getting a salary again

Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. (Luke 10:7)

For several years, I have labored at works underpaid and in virtual poverty. The Assemblies of God, along with the Foursquare Church have impoverished us. And at times what money we got was begrudged.

We lived for a year and a half on $650 a month. Occasionally we got a little more, but that is all we could count on. Even so, we fed people and were hospitable. We gave all we could and continued to work in ministry, although it was unpaid. We really and truly hurt financially.

Yet we kept on. We continued to minister and to work with the church. I did more there for no pay than I was allowed to do at other churches for what pay I got.

Yet we kept on.

This church opened up and invited us to come. Since we have been here, we have been warmly received and people seem to be happy we are here. But we went through the last month with little pay. We received Ella’s check and the small retirement check I am sent, and one check a couple of weeks ago.

It had to be wrapped up for the business meeting, so last night I went over and talked to the other elder about what my salary was to be. All of a sudden, they realized that they had not paid me. So they gave me a check. Now today, they gave me another. It seems that no matter which way I turn now, sometimes gives me another check.

I feel rich. In my pocket is several hundred dollars. Since we cannot get a debit card for a while, I have been carrying around cash. Now tomorrow I will go and cash yet another check. I plan to keep some cash at the house for emergencies.

The point is that I feel wealthy. I am merely getting what I have gotten in the past, but in comparison to my poverty, it is wealth.


The apostle Paul said that he knew how to live in both plenty and little. I have lived with the little for entirely too long.

Now I have to figure out how to live with the plenty. I can be a fool and spend it or I can save it for what we need in the future. Maybe investments, maybe CD’s or something. We have been getting by on nothing for so long that we do not need much. But it seems I have much

I have already spent too much, but as Ella pointed out, all we have done is get what we have needed for a while. We just have not been able to buy the things, the necessities we needed. We have done without.

I think we are about caught up. We have Christmas coming and we plan to get a few things we want to get for our children, but in general, we are not going to overspend.

It feels good to be normal again after so long. I am employed and I am getting a paycheck and I am where people love me.

I want to be effective and be worthy of my pay. I praise the Lord.

daily java

Daily Java:

Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. (Psalm 37:5)

Tomorrow morning we go to Longton, Kansas, to talk to a church there about being their pastor.

It has been over a year since I left Lincoln and was sick to death of pastoring. I wondered if I would ever do it again. But it seems either of three things: one – the Lord has something else in mind, two – I really want to do this, or three – any idiot can get a church to preach at if he looks hard enough.

Could be the third, I am not sure. When I was younger I could always find a place. But then I was large and dynamic and forceful. As I have gotten older, I have had more and more trouble. Part of that was the Assemblies of God. I never fit in there and people could see that I was a fish out of water when I came to talk to them. I just wasn’t Pentecostal and they could tell. Black suit and King James Bible notwithstanding, they could tell.

So I am going to go as I am, casual and loving. If it works, it will work. If it is what God wants of me, then it will hit. If not, it will not. I will no longer tailor myself to my church. I will do all I can to be the kind of person to reach them, but I will not compromise who I am or what I believe.

Longton is a tiny town, 350 or so with a small church. They need a man with partial support – which I have with our retirement and all. They will probably not be contemporary or anything in their music (especially since I found out they are getting a new organ – which I hate).

But if it is the Lord’s will, I will go. My options in ministry are extremely limited. But then again, they are not desperate.

We have carved out a niche here at Firm Foundation. I do more ministry here than I have in the last two churches I pastored. The people love us and receive us. I write here and do jail ministry, along with playing my guitar, preaching occasionally and teaching Sunday night class. Any writing that comes out of the church is edited by my hand or it would be horrible.

It was interesting the other day that Mel Eaton, the pastor here, upon my pronouncement that I didn’t think I was doing anything useful, made the comment that I check everything he does and make him look good. And I do. I have become aware of that.

But the problem, as much as I love him and the church here, is that this is not my church. It is his. It is my church in that I am an integral part of it, but it is ultimately the pastor’s church.

One thing the church at Longton said was that they were looking for a teaching elder in their pastor. That is what I am in spades. I am far more the experienced teacher than a preacher anyway. I have always wanted a church to recognize that aspect of my ministry anyway.

We have decided that if the church is good we will go. If not, we will not. We like where we are in the church and we like where we live. Our finances are not great but we are making it. We are happy here. We are close to our children and doing things in a church we love.

But if this church in Longton is what the Lord wants us to do, we will do it happily. Although I love this church, I am eager for my own church.

It is interesting that it is the Independent Christian Church, the group from which I came close to ten years ago. They are in general not a charismatic church. But one of the things that appealed to them was my charismatic background. Evidently there is a charismatic element there and they need a pastor that can deal with it.

That works for me. I am not Pentecostal at all, but I am charismatic. The difference is both stylistic and organizational. Pentecostals find other Pentecostal churches to be with and segregate themselves. Charismatics work within their existing denominations as leavening.

They are not always appreciated, but of course, many times that is the own fault. They forget they are not the whole dog, the whole body. They are a part of the body with different talents and gifts.

I suppose that my gift, or curse – whichever you call it – is that I do not believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit should be preached. Jesus is to be preached. The baptism is just part of the overall journey, not the destination.

I look forward to this, even if nothing comes out of it. I just look forward to going somewhere else than here.

May God grant us wisdom and discernment in what we do. May he show us his way and his will. If we are to go to Longton, let it be. If we stay here, let that be. His will be done. Amen.

Visiting the Cooper County jail

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,  you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

I am the Cooper County jail chaplain and visit the jail one night a week. I have even found that I am the only one out of the entire world (excluding guards) that they ever see one on one. everybody else they visit with through  glass on a phone. Me they can touch and shake hands with and talk to one on one. I listen to them and respond with comments and sympathy. I am a friendly face.

I really do not like jail work that much, but it is needed. Even though I have never been in trouble with the law, it always seems to fall to me. Someone has to be there to tell them that God loves them, that there is a way out of this misery beyond just a dismissal of charges. And I try to be that avenue to the grace of God.

When I go in, I try to tell them and show them that I care about them. one way is going to trial when they have their cases heard. They see me and know that I am there and the next time I see them, they will comment on it.

Today was court. I sat through several hours and only saw one guy. But several things came to me as I looked at the proceedings and the people that were there.

First was the amount of misery present. The cases are tawdry and it is a parade of foolish people. Drunk drivers, drug abusers and seller, bad checks, domestic assault, assault and battery – the list goes on. And none of the people on trial look like they are proud to be there.

Which comes to the second thing: the way people are dressed. The lawyers and the judge and personnel are all dressed in coats and ties. The accused are wearing all manner of foolish looking clothing. Women who are extremely overweight wear tight clothing, making them look elephantine  the guys wear torn clothing, t shirts with foolish messages, other stuff. Even though they are going before someone that will have to be swayed by their actions, they still will not dress in a way that is appropriate. It is kind of pathetic.

I recognize that the world in general is bent that way now – no rules as to dress – but still. They look awful and do not seem to care.

Third is the boredom of the judge and the lawyers. They have case after case of exactly the same thing with many of the same people day after day. In the TV show, Night Court, they covered this over with humor and making fun of stuff. But the boredom is real and it has to affect these people. They cannot see and participate in this misery day after day, year after year and just accept a paycheck. It has to impact them.

Another observation is the number of interracial couples. There seem to be a disproportionate amount there in court in trouble with the law. I do not see many interracial couples that are doing well. I am not against interracial marriages, but it seems that it tends to involved people who are lower on the economic scale.

Fifth is the size of the lawyers. Most of them are fat. I am not sure why, but it surprises me to see that many fat lawyers.

Last is the joy that those I am there for express when they see me sitting in the audience looking at them. They know there is someone who cares enough to put themselves out for them. there is no one else (or so they begin to think) that cares a fig for them and they are all alone. My presence, at least I am hoping, changes that.

I know in the long run it will not do much. I am not a fool. But it is something I can do. And when I do, I follow my Lord in his mandate.

daily java

Daily Java:

So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them. The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.”   (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.) (Acts 21:26-29)

I believe that the apostle Paul had changed so much that when people saw him, they thought he was a Gentile.

Sooner or later, you start resembling those you hang around with. The apostle Paul had been hanging around with non-Jews for a long time by this time. He had probably adopted Gentile dress and customs, cut his hair like a Gentile, everything else.

When his old Jewish friends saw him, they could probably barely believe their eyes. Here was a man who was Jewish to the max. When they saw him last, he dressed traditionally, he kept the dietary laws, the rituals, all of the Jewish stuff that was so important to these people.

But the problem was, God had changed the system. No longer were the Jews to keep all these old laws. In fact, in Acts 10 he had told Peter that he was not to consider unclean that which God had created. That was just before he sent Peter to preach to a Gentile. Peter could hardly believe it. Gentiles were filthy animals to Jews. Yet God had sent him into a Gentile’s house and told him to tell them of Jesus.

If it had been anybody but Peter, his actions would have been rejected. But Peter was one of the leader apostles, if not the main man. They called  him on the carpet in Acts 11, but he told them too bad. God told him to do it. So they had to agree.

But even though they agreed, even though they knew it was what God wanted, like good Jews, they didn’t want it. They agreed that the Gentiles could do what they did and the Jewish Christians would live like they always had.

When Paul went native, adopting customs of people that were alien to the Jews, they rebelled against him. The Jerusalem leaders of the church tried to defuse the situation by having Paul perform a temple ritual vow. But it backfired. Paul just looked so different that the Jews grabbed him and began to beat him. They were much in their response as Muslims are today in theirs to perceived apostasy.

He was in Jerusalem, he looked like a Gentile, he had a Gentile with him, he was in the temple – many of them assumed that he was that Gentile. He just looked so different.

Once you leave a culture and become immersed in another, you look different. It doesn’t matter what the culture is.

When we were in Germany in the army, we tried a lot to look like Germans. We hated standing out like American idiots. There is nothing wrong with being American, of course. It is still the best country in the world. but again there no reason to stand out like a sore thumb like so many American GI’s did.

For Paul there was no going back. He went ahead and cooperated with the Jerusalem church elders and did the purification vow. But it backfired. He had come too far to go back. Now he had to go forward, whatever else happened.

Of course, there is a parallel to my life. What do I do? I have come so far in my evolution of belief that, whether I want it or not, there may be no going back. I may never get to minister to the people I love.

I have moved so far that I scare everybody. I scare Pentecostals and I scare non-Pentecostals. I do not seem to have any denomination that I can go to now. I am alone.

I know that sounds melodramatic, but it seems to be true. Paul was alone in his beliefs too, but God was using him. I know God is using me in my situation – I do a lot for Firm Foundation – but at the same time, we are flat broke, living on the paltry amount Ella gets each month.

For Firm Foundation I play in the praise band, video the services and record the events, post them on our page, I preach occasionally, I teach Sunday night class, I am the Firm Foundation jail minister, I write articles for about everything, I am the proof reader for the stuff the pastor  wants to put out, we are the hospitality ministry of the church. I do so much, in fact more than I was allowed to do in my last pastoring position.

Yet I am without any kind of financial remuneration. I am also without a church that is mine. If I were doing something that also supported me in the ministry, it would be great, although I still like to preach. I need my own church, or at least my own ministry, rather than being an appendage of someone else’s.

A lot of parallels. And kind of interesting coming on the day after my three day fast.

daily java

Daily Java:

But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.” (2 Samuel 24:10)

God punished David for counting all of his people so he could be proud of the great country of which he was king. The Lord had told him to just be king and let him (God) worry about the people.

A few years ago, I decided to count all of the meat I had in my freezer and put a list on the door of everything I had. I did so and realized that, even though I only had a little bit of money, I had a lot of meat.

Back in the 1990’s, we began to feed people. And we found that the more people we fed, the more food we had. I usually (unless it is on super sale) only buy marked down meat. So we had a lot of meat because we fed a lot of people. We were generous, so God was generous to us.

And we fed everybody. We would have at time upwards of 35 people eating with us. I mastered the art of “big, cheap food,” or food with high macaroni or rice content. Spaghetti, chili mac, jambalaya – that sort of thing.

We had decided early on that, even though we may qualify for food stamps, we would not take them. I felt they were a slap in God’s face. It was like saying that he didn’t give me enough so we had to go to the government to get more.

And God blessed us.

Then I took a “census” of all our frozen meat. And we almost ran out. We got down to a pound of hamburger and I had repented what I had done. Then the Lord started giving us meat again.

I never did it again. And we have a freezer that has quite a bit of meat in it. Considering the fact that we have less money now than ever that is a move of God.

And we still feed people. We have found ourselves to be the hospitality arm of the church we attend. We are the only ones in the whole church that has people over for dinner. And we have had a major part of the church over.

Quite frankly, it is hardly ever reciprocated, but that doesn’t really matter. We do it because it is our ministry, not to get people to invite us over.

But we rely on his grace and on his plenitude. He gives and we give. We have no real money to give in the contribution plate, but we give of food and we give of time.

And he blesses us. I know our food supply is not miraculous, but I do know it comes from the Father above.

daily java

Daily Java:

The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” (Ezekiel 37:1-3)

I have been reading Ezekiel in my daily Bible reading. For the most part, Ezekiel has been pronouncements of doom on all of the nations around Israel in the fifth century BC. And it gets kind of boring, as does much of the Old Testament when it deals with specifics. I mean, there are things you can bring out of it, but in general it was for them and not for us.

But then something comes through that really hits you. You can tell that what came through was meant for you. Today something came through that was aimed right directly at me from over 1400 years ago.

Bad stuff happens to you in your life. I know that for a fact. We have had a lot of bad stuff happen to us lately. So much so that I had decided to be completely through with the ministry.

The only problem is that is was God that called me into that ministry and not me. it really is not my decision.

And until I wrote that statement down I didn’t really realize that it was true.

So what do I do? I am not sure. But this one thing I know – well, I know a lot of good things – but this one comes to mind right now: if it is from God, he will rebuild it.

My ministry is lying like bones. It seems dead. Yet, I am doing things with the church where we are going. I am involved in the prayer ministry, in filing things for the church, I play in the praise band, I teach the Sunday night class for the church. So what is happening with my ministry?

I don’t know. I really don’t. I am sick of the church and in dealing with them. They have hurt my family for the last time. Or so I thought.

But the bones of my ministry are lying there. And God asks, are they going to be real again? And I say, I don’t know. They are your bones. You alone know the answer to that.

What’s he going to do? I will have to admit, that without the ministry, there isn’t much to me and my life.

found in the presence of God

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:1-8)

Almost forty years ago I surrendered to what I believed the will of God was in my life. After all that time, I am not sure it was the right decision. But I have held to it for all these years.

It is an interesting thing to be a preacher, to speak with authority to people of things of God.

Isaiah was just an ordinary guy who suddenly found himself in the presence of God and he was afraid. Who wouldn’t be? He was afraid that he was not worthy enough to be there and he would be killed because of his intrusion into the holy places.

He was painfully aware of his sins and knew God was too. He also knew that he lived among people like him. None were holy, none were righteous, all were sinful. It is not necessarily that people were so lousy, it was that they were so weak and sin always finds us through the path of least resistance. It is just easier to sin than to not sin.

Isaiah knew that, as does anyone who is truly in tune with God. But even though you are in tune with God, you know you are not worthy to stand in his presence. He is holy and you are not.

Isaiah was afraid because he felt he has somehow inadvertently stumbled into the presence of the Almighty. How he didn’t know, but his first thought was that he would die.

Then he saw one of the seraphim do something unexpected. He flew toward Isaiah with a hot coal held in a pair of tongs and touched his lips with it.

The spiritual heat of the coal purified Isaiah, purified what he called his filthy lips and made him able to stand in the presence of the Almighty.

Then the Lord called for one to go and tell others of his message. Who will go? he asked. The Lord had something great to tell his people but who would be the one with the audacity to speak for God.? Who would have the courage to stand up and say God says. Who would be his spokesman?

It takes a lot of courage, a lot of gall, chutzpah, whatever you want to call it, to presume to speak for God.

And for forty years I have done so. I have not always done a good job of it, and have quite frankly failed at times. Maybe I have failed altogether. I am not sure.

As a representative of God here on earth, what I always wanted was for God to say to me, Well done, good and faithful servant. You did the best you could.

He may, he may not. I know he will save me and I know that I am saved. I know that I will have a place in heaven with him.

But whether or not he tells me I did fine, I do not know. It is up to him what he does.

There was a time though, that my lips were clean and the word flowed from me. There was a time when healing flowed from my fingertips. There was a time when music flowed from my lips with no effort whatever. Now not so much, if at all.

One thing for sure, Isaiah didn’t do well either. In fact in the next few verses God tells him that when he preaches, no one will listen and that ultimately, he would fail.

In fact, most of the prophets failed too, though not for want of trying. I wonder if Jeremiah or any of the others ever worried about their failure in their later years as I am now.

So I guess I am in good company.

prepared for the ministry

I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Someone was saying that a young minister quit a divisive church because he was not prepared for the ministry.

The problem is: no young minister is ever prepared for the ministry, no matter how much schooling or experience as an intern or anything else. It always comes as a surprise.

Even Jesus himself was caught by surprise at the beginning of his ministry.

In Matthew 13, the narrative said that Jesus came home to tell his people his message. He really thought they would look at his life and listen to him instead, they rejected him.

He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. (13:53-58)

I don’t think Jesus expected this. He was, after all, human and the human side of his life learned obedience as the book of Hebrews says. If he was to be like us, he had to face the same problems as we do. And we, especially those who are ministers, are almost always surprised when people do not want to hear what we have to say.

The great apostle Paul was the same. He went into Athens in Acts 17 and I believe he fully intended to do a lot of good there. He was an educated man and this was an educated town. He would discuss logically and win over people by the sheer logic of the gospel.

The problem was, although this was an educated town, it was a town more in love with education than the truth and he soon found that although people listened to him, few received the gospel. I also believe it was then that he said, I will preach nothing but Christ and him crucified.

That is the thing. When people do not want to hear, they will not. And it always throws the new minister for a loop. Many times it will throw the old one too.

A minister has to be, as Jesus said, in Matthew 10:16: Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. You have to know that there will be people who oppose you.

God told Isaiah, at the beginning of his ministry, in Isaiah 7:9-10, Go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.

In other words, they aren’t going to listen. But you tell them anyway.

That is a hard lesson to learn for a minister. No minister is ever prepared for what is about to happen.

set me free from my prison

Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. (Psalm 142:7)

I went to prison yesterday here in Lincoln to be with a group who were having Tuesday night services. Doug, my friend who is the outside motivator for the group, took me with him.

In general, it was good. The men were respectful and really, all in all, not much different than any other gathering of men.

But there was one thing different: they were all prisoners in a federal penitentiary. Which meant they were all convicted of a major crime.

One man spoke and gave an in depth analysis of the book of Jonah. You could tell he was acquainted with his Bible, that he had read it a lot. Another man, one with a large scar on his head, played the piano and led the songs.

But one man’s situation really hit me. He was probably in his early to middle twenties, and was in for eighty years. He said he had gotten into a physical altercation and someone had died. He received eighty years. If he was lucky, he said, he could get out in forty on good behavior. That meant that he would be my age before he could get out, and that only if he had good behavior.

I have not lived a violent or law-breaking life. I have never been in jail or anything like that. There have even been very few tickets in my life, compared to some.

But for some reason, jail ministry has been a large part of my ministry for the past couple of decades. And I really don’t care for it.

Part of the reason, I discovered last night. That is the fact that there is an alternate universe in which I could be there. I have always recognized the wild streak I had but have kept under control. Someone once told me that I was about half domesticated dog, half wolf. They could see the wolf part, but it did not rule.

And it never has. But when I was younger, people evidently could see it. At times, it came out enough that I would frighten people, especially with the size I am and as strong as I was.

But it was always underneath. The people in prison, though, remind me of that old saying: there but for the grace of God, go I. A man in jail once said that after he had got himself straightened out, he would come to church. I told him that so far, he had control of his life and look where he was. I let God control my life and I went home each night, ate a good supper, got to sleep with my wife and things were pretty good. Which of us had the better deal.

Of course, in the long run it probably made no difference to him, but for a minute, it dawned on him that the wrong person had control of his life.

I have had a lot of problems in my life, but lawbreaking was never one of them. But then I serve a risen Savior who loves me and I have given my life to him.

Father God, I thank you for keeping me safe from prison and harm. I praise you. Amen.

daily java

Daily Java:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Today has been a good day. We had a good service in church this morning with good response. The sermon went well and seemed to go over. There was the typical sleeper but she always does.

After church we had 7 people over for dinner. Left over spaghetti and tacos, two things that go over well here. The group was a mixed bag of people, my favorite kind of gathering. Our friends from North Platte left about 1:30 and everyone stayed and talked until 3:30.

It was good. I, of course, sat not eating so I did the serving of the stuff in the hot dishes. After an initial surprise at my not eating, they all got used to it. They knew I was on the fast. Lunch didn’t bother me. It was later while we were watching a movie that I found myself hungry.

That is the hardest time for me on any diet or fast or any other time. I can almost eat more at night than I can at meals. One of my favorite things is to make pimiento cheese at night and I will sometimes eat the entire batch while watching a movie.

So not having snacks is harder in many ways than not having dinner. It helps to fix for Ella. It gets the food urge out of the way to make it for someone else. I never taste anything I cook and Ella tells me that I do not use enough salt. But I figure that if she needs more, she can add it.

But the lunch today was part of my ministry. In fact, it is a large part, if not the main focus. As a teacher I feed people. I feed them in my teaching and I feed them at my table. We are blessed with a big table – a 48 inch antique oak round table – that will feed, with the right kind of chairs, 10-12. I can put 10 around it without a lot of problem and 12 if I use folding chairs.

One of these days I want to get some good chairs that are dining chairs so we can put more around it more easily.

As they left this afternoon, one commented that they needed this. And they all agreed with her. They do. Everybody does. It amazed me to hear that in churches, many people had never been to the pastor’s house for any reason, much less dinner. I want them to know that I love them and am their shepherd. The shepherd feeds his flock in every way he can. Sitting around the table visiting, talking about inconsequentials, is one of the best ways to insure fellowship.

This church has gone through a lot of problems in the past couple of years and I believe, as I told someone yesterday night, that they have clamed now. They are without that stress that the people here who wanted power and control engendered. I do have to make sure that the calmness doesn’t morph into complacency and a dead church. That will take some doing.

One of the hopes I hold is the strong church. I want this church to be strong and powerful in him. And I will do what I can do effect it by the power of God.