At Council this year, I purchased A.B.: The Unlikely Founder of a Global Movement, by David Jones. I started reading it by the pool in Orlando and had almost finished it by the time the plane landed back in Sacramento. It is worth reading for those of us in the CM&A family.

I got into my car, looked out the windshield and I see she has been there.  I sit down in front of my television to turn it on, and I see she has been there.  I sit down in my dining room and look into the back yard.  She has been there too.

It set out to be a normal shopping trip. It was cloudy when I left the house. Just as I arrived at my destination the clouds burst open and a drenching rain poured down. As I parked the car, I watched as people scurried to avoid getting soaked. Most were dressed (as I was) in summer clothes not expecting such a drastic change in the weather.

Do you want to hear a true confession? Sometimes over the course of the last twenty-four years I have not always liked being in the ministry. The professional ministry I mean. I love it now (honestly!) but there have been times in the past where I have said in frustration, “I would rather be pumping gas!”

Other pastors I know have expressed a similar sentiment from time to time. It seems that the long hours and the conflicts in the congregation take an emotional toll. One gets tired and asks, “Why am I doing this?” In the weariest moments the answer may not be apparent.