now I am waiting on some shoe inserts.  Both of my heal bones are crocked thus causing me to experience shin splints.  These inserts should help and then I can start running...hopefully next week.  In the mean time I will continue with weight lifting and stationary bike workouts.

Scripture
"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day -- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

This is one of the texts the family wants to use for Gordon's Celebration of New Life service.  Knowing Gordon the way I do, this is very appropriate.  But it is still hard talking about this.  Gordon is going to be missed.

But knowing where our hope comes from:  Praise be to God, always and forever...AMEN!!!

-edh-

Never walking alone

Two weeks ago my wife, Connie (who also serves as Salem's parish nurse) began a program called "Walking and the Word".  At 6:30am on Wednesday mornings you meet at the church (with Connie) and go for a 1/2 hour walk.  Upon your return you head to the church fellowship hall for b-fast (coffee, juice and something healthy to eat) and devotions with me -- hence "Walking and the Word".  After three weeks we have 3 faithful walkers.  But whether anyone shows up or not, Connie and I will be there -- exercising, enjoying breakfast and devotions.

Today, Connie was out of town for a meeting so that meant I was in charge of everything -- including the walking -- which was (and is) fine.  I got up at 5:30am and got b-fast ready and the coffee maker set.  At 6am I went outside to prepare for a short run before the walkers arrived.  As I was stretching out a Suburban pulled into the parking lot.  It was W.  W is a sweet man.  He always spoils Connie and I at Christmas with a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant.  This morning W got out of his vehicle and said, "No one should walk alone or walk alone in life.  So I will walk with you."  I couldn't help but smile.  I explained to him the walkers arrive in a 1/2 hour and that I was going for a run before we walk.  I invited him to come back at 6:30 but he said he is not much of a walker...he just didn't want me to walk alone.  We chatted for a while and then he left to have coffee with the guys.

What a great thing to say, "No one should ever walk alone".  How true...how true.  No one should EVER walk alone and no one does when it come to Christ.  But here on this earth many people still "walk alone".  They grieve alone, deal with problems alone, celebrate alone, cry alone. 

"No one should ever walk alone"

Most if not all of us know people who "walk alone".  We know people who feel isolated because of choice or because of life circumstances.  They may feel lost and don't know what to do.  But whether it is a choice or life circumstance...

..."No one should ever walk alone"...

...so go and "walk" with them.  Remind them that with Christ they never truly walk alone.  They never truly grieve alone or deal with problems alone or...you get the picture. 

"No one should ever walk alone" is a nice thing to say but an even better thing to put into practice. W does it literally and figuratively.  So pull a W...pull off the "road"...step outside your comfort zone...and "walk" or walk with someone.  Because..."No one should ever walk alone".  Thanks W...and...happy "walking" to all.

-edh-

One of those weeks...

It's been one of those weeks...

...A number of pastoral care issues have come up for me this week and therefore my blogging presence has been minimal.  Besides the individual I mentioned in my "Sunday morning prayer" post from this past Sunday I have a parishioner(who lives in Waseca, MN -- 1 1/2 hours away) who just had a stroke.  I left this morning and just got back this afternoon.  Tomorrow is going to be packed with nursing home visits plus I have a couple home communions to celebrate this week.  I guess when it rains it pours (literally and figuratively).

But through all these pastoral care visits I have seen and heard many stories of God's faithfulness.  One parishioner told me about a dream she had when Jesus came and spoke to her.  It gave her so much comfort and gave me goosebumps.  F (the individual from my "Sunday morning prayer" post) is still going strong and taking everything in stride and is as feisty as ever (our Lion's meeting last night was interesting -- in a good way).

I have more visits tomorrow and am looking forward to more reminders of God's faithfulness.  Whether we are active and running around, sick and in bed, or immobilized because of a stroke, God uses each of us to proclaim and show His love.  Each of us has a purpose...even to our dying day.  And...to our dying day...GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!

God bless and take care!
-edh-