Sermon On The Fly

This morning I went to a local church where they meet one hour earlier than my home church. My mission was to invite them to our praise & worship service this evening. I'd preached at this church before. When I walked in the door I was greeted with "Good, we've got a preacher after all". I thought they were kidding me, but no. Their pastor took the week off for holiday.

I asked if they were serious about wanting a sermon and they said that they weren't going to let me leave without one. I had prepared a sermon for our Sunday night service, and why I brought a copy of it with me to visit that church is beyond me. We all agreed that it was the Holy Spirit who put that sermon in my hands as I left this morning, because He knew it would be needed before tonight!

As I was leaving I thanked them for giving me an opportunity to do a first run with tonight's sermon...and asked them to come tonight to see the more polished version. God works in mysterious ways!

Circuit Riders - er - Make That Circuit Drivers

In our rural district there are lay speakers who drive 40 to 60 miles each Sunday to deliver the message. As one could well imagine, the churches they travel to are typically small in number, very small. Last summer when gas prices were through the roof, we had a real challenge with some of the speakers not being able to afford to make the trips. One was considering quitting the ministry in light of it costing about $20 to make the round trip to minister to a congregation that had only 6 people attending regular worship. We talked about it, prayed about it, and concluded that if only one person was in that out of the way church, it would still be worth it.

Next week I get to go to one of those small churches. It'll be the second time I've gone to this particular church. Something I've discovered about preaching to small congregations is that it's more personal and conversational. They talk back! There seems to be a stronger presence of the Holy Spirit when 2 or more - but less than 30 - are gathered in His name. That's been my experience. No need for a PA system, no choir, and most times, no standing behind a pulpit.

At first it was awkward ministering to such small congregations. Of late, it's more like visiting friends and sharing God's word in an interactive, personal way. I kinda like that!

Lifting Up Lay Speakers

I fill a role as custer coordinator for our lay speaking ministries in our district. In the past few weeks I've had the priviledge of conducting the requisite annual interviews with the lay speakers for whom I'm responsible. I come away from this task with a sense of awe.

These wonderful people are the ones who are the unsung heroes, doing visitation to nursing homes, prisons, assisted living centers, working as chaplains for hospice and more. Many hold down full time jobs but still find the time to be every bit as much a minister as our salaried pastors. God bless these wonderful members of The Body.

In the past few months I've recieved phone calls as late as 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday asking for a speaker to come to a church where their pastor was sick. Someone always answers the call. Plus, a number of the lay speakers volunteer to give messages at some of the multi-point charges where the pastor can only preach every other week. It keeps them feeling like they're still "going to church" by virtue of a speaker coming and preaching the word to them.

I'm so uplifted by these selfless people in their walk. Of 25 interviewed this past week, 4 said they would be willing to pastor a church if called upon to do so. Of course, one must realize, there is no paycheck given, no benefits, no parsonage...just filling the role of a pastor when and where the need presents itself.

I'm humbled to be associated with such fine servants.