07-28-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 28, 2024
On Friday, I spent a lot of time in my car. There were three hospital visits and an additional visit to make, and of course, they were about as far away from one another as they could be. I’m not complaining at all, as making visits is a part of the job that I find meaningful and purposeful. But I spent just over five hours in the car, driving between stops. It was raining, and especially driving to the Medical Center, it took a long time to get there in the heavy rain. I know that salespeople and other professionals spend a great deal of time in the car, going from one customer to the next. But when I have those days, I am mindful that the church is paying me (quite well) to sit in traffic. I try to make the most of that time. It might be a couple of phone calls to church people, or maybe listening to a podcast or an audio book that has some relevance for an upcoming sermon. There are other days when I use that time to pray (eyes wide open) for those in the congregation. But there are other times when I just pray. Years ago, a retired minister who attended the church I was serving said to me, “This church pays you to pray, and not just to pray for us. We want you to be deeply connected to God; otherwise, you can’t lead us into a deeper connection with God.” Those words have come back to me again and again, as there are times when I do that well and other times when I do it very poorly. And like the retired pastor suggested, it has significant implications for the church as a whole. Now let me be clear: I do pray even when I’m not on the clock, but I hope Cypress Creek Christian Church is not only comfortable but enthusiastic about its staff praying during office hours or on a drive to visit someone in the hospital… including those prayers that are about the staff members' connection with God.

Invite us, O God who came to earth, to continue to seek you out and to grow more deeply in love with you and your dream for this world. Amen.