Losing Time

I "lost time" Monday. I work up very early, to catch an 8:20 flight to Detroit. It was a four hour flight. It was past 4:00 when I arrived to Detroit. And it was after 5:00 when I made it to my hotel room. My ride was here to pick me up for church before 6:00. You get it? I "lost time." A whole day was gone between getting on and getting off a plane. But it was worth it. I am here in Detroit to preach for Pastor Larry Walker at the Oakland Ave Baptist Church. (That's kind of funny, huh? I flew to Detroit to go to Oakland!) I am ministering with Dr. Bill Buerwell (I am guessing at the correct spelling of his name) from Palm Springs, CA. We were on the same flight here yesterday, and didn't even know it. Anyway, boy, can this man teach. I was so tired last night, I was hurting. But I am so glad I did not miss his lecture on doctrinal integrity and biblical authority. The service was warm. This is my second year doing this meeting at Oakland Ave. So the opening night was not as difficult as it is in some place. Likewise, friends from churches I have ministered to in Detroit were present, which also helped me to relax a little. It's always good to see familiar faces.

Saturday was my son’s 6th birthday. We spent the day at Disneyland. We were there about seven hours. But we only got on seven rides. The rest of the time was spent standing in lines… with three children. I was wiped out. I drug myself to my Sunday School class and to the pulpit Sunday. I resumed our verse-by-verse study of Colossians Sunday. My text was Colossians 3:20-21, on parents and children. I have been ready to preach this text for some weeks. But it has still be hard to preach. There’s really no “sizzle” to a text like that. And if it were not for my commitment to sequential exposition, I would not be preaching that text. This is why it is important for pastor-teachers to preach through extended passages of Scripture. It forces you to stretch and to deal with subjects you would otherwise ignore. I don’t think there was anything stellar about the message. But, from the comments I received, it was helpful for many people. Praise God. After church, I had lunch with a new friend and his wife who were in town. That was cool. Then I had to preach again. We were the guests for Pastor Prentiss Lewis’ 13th pastoral anniversary at Greater Starlight Baptist Church. Afterward, I had a commitment to keep to offer prayer for the new home of a young couple in our church. I then ran a few pre-trip errands, had a late dinner with the family, packed, and finally passed out rather late. Hours later, it was time to catch my plane.

A couple of weeks ago, my doctor told me that I needed to reduce some of the stress in my life. I replied, “I’m a pastor.” He said, “I know, but you really do need to reduce some of the stress in your life.” I said, “Okay, but I’m a pastor.” We repeated ourselves to one another several more times. I got was he was saying; but I don’t think he got what I was saying. Stress seems to be a part of my job description. But I have no complaints. I am privileged that the Lord would let me play any part on his program.