I had the chance to see our friend Julie and her husband Tony last night at a prayer service in Los Angeles for Julie that God would heal her. Our hearts ache and our prayer is that God would quickly heal Julie. My friend Steve sums it up here.
I will get back to posting for the ten of you or so that stop by…Lord be with you!
After reading my buddy Steve’s blog this morning it made me think about yesterday and a conversation Deb and I had with some parents as we hung out with our kids at our children’s elementary school after church. It was the schools annual fundraiser and auction. It was a great day of music and fun. Many of our kids friends and their parents know that I’m a pastor. Some of our kids buddies and their families have even ventured over to church because of the friendships our kids have made at school which is kind of cool when you think about it. Kids are the best evangelists. As we hung out we were chatting with one set of parents when the conversation my wife started turned into a church shopping discussion. What I found interesting is that this parent made a comment that what she was looking for in a church was church that focused on peace, love, and service. She also commented that she wanted a place where her kids knew someone already. She commented that the church she was attending with her family was, “one of those hell fire and damnation,” churches. She even said our church seemed to be more about peace and love. Is this what folks are looking for today? A place where they feel all peaceful like and loving?
There are lots of things in life that we must learn how to deal with when it comes to first year pastorates. I have no doubt though learning to navigate through conflict has to be at the top of the list of learning how to cope and stay afloat in the life of the church. This especially exists in youth ministry. Conflict admidst students and their families is always something one will encounter working as a youth pastor. One of my old pastors lately has been dealing with how one should deal and navigate through conflict as Christians and how to deal with it biblically and in a Christ like manner in the life of the church. If you actually take the time to stop here, look here for what I have no doubt will be helpful to you and serve you well.