Pastoral Ponderings

  It’s Not About
                        the Honeymoon

    After the elders and other volunteers had unloaded the U-Haul truck here in West Point, we were standing around and kind of marveling at how quickly and smoothly the move had gone.  Someone cheerfully remarked, “So, Pastor, I hope the honeymoon lasts a long time!” (I think the term, “honeymoon” in this case, refers to the initial time of goodwill and high hopes that pastors and congregations have at the beginning of a new pastor’s ministry.)

    My response was something like this:  “Actually, I don’t want a honeymoon, I want to start building a team.” I explained that back in 1973 when Debbie and I were married, we were too poor (and, yes, I was too cheap) to go on a honeymoon.  The week after our wedding was a flurry of final exams in Seward, then straight to her father’s farm where I worked as a hired hand, milking cows and putting up hay, earning tuition money for our senior year.

    Right from the beginning, Debbie and I set out to become the best team we could become. After almost 25 years of being life-partners through all the joys and sorrows of life, we’ve grown closer as partners.  We’ve learned the value of sharing the same goals and having the same vision for the future.  We’ve learned that the Christian principles of love and forgiveness and giving and serving make for a stronger marriage.  For us, it wasn’t about the honeymoon; it was about the life we would build together under the lordship of Jesus.  Along the way God has blessed, and the journey has been wonderful.

    Pastors and congregations are meant to be a team under the lordship of Jesus.  If we follow his principles of love, forgiveness, giving and sharing, and if we accept his challenge to commit ourselves to making disciples, we can have a strong congregation indeed.  If we work together toward the higher calling we share in Christ, God will bless this.  The pastor needs to accept his responsibility as a leader within his particular role and calling.  The lay people also have a role and calling on the team.  Working together, we learn how best to put our particular gifts and talents to use on the team.  When we do, God works wonders!  

    So, let the journey begin.  With you on the team, I believe it is going to be wonderful.

With you, in service to Christ,

Pastor Richard Bringewatt
Pastor Richard Bringewatt

 E-Mail Pastor at: rbringewatt@cableone.net

Season of Refreshment

“Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3:19.
 

    With spring and Easter arriving simultaneously this year I have found Acts 3:19 to be a golden nugget.  This is not a familiar verse but it is one that I came across in my studies this past winter.  As you know, winter has been long with ice and snow and salt and sand all over. It has sometimes been absolutely unbearable.  During the winter season what thoughts gave you hope?  For me the thought of baseball and green grass kept me plugging along through the worst winter since I have been here at St. Paul.  For some of you, thoughts of Hawaii or summer vacation probably kept you going. Still others thought of the cucumbers, sweet corn, and tomatoes that will be planted in your beautiful gardens.
 

    It is these pleasant thoughts of spring and summer that gave us hope this past winter.  It is amazing that they only come when we acknowledge we can’t live another day dressed like an Eskimo.  This is also how it is in our spiritual life.  You and I often in the darkness of winter find ourselves in icy predicaments that cause us to sin, or try to cover up our sins like snow covers the leaves.  What we find is that the ice doesn’t melt and the leaves don’t disappear after the snow is gone.  Then Satan has us where he wants us, as the results of sin begin to corrode our hearts like sand and salt corrode our vehicles.  But Peter tells us in Acts 3:19, don’t stay in the dark, don’t stay in the depression that will destroy you.  Rather, “Repent and turn to God.”
 

            When we acknowledge that the life we have is not what God had in mind, He allows seasons of refreshment to give us hope.  This happened time and time again in my life.  Last year Kristi and I had an unbearable winter.  As we lost our daughter, Maddy, we kept wondering and asking why.  The important thing was that as blood bought children of God we clung to the hope of Christ Jesus.  No, He didn’t promise us a child, but in one of His seasons of refreshment He gave us a child.  God brought us to this verse and we began to see Acts 3:19 come true time and time again.  Leah Marie, was born on March 3, 6 pounds 4 ounces, and absolutely beautiful. Kristi and I are excited she is here with us and healthy.
 

            What season of refreshment does God have for you?  All our lives have disappointment but Peter reminds us that when we put things in God’s hands there will be seasons of refreshment.  It is the thought that Christ has something besides grief and sorrow that help us in our days. Ultimately the greatest season of refreshment will be when Christ comes again and takes us to the City in Heaven.  During this Spring and Easter season I pray you will be refreshed by the joy that comes from turning to the Risen Savior Jesus Christ.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

In Christ,

Pastor Kevin Cook
Pastor Cook

E-mail Pastor at: pkcook@cableone.net

Webmaster: St. Paul's

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