random thoughts on life and religion

I’m now on week seven of my interim pastorate. I didn’t really know what to expect at this point. The last several weeks have been more difficult than I expected, but at the same time more rewarding. God’s taught me a tremendous amount about myself, my ministry style, and my walk with him. As I’ve studied the Sermon on the Mount in preparation to my Sunday sermons, God’s really shown me how his words apply to me. I’m loving it.

I think the thing I’m learning most poignantly is how much I need to rely on God to accomplish anything. There have been times in the last several weeks where I just stared blankly at my passage, saying “wha…?” Every week, though, it’s come together–usually in a way I totally didn’t expect. I can’t help but believe that’s God, guiding my words and using me to communicate his message. It’s an incredible feeling, to believe that you’re being used by God to accomplish his will in the lives of his people.

I’ve gotten positive feedback for what’s been done. It’s hard for me to accept that, because I truly believe that God deserves all the credit. I recognize, though, that the words people are saying is a way that they are ministering to me, and so I accept the compliments gladly, while recognizing and remembering that ultimately the glory is God’s.

I hope that, at the end of my ministry time here at PBC, I’ll have helped to affect change. In the end, though, God’s will is always done. I trust that as long as I’m in the place I should be, God will use me to accomplish his goals.