October 31, 2006
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I will ask you to pray as a vote is coming tomorrow to eliminate the Associate Pastor position (at the church I am a part of), which was just created about a year and a half ago. I like the Associate Pastor but above and beyond that, I just want to see God’s will done on this situation, whatever that may be. I don’t pretend to know all the reasoning behind this but I see the trend to run the church as a business and also to have not given this enough time to work before deciding to take it all in a different direction. Again, I don’t know enough to judge but it reminds me of the people warned not to drift to the left and to the right on every wave of doctrine that comes their way.
My wife and I drove our daughter 500 miles to Albany, NY to visit her boyfriend last Thursday morning, returning on Sunday. What a disaster! On the way there a truck whipped over in front of us and threw up a stone, which chipped the windshield. While there we visited Ruby Tuesday which normally has great steaks but not at that location. They were quite chewy. The next day we went to a place called Grandma’s, were you’d expect to eat some good home cooked meals, but I had the worst lasagna I ever ate. It was mushy and stone cold in the middle. I should have went to an Italian restaurant. The next day we ate at a place called Garcia’s, a Mexican restaurant. I love Mexican food and eat at several Mexican places around here often but the food at Garcia’s was about the blandest excuse I’ve ever had for Mexican food. The locals seemed to love it and I can only assume they’ve never had real Mexican food cooked by Mexicans.
On Saturday morning we were sitting in a diner having breakfast when my wife noticed the rear tire was almost flat on the car. I pumped it up with a small compressor I carry in the car right in the middle of a driving rainstorm. We went to Wal-Mart to see if we could get it checked but they told me there was a four hour wait, though I saw people standing around in the garage talking and only one car being serviced, even though there were people standing around waiting. Praise God He led us to a Mobil station down the road from the hotel that actually worked on cars and they fixed it for us right away. Their efficient work and friendly demeanor may have been the highlight of the trip for me. On the way home my wife hit a pothole and bent the rim on one of the front tires, though, praise God again, it hasn’t leaked.
As for Albany, I don’t think I’ve ever traveled in a town that had more confusing road signs. It is hard to find your way around and you sit in traffic waiting at lights so much, your gas mileage really suffers. All in all, I don’t anticipate ever returning to Albany, NY. I will say that we did enjoy a day of walking around the main street of Saratoga Springs, NY. It was quite an interesting place with its historical looking buildings and interesting shops.
As for the daughter’s visit, she found out how much men can act differently when in a different location and with different friends. I don’t think she wants to go back again either.
Be Blessed!
God IS Good!
Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!
You're Invited!!.
Comments (5)
wow, sounds like you should have stayed home~!
I hope your church vote comes out the way you hope.
*hugs*
you know, about that cracked windshield. if the crack length is less than a dollar bill most insurances cover it at no cost to you.
Well, Dale, I will stick my two cents in. I think that if you, who are so involved in your church, are not sure exactly why the assistant pastor position is being eliminated, something is very wrong. Decisions of this nature should be open and thoroughly discussed within the church body betfore any vote should be taken. I belong to a Baptist church, and I know that Methodist churches are run in a different manner, but this sounds wrong. What does your church constitution say about adding or removing positions? What does the constitution say about who makes decisions? To some extent a church must be run like a business as far as paying bills and not obligating the church body to debts that it cannot pay. It must also have a chain of command, the head being the Lord Jesus Christ. If the foundation of this decision is not much prayer, then the church is floundering. If the church finds that the assistant pator's salary and whatever benefits go with the job are beyond the budget, my question is this - If you prayed and believe that God led you to create this position a year and half ago, then perhaps the problems if the giving and not the postion. Concepts such as thithing are not so popular with people today, but that does not make them less Bibical. If this position was created after prayer and now it does not seem to be filling a need, again look at what the church is doing with it. If God directed your church to have an assistant pastor, maybe the problem is how this position is being used, and the church needs to pray for guidance. If this position was not created as the result of God's direction, then the church leaders need to examine how they are leading. The church is not man's institution, but God's bride, created to serve Him on earth.
By the way, in the very late 60's I lived in upstate New York. I loved living in the Finger Lake region (Watkins Glen). The my husband was transfered to Albany. We lived in Guilderland, a suburb of Albany, and the winter of 1960-1970 was the most miserable winter I have ever had. Having also lived in such "snow states" as Maine and New Hampshire, I will take them any day over Albany. Isn't it funny, now I live in New Albany, Indiana!
Carol
I hope your Thanksgiving went better than all this.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Hi Dale, God bless you this Christmas. Allison and I are doing good. have a blessed Holyday season.
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