Not too much happened this past week so instead of filling you in on the ongoings of our lives, I thought I'd blog about a couple of interesting observations I've had recently. First off, just about every event, church-related or not, takes up a "freewill offering". Basically, they "pass the plate" in order to raise money. Maybe I ran in the wrong circles to notice this in the other places I've lived but it struck me a couple weekends ago at the Northern plains District Conference that having a "freewill offering" seems to be a pretty common occurrence around here. If anyone has any thoughts as to why this might be or has experienced this outside of a rural setting, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Second, everyone seems to call me "pastor." Not "Pastor Jeff" or "Pastor Higbie" mind you, but "pastor." It almost seems like a title of relationship (e.g. "mom" or "grandpa"). This isn't even just among people within our church but even those in the community who I barely know! I'm wondering if this is common among other ministers or if again this is something unique to our setting. I guess I'm glad that people know who I am but I don't want to give the sense that somehow I am spiritually more mature because of my position or that I can't possibly understand what's going on in people's lives because of it. If anyone has any thoughts about this I'd appreciate it.
This past Sunday I preached on Ezra 9 about "Corporate Repentance." If you'd like to listen to the sermon you can do so here. This coming week is the last in the series through Ezra. I am going to preach on Psalm 1 and 2 and in-between preach an Easter sermon before going on vacation for a week and then starting a year-long series through Matthew when I return.
Pray that God would continue to grow in me a heart for the people in the church and those in the community and a passion for seeking Him in His Word and prayer.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
2 comments:
Higbie, as a small town man myself, I can tell ya that it's meant as an honor. They call you Pastor to recognize your position and call in the body of Christ. Typically, it is not much more than that. But, there are many feelings (at least, there seem to be in rural communities) that Pastor's are to be honored as they take the lead and, thus, the more dangerous position, spiritually speaking. So, while you should never get a swelled head (I'll see to that), it is appropriate to realize that you are in a place of leadership and a high leadership at that. Just be aware as a shepherd for his flock.
Oops! By the way, that's me, Ben (username Spartacus).
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