Where is Ministry?

Somehow in the living of life I was told in many ways that ministry is something you are called to, and you surrender to, and find a job "in" it.

At 54 I've begun to sing a different tune. Many of my contemporaries and friends for decades live as if ministry "is" their life. They pour their every waking hours into some form of organized ministry. Children suffer, families suffer and we go to bed at night hoping we did all we could do in our ministries that day and week, and that that end self justifies our ways and means.

We model that to generations and show them that more hours means more ministry... Really? Thankfully there are new generations of Jesus lovers that have seen the ending of that movie too many times and are looking for new paths. Thank you Jesus!

I took the above photo of a boy in a village in Italy one afternoon. It reminds me that he is the picture of what I think ministry is. Here's my phrase. "Ministry is NOT your life. Your Life IS your ministry". Whomever you are, whatever gifts God has blessed you with; you sow.

That's it. Pretty simple. Wherever you are, wherever you go, there IS your ministry.

Private Ryan knelt down and listened to the last words of the man who gave his life to save Ryans life... " Make Your Life Count!" It haunts me. As Ryan stood in the end of the picture at the captains grave on Normandy, with family all around, he asked his wife and family to speak to the grave. " Tell them I was a good man. That I lived a good life" Well, that's all there is.

Can't watch it without tears streaming.

Make it count. Don't worry about where you work, worry about how you love.

Don't worry about what others do, or look like or act like. Love them, open your arms, stop pointing fingers and open your arms for Gods sake.

That IS God. Let Him point fingers while we pray for His spirit to captivate our hearts and change our darkness to light each day. I love the expression "when you point your finger there are three pointing back at you". However true, three doesn't excuse the one.

I try so hard in my humanness to pray for that ability each day. To look past the obvious to what and how I could share God's love, grace and mercy to others in my coming and going.

This last week? The girl at the coffee shop who had an incredible smile and joy to be serving coffee. I handed her a five dollar bill and told her, that her smile was such an incredible gift.

I KNOW that she was a believer and didn't want to tell her "I know you love Jesus so here's 5 bucks..." I wanted her to realize that one of her God gifts was to smile and that it affected people. I hope she thought I was a non Jesus follower so that she would be all the more blessed.

Then on a hospital visit, alone at an elevator, a frantic doctor in uniform passes me asking if I worked there. i said no. In a panic he said, my sons outside they're towing his car, they wont take C.C's or a check. I said "check with your pharmacy,they might have cash." He said I need 50 bucks, do you have 50?. I said no and he turned and ran in a panic. I yelled. I have a 100.00..

Oh my god you've saved my life. let me write you a check. give me your card. what can I do for you he said. I dropped the hundred on the table and said "i don't want your check" just go take care of your son. Oh the look in his eyes. PRICELESS!! God inspiring,!

I said, let's meet, you buy me a drink or we'll play golf or something down the road.

He rattled off the top 3 private courses in the state and said we'll play any of them as he ran off.

So , what's God gonna do in all of that one? hmmm. Maybe nothing that I'll see.

Might already be done. The bird seed of God was sown. Now we wait for the next chapter.

Today was the nurse in the hospital where I went to have my torn calf muscle looked at.

Somehow "she" got to faith and life. I told her i liked her ankle tattoo and said I was looking for the "right" one for my forearm. She said. "A Pastor.. can have a tattoo? I laughed.

The next 10min. were such a great "God" liberating conversation.

Then I went to the doctor. She had a big brown spot on one of her Iris's.

I said. Look at you. What a gift to have such a special mark on your eye. So special.

Did you ever get grief for it? Well that opened the floodgates of conversations about people being cruel and mean and how they don't understand how cool it is when God gives us something special. I told her she had a remarkable joy in her giving of herself in her practice and I saw it poured over her like living water...

She saw I was a minister on my charts, I didn't need to get heavy. I let her eat the bird food and left.

What's the next chapter.

Who do I get the blessing of throwing bird seed to tomorrow.. Can't wait.

Hope I don't get off on the wrong foot and step in some doo doo, and start feeding gravel and throwing stones to those along the road, assuming God gives me another day to breathe His air in this gift of a body he gave me to dwell in.

What's gonna be written in your pages tomorrow. Pretty exciting. You might have to slay a dragon or take a bullet or confront the devil, but through it all God will give you the opportunity to throw some bird seed. Eat the Word, Pray for Grace and fill your pockets with good food. You are the ministry... where ever you are, and i love you for that.. just the way you are.