A Lesson in Humility

For this story you'll first need to know that my mother was in the hospital, seriously ill.

At the end of each Sunday's service, people are regularly invited to come to the altar to pray. And this Sunday was no different. So when this person came forward, he did so in the company of others. However this was a little different, because for several years our church had prayed this particular man through a series of legal issues that left him a convicted felon.

Sadly, he still wears his shame; and its weight makes him stoop and look far older than his years. Once very active in church, after his release it took many months of reassurance from many people that we wanted him to come back--as far as we were concerned, God had forgiven him as had those of us at church.

Then my husband signaled me that this person wanted me to pray for him. So I left the choir loft and walked to where he knelt, wondering why me. No one had ever asked me to come forward to pray. But I was glad he came forward and thought perhaps I could help him. However, imagine my surprise, when--while still kneeling--he said he wanted to pray for me and my mother.

So there we were--him still kneeling and me, standing over him with my hand on his head. And there he prayed for me. He had come to help me and my Mom. Time stood still and I'm really not sure what all he said, as I cried and felt the presence of God surround us.

Afterward, I stepped outside to regain my composure. What a lesson in humility. What confronted me was that in my pride, even with good intentions, I went to help him, instead of seeking to be a vessel of God's grace. But grace was poured out on us both.

When I retook my seat in the choir, someone thanked me because they had been praying for him too. What else could I say? "No, he prayed for me and my mother. Through him God helped me."

Grace, Kathy

Life Is not the Hightest Good

Dear Friends, While I truly believe that Christians should participate in their government, it makes me nervous when I see people proclaiming the Christian platform, the Christian political view, the Christian political party. This is probably because my views do not necessarily coincide with those of the "Christian Right," whatever that really means.

For most things, I do tend to be evangelical and conservative, but I am also pro-choice. And here is why. We seem to have forgotten in the past, but many girls died because of back-alley abortions. Should they have chosen to continue their unwanted or unsafe pregnancy? That is a different question. But in our civilized society, it is lawful to defend oneself even if it means killing. The right to self-defense is a cornerstone of our rule of law. And I can't help but believe that God is compassionate, loving, forgiving, and understands our motives. God gave us the instinct for self-preservation after all.

I won't even go into the issues surrounding when life begins. And I realize that my view is unpopular in many places. But I also see a growing insistence that life is always the right answer. Please know that in the Bible, life is not the highest good. The highest good is always God.

Sure, I'm for life; but I am also for freedom of choice. But even if someone chooses wrong or unwisely, that is their responsibility. And I think we can all agree that as a society, we want to promote that.

Grace, Kathy

Indiana Annual Conference Highlights

The Indiana Conference ended on June 11th with a beautiful service for those commissioned and those ordained deacon and elder. Mike participated in the elder ordination of Matt Swisher. Matt and his family were part of a church Mike pastored from 1983 to 1989. Matt was three when we first met him. When he decided to become a pastor, we followed his career with special interest. Each person preparing for ordination is assigned a mentor. Matt chose Mike and for the past three years, and they met monthly, talking and sharing whatever Matt needed to discuss. We celebrated the joyous occasion with Matt, his wife Katie, and lots of family from both sides.

Another moment of personal joy, was when the conference introduced and honored those pastors retiring. Each pastor and spouse were seated on the stage. We were introduced and then led down one of two aisles in the vast auditorium. As we were in the aisle, everyone gathered, about 1200 people, stood and clapped for what seemed like forever. Both of us cried as we received this expression of appreciation.

Mike has already had several pastors ask him to preach and fill the pulpit during vacations and other times away. He is also going to work part-time at the YMCA where we work out daily. Although we have found a new church, I am still having difficulty leaving a church that has been home to me for fifteen years. I am depending on God to give me insight and vision for the future.

God, thank you for the joys and challenges of Mike's 39 years of ministry. We have learned from all types of experiences for we knew that you are in everything that happens. Guide our paths in a new way of ministry in your name. Amen.

Jacquie Reed
Fishers Indiana

The World Is God's Parish

Dear Friends, One of the joys of having a blog is being able to see who visits. It's not that you can tell the name or address of the actual visitor, that would violate privacy, but you can tell from what geographic region page viewers hail from. You might be interested to know that we have U.S. viewers but also visitors from Russia, India, France, Iran, China, Philippines, and some other countries.

So to these international folks, welcome. And we invite you to email us at spouseconnect@gmail.com if you'd like to contact us or write a post. I'm sure we would like to hear about ministry in your setting.

We each have an important Christian witness to share. And we are all members of the Body of Christ. So please let us hear from you. As usual, you can use your name or write anonymously.

Grace,
Kathy

You Just Never Can Tell

When my husband and I started out in ministry and I was still the youth director's girl friend, we worked (He was paid; I was strictly the volunteer help)at an urban church in a major city. The neighborhood was rough but loaded with kids. In fact the police told us that on those Friday nights when the church held its weekly teen dance, the crime rate was nil. And when one boy was asked why he could run so fast and jump so high, he said he kept in shape running from the cops.

While I have many fond memories of those times, I often wondered if we really made a difference. Were all those youth trips, prayer times, and visits to juvenile hall worth it? That is until through FaceBook one of those "youth" contacted us. It seems that she and a friend were coming to town for an event. Could we all get together? We found a time and met last week.

It was great to see her and we spent an hour reliving and revisiting. As we caught up, it became clear that yes, we had made a difference, at least to her. But of all the kids we hauled in our car and tried to nurture in the faith, I would not have thought she would have followed-up after all these years. I guess you just never know how God uses you. And I hope that all those kids know that I'd do it again gladly.

Grace, Kathy