I have been following our Memphis United Methodist Church Annual Conference via a Pastor friend's Facebook entries.  She became a Probationary Elder in the United Methodist Church at this one that just concluded.  What an AWESOME step she has taken.  She has worked many years in study and the last several taking care of a "charge" of three churches.  We Methodist's do that a lot in rural areas where the church memberships are rather small and the churches are relatively close to each other.  I had the honor and the opportunity to care for her congregations a couple years ago or so when she went on leave to have her baby.  What a great bunch of folks to work with.  I enjoyed the two months which happened to be through the Advent (Christmas) season.

That was a wonderful experience that solidified in my mind, the calling to serve God.  In the back of my mind I knew it for many years but for some reason, the opportunity wasn't there.  In the past three months or so, there has been a lot of reflection on that time, as well as the time at the church I was given the opportunity to serve after that for 10 wonderful and glorious months.  I know that not many people are called to serve God in relationship to other jobs, but to me, it is a rare opportunity to be a Pastor of a Church, and I value that time as the very best time in my life.  I was able to actually feel like I was accomplishing something VERY important.  It brought me closer to the real purpose of what my life was meant to be.  As I sit back and contemplate, it ranks right up there with choosing your spouse and raising a family.  YOU are responsible for a bigger "family".  The family that gathers together at the church that God has brought you to, to lead them (just like your other family) to knowing God better.  I feel I did that both at Pastor Sara's churches, and the little church on the hill.  In looking back, it was mostly the youth that I seemed to have reached.  You see, one Sunday I went to the kids Sunday School class and told them how important they were to me in having them understand my messages every Sunday.  I brought along a stack of half sheets and some red ink pens.  I asked them to look at the sheets and the different areas I had.  In the upper left was a name for their name and below that the date and Sermon title. (I like to title my sermons)
On the upper right was this:  UNDERSTANDING   A B C D F
                                              OVERALL GRADE   A B C D F
I told them to write down the points that meant something to them, to comment on what they wanted me to know about how they understood what I was talking about.  Then to GRADE my message just like they get graded in school.  I also told them they had to be HONEST in their grade, because if they didn't understand what the message was, I had FAILED them.  The rest of the sheet and the back of it were lines so they could write down their thoughts, high points, things they didn't understand, etc.  They used up all the sheets I had given them, but on my last Sunday at the church I got two note sheets from the two that were there that day.   Both sides were filled with things they had heard.  On one of them, at the bottom, this is what she (a Senior High Student) wrote:  A  Understanding    A "Grade"  Comment: I really liked the story about Jimmy.  I liked the meaning of it.
The Title of the Sermon that Sunday was:  "Love Walked Across the Field"  It was about a Pastor who made an extra effort to visit a couple that had quit coming to church because they had a special needs child that years earlier that the parents had been asked to not bring him to church as he was "disruptive".  He (the new Pastor) made an extra effort to invite them back. After missing the next Sunday, he walked across the field separating their home from the church again. He told them they were expected to return to church....including Jimmy.  The story had a happy ending, and all was well.  It was a story of Love.  It hit home with the youth of my congregation.  As it turns out, it seems that was what my target was supposed to be, the YOUTH. I think God was happy.

I was sad for quite a while until I understood that it was the youth that God wanted me to reach.  What I realized was that it isn't us that chooses what we do or where we do it.  IF we are listening and following God's guidance, it is HE that is moving us to do His work.  That is why we moved here to Tennessee!  Isn't it wonderful to be able to understand why you are where you are, and what you are there for?   It is, if you are paying attention.  So many of us go through life NOT paying attention to anything except our own enjoyment. NOT having a clue as to what God wants us to do.  That is why I am so thankful that Pat and I are where we are and doing what we are doing, because I am certain that we are doing what God put us here to do.  If I never get the opportunity to serve at another church, I will still bask in the glow of have been one of the few that had the opportunity to have served God by being a Pastor of His His children.

The future will unfold perhaps new and exiting things that I can do for God and His children yet, with the number of years I have left here.  I was thinking out loud with Pat just the other day, and we were discussing the mortgage on our house.  We determined that we both had at least another 20 years, so we could finish paying off the house.  We all need a goal, so quit laughing!  No, never quit laughing...it is good to laugh.

Point of the story:  LISTEN to God's voice.  He will be telling you what He wants you to do.  Don't be afraid to step out on a new journey no matter how old you are.  Have FAITH in the fact that God does't make junk and that YOU have been made in His image.  Now buck up and act like you are a child of God.  Step out and claim your right in the world.  It is what you are supposed to do.  We have all been taught (hopefully) to obey our parents.  God is our ultimate parent.  No one loves us more than GOD does!  Amen.

Keep singing, keep praying, keep smiling,

Blessings,
Gary