BELATED – I didn’t get a “Musing” out last week. If I hurry I may get this out before the month is completely over. Doctor’s appointments and needs that arose at the home such as a garage door opener going bad and our water cooler going out all took time. I was not feeling good with some problems so I went to my doctor for some tests. This Friday they are going to put a heart monitor on me for two weeks and see what is going on as the EKG showed some problems. Getting older does have its problems but it is also a reminder of the better day we look forward to in God’s presence.
STILL TEACHING – Several months ago the pastor of Fellowship Baptist in Dublin, where we attend, decided to start small group Bible studies in different areas. The youth pastor, who works full time at a secular job, was to teach one small group at the church on Wednesdays. He often has to be out of town and I was asked to co-teach with him. I agreed to help by teaching when he had to be away, which I have been doing. I appreciate the opportunity to still share the truths of God’s Word.
SHORT NOTICE PREACHING – In the church where I gained my first opportunities to serve I use to pick up children in my car and take them to Sunday School. When Sunday school was over I would drive them back home. It always made me a little late for the morning service and I recall one Sunday morning returning to see a deacon leading the singing rather than the pastor who usually led the singing. I had no more than sat down by my wife and boys to enjoy the service when the deacon stepped down from the platform and told me the pastor was ill and he needed to take him home and that I would have to preach. I had only preached one other time when the pastor had asked me to preach when he went on vacation. On that occasion I studied for two weeks (not knowing what I was doing) and I ran out of steam (message) after ten minutes. Thankfully I had been reading my Bible and had written some things in the margin of my Bible that became my sermon on short notice. The Lord blessed and the people seemed to enjoy what I had shared. Whether they appreciated it because it was better than nothing I’ll never know, they were gracious. That experience as a young man, when serving as a deacon, led me to something I did a number of times over the years as a pastor. Believing that deacons should be able to step in at a moments notice to meet special needs in the local church, I would prepare a very brief outline of a message: Topic, point 1, 2, 3, 4 and a Scripture verse for each, typed up on separate 3 x 5 cards. Without warning on Sunday evening, just before the service, I would pass those cards out among the deacons and ask them to present that part of the message at sermon time. They had about a half hour during the song service to gather their thoughts from the topic and verse given to present their portion of the sermon. The deacons gained an experience in ministry and we had great fellowship doing this. It also helped prepare the deacons to minister on a moments notice if needed. When you think this through, we are often caught in situations where we need to give an answer for our faith and share a witness among others without warning. Deacons, as well as all believers, are to become familiar with their Bibles and be prepared to witness on a moments notice. So, I utilized such means to get our people thinking and sharing their faith. Who does such a thing in these days when churches demand such professionalism and degrees or doctorates for their pastors? I had to learn to minister through experience and opportunities that my pastor gave me in those early years. Our churches should be giving their people an opportunity to learn and grow spiritually.
PIANISTS – Being a church planter I often struggled to find someone to play the piano as we start a new plant. Neither my wife, nor myself, knew how to play the piano. Music and a pianist are so important to a church and if you don’t have a pianist or a good singer to lead the music, the new church is handicapped. I recall starting the church in Clarinda, Iowa. Shortly after the beginning of our new work a schoolteacher who played the piano came our way. What a blessing. We also had a twelve-year-old girl who was taking piano lessons and she asked me if she could play the piano for us. She had not learned to play hymns yet but I told her if she would promise to practice hymns I would make her my official Sunday School pianist. She meant business for the Lord and just about drove her parents crazy practicing. She made mistakes but we encouraged her and gave her an opportunity to so serve. A warning went out from me to the people to encourage her and to overlook her mistakes, which they did. It wasn’t long until she turned out to be a very nice church pianist. Young people that are willing to endeavor to serve the Lord should be given opportunities to do so. Everything in church does not have to be done by a professional; the church is to be a training center for believers to learn to serve the Savior. New church plants often give people an opportunity to grow and serve (out of necessity) that too seldom happens in larger more established works, seeking a greater degree of professionalism. I suppose, living in a day of polished entertainment via TV, etc., people are expecting the same of their churches and they fail to recognize the local church as a training center where believers can prepare and learn to serve.
GAS PRICES – Thankfully I am not driving the many miles I use to have to drive, with such high gas prices now. I can remember 22 and 23 cents a gallon for gas. The rising gas prices are going to ruin our economy if the government does find a way to bring it under control. At one time I thought maybe ethanol was going to help but the more I think about it, the more I believe it is the wrong direction to take. The cost of its production and what it takes away from the food market is counter productive. There is no way we can meet the need for energy with ethanol. Trying to do so is running up the cost of grains that may lead to shortages and higher prices for food. If the politicians would stop being led around with a ring in their noses by the environmentalist’s cry of global warming, they might come up with a solution. We have plenty of oil available if they will only allow for it to be drilled and if they would allow for the development of new refineries. The huge profits of oil companies are nothing less than greed, pure and simple. Can you imagine the benefits and corrections for this problem if more of those huge profits were being applied to the creation of newer and better energy resources? They advertise they are doing so but the evidence is not any too apparent. If the additives the oil companies are required to put in gasoline to meet the California pollution standards were applied to all the gas produced, there would be better mileage per gallon than we are presently experiencing. But then the oil companies would not be able to sell quite as much gas. Check out the following lengthy inter-net ad: “Gas Secrets” marketing@solitairelogbook.net about additive savings.
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