First Love

As a Corps officer it is so easy to get tied down by the bussiness of ministry: Budgets, Statistics, Fundraising, Programing, Writing Sermons, Counseling, going to officers councils. It is easy to get bitter or at least tired and "cranky". We all go through it and i don't just mean Corps officers, other denominational clergy and other full time christian workers. All believer' can from time to time grow weary in doing good.



Recenty i was reading an article by the general (the Salvation Army's international Leader) about stress and in the article he mentioned that Officership is about being not doing. I believe that can be extended to all Christians. "Christianity is about being not doing" When I read those words they gave me pause.

The activities that God used to call me into his service are happening all around me. I had been letting everyone else do the ministry while i focused on trying to fund it and plan for the future in the meantime i was getting tired and cranky.

So this year i took responcibility for our 'mondayschool' program called "Carpenter's Kids" (for which my wife is grateful) we have anywhere between 15 and 30 Kids many of whom are completely new to the church. Yesterday after an opening chorus sing with Corps Sergant Major Josh Jones (he hatse titles so i use it when ever i can) we went down stairs and made Pizza from scratch.

But there were a few problems:

1. The corps doesn't have a measuring cup. (we will now)
2. after miss calculating the water to floor ration we added a floor like substance that we found in the food pantry.

Imagine our face when the pizza began to rise.


I went home my uniform covered in floor thanking God for the best progam i have lead since I was a unit leader at camp.

The Problem is not not that i miss youth work or other kinds of ministry, that's happening all around me. The problem is that we (I) can get so caught up in getting making sure nothing goes wrong that we miss the joy and beauty of what's happening right under our noses. By being what God has called me to be it is so much easier to enjoy what i am required to do.

We ate the Pizzkets and there were no complaints. GOD is Good