A Musing for April 26

Perhaps you’ve heard …
A pastor places his order at the pet store: "I need at least 50 mice, 2000 ants and as many of those little silverfish you can get." The clerk replies, "We can probably do that, but it might take some time. Mind if I ask why you are placing such an unusual order?" The pastor replies, "I've accepted a call to another church and the church council told me to leave the office the way I found it."

Thankfully, I’m not that pastor. But I have accepted a call to another congregation. I leave ECBC with mixed feelings. I will miss you all very much, especially the children.

I’m thankful to all of you who help with Kids Together and with the brief Kids Club program. You all have special gifts for ministry and caring with the children. I will keep you all in my prayers.

Who will take my place?
The late Cyril Homer, an Army Chaplain, was filling the pulpitfor a minister who was out of town. He stated, "No one can really take the placeof your pastor. In fact, I feel like a piece of cardboard used to temporarily replacea broken window pane."After the service, a little old lady approached him and said, "Brother Homer, you're not a piece of cardboard. You're a real pane!"

You will need to evaluate the situation at ECBC. I believe that the Children’s Minister position has merit. You all worked very hard to develop this ministry and also in the search process. I believe that it will be to your benefit to reevaluate your work in the light of my ministry with you. In many ways, I feel like I let you down, but I know that the Lord will bless all of us as we seek to do God’s will. ECBC has many gifted church members; I encourage all of you to do your part for the children’s ministry.

Can he go to another denomination?
A Baptist pastor approached one of his church leaders, "Brother Jones, I heard you became a Mennonite. It just doesn't seem like you. You have been a Baptistall your life!""Pastor," Mr. Jones responded, "I just learned that I have a month to live and I thought it would be better for them to lose one of theirs than for us to lose one of ours!"

Hopefully my logic is better than that. Baptists share some history and beliefs with our Mennonite cousins. In the end, God isn’t going to ask us if we were Baptists or Mennonite or Catholic for that matter, but rather if we fully put our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In the meantime, we need to be where we feel God wants us to be.

For the past seven months, God wanted me to be with you. I trust my ministry with you was meaningful and that the Lord worked in our midst. I believe that God has better things in store for both of us. The main thing is for all of us to remain open to the Lord’s leading in our lives, and willing to trust God and not our own instincts.

You are welcome to visit the Maple Grove Mennonite Church. The meeting house is at 549 Swan Road, about ¾ of a mile north of Atglen and about 1.5 miles south of Route 30 (first right past Country Gardens). Sunday morning services begin at 10:30.

May our Lord lead you in God’s ways this week and always.

Pastor Steve

This Week’s Motto: Omne finis novo initio est (“Every ending is a new beginning”)