“Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you” (1 Peter 5:7 TLB).
Three Conversations from Wednesday
Conversation One:
Each Wednesday the Baptist pastors from Atlantic Canada come together for a live panel discussion, including questions from the “the floor.” There are usually around a hundred of us in these virtual meetings. The topic that day was regarding the mental health of the pastor, giving us some practical advice and some telltale signs that things may not be going well.
Here is a summary of that ninety-minute discussion: We have never done this before [ministering in a time of mandatory social distancing]; we are making it up as we go along, so don't be too hard on yourself (I’m not); we are in a marathon, so don’t sprint, rather, slow it down to a steady pace (I was sprinting, but I’ve brought it down to a jog); limit new things (I started a blog, recorded Sunday messages, and set up live Zoom for Bible study. And I’m considering how to do live Communion – time for me to limit new things); and stay connected (the blog helps, the Zoom-meetings help, the phone helps – but I hope these will be short-term solutions).
NOTE: I do mental self-assessment checks, and I want everyone to know that this pastor is doing fairly well!
“James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me” (Gal. 2:9 ESV).
Conversation Two:
Starting last week, my Band-of-Brothers group gets together right after the CBAC meeting. When I was in NB, we used to get together once a month to check in on each other. Three pastors (and very close friends), living forty-five minutes apart, checking in on each other's personal and ministry lives. I’ve missed them and we’ve now decided, in our isolation, to get the band together through Zoom. Today we talked about the CBAC discussion and our own personal levels of anxiety. My own have been a bit of a roller coaster these last few weeks. We encouraged each other, rebuked each other, loved each other. I had missed this interaction, and I’m glad we’ve resumed “meeting.” (At least one positive from this social-distancing mandate).
“Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 ESV).
Conversation Three:
This one went into the wee hours of the morning. I chatted through Facebook with an old friend of mine, Dan. He contacted me when I commented on an Alice Cooper album cover he had posted. He was one of the “gang” back in high school (Germany). His brother Barry hosts a “Beer & Brats” reunion for some of the Germany gang every year (Trenton, ON). I’ve never gone, since I am not one to “live in the past.” Put your head on the plow and don’t look back.
I had heard from Barry that my old friend had ALS in an advanced form. It’s very debilitating and makes it difficult to speak or even get out. I chatted with Dan that night on messenger – for the first time in over thirty years. We talked a little about old times, a lot about his illness, and about how he doesn't like seeing people because he’s embarrassed that others have a hard time understanding his impeded speech. He said it would be good to see me. I agreed that I’d love to see him too (thinking I may not have too many chances). Thirty years, and I didn’t even know I missed him, until that night.
I don’t subscribe to “all good things come in threes.” What I do subscribe to is James 1:17, “But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow” (TLB). The panel from CBAC is a good thing from above. Getting together with my band of brothers is a good thing from above. Chatting with an old friend is a good thing from above – and the good things from above do not stop at three. The good things from above continue to shower down upon us, and will not stop until His Kingdom comes!
The good things from above continue to shower down upon us, and will not stop until His Kingdom comes!
I hope to attend the next “Beer & Brats.” And what I don’t consume in beer, I will make up in brats. :) It's a strange feeling, missing someone – so intensely – whom I haven't seen, or barely thought of, in over thirty years. Was it God’s prompting? I’m keeping my head on the plow, not looking back, but looking forward to my reunion with Dan.
And maybe, just maybe, that reunion will also be in Heaven.
“Is anyone among you suffering? He should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually be singing praises to the Lord” (James 5:13 TLB).
