A SAMPLE DAY IN THE LIFE OF THIS PASTOR

There are those in this world (I used to be one of them) who joke (I hope it’s joking) that pastors
only work two days per week, Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Since yesterday was one of those two
days, I will share the events of the day.

My day began, as always, with my time alone with God in prayer and in His Word. I am a fan of
A. W. Tozer’s writings and read from his works daily. I also read from another of my favorite
authors, Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy. Some of what I gleaned from those two men
of God will be presented in upcoming blogs.  I am also currently reading Sunday School in HD.

Once at the church office, I had a brief meeting with the senior pastor.  Our meeting was followed by our staff prayer time. Each week the staff at Deltona Lakes Baptist church gathers for a time solely devoted to prayer.  Our prayers focus on lifting up the church, praying for our community,  and interceding for individuals inside and outside our congregation.

PAUSE:
Just a side note, while I was teaching at a public school in Louisiana, several of the teachers
would gather once a week to pray for each other, our students, and the school as a whole. Each
semester we would meet weekly in one of our classrooms for prayer (proof that prayer is still allowed in public schools).

PLAY:
Following prayer time the senior pastor and I attended a lunch with other pastors in our city. While we talked about various topics from fishing to football, the primary topic was . . . guess what . . . prayer. We actually began our meeting by praying for each other, then talking about city-wide, prayer gatherings for the upcoming year. At the end of the meeting we prayed for each other again (imagine that).

Back at the church office I worked on writing this week’s Bible study lesson for our “Vintage” Sunday night study. The series is called “Bible Characters on Character.”  At present, the group is in week three of exploring Solomon’s character and how it applies to our character. We use an explore and discover style of study that requires great thought into well worded questions. Writing a character study also demands lots of commentary research to correctly present a person’s character.

I worked through the evening making several phone calls.  Among those calls were two lengthy conversations that involved encouraging others in ministry. I then began work on another project until about 8:00 PM.

There are several young men who I meet with on a weekly basis. All of young men believe God
is calling them into some area of pastoral ministry. Last night I met with three of them at
Wendy’s for a light supper and fellowship. Several deep theological discussions later (actually it
was one long discussion), we closed the restaurant and headed home. Not surprising, the
discussion spilled out into the parking lot for a few additional minutes.

MY POINT?
I’m not trying to prove anything about how hard or easy my job is to do. Nor is it to
prove to anyone that I actually do something. My point is I love what I do! Most of all I love
serving God and especially how HE is constantly challenging me and stretching me to grow.

Oh, and today began much the same, only I stopped to write in my blog.

Brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (HCSB)

A WORD ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP...

    Life is about change, everything changes. There are two ways things change, they either grow or they diminish, some things change quickly, while some others extremely slow. Some changes are for the better (even if they don’t appear that way at first), while other changes are for the worse.

    The change that God values and supports, begins inwardly and then manifests itself in improved “spiritual” behavior and life style.  Since Jesus is the author of faith (He 12:1-2) it requires focusing on his life, imitating his behavior, and evaluating our own motives.  Religion, on the other hand, demands that we change our behavior in hopes that it will spur, instill, or implement inward transformation, which almost never happens.

    The following is excerpted from Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard:

VIM is derivative of the Latin term “vis” meaning direction, strength, force, vigor, power, energy, or virtue:  . . . If we are to be spiritually formed in Christ, we must have and must implement the appropriate V-vision, I-intension, and M-means. 

        And Here in a nutshell is the explanation of the widespread failure ot attain Christian maturity among both leaders and followers . . .  That is why today you find many professing Christians circling back to non-Christian sources to resolve the problems of their inner life.

        Instead of inward transformation, some outward form of religion–often today even called “a spirituality”– is taken or imposed as the goal of practical endeavor.  What is then important is to be a “good _____” (you can fill in the blank). . . . The individual even enforces it upon himself or herself as what is “obviously” right. But, whatever the details, authentic inward transformation into Christlikeness is omitted.  It is not envisioned, intended, or achieved. (pp 85-86)