Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are
divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it.
As soon as this new pastor was installed this gentlemen invited the new pastor to go fishing with
him. On the first try the pastor left the fishing gear in the car and didn't realize this until their boat
was 50 feet out in the middle of the pond. So the man offered to let the pastor use one of his
poles--which got tangled in the brush and broke the line. The man offered to row back to get the
pastor's gear but the pastor insisted he had been troubled enough. So the pastor stepped out of
the boat and started walking across the water. At this point the man thought to himself, "That
figures, the new pastor can't even swim."
This story reminds us that it is easy to find fault with our Christian leaders, and we can get way
off track to what is really important. Our world badly needs our churches to places of love,
forgiveness, grace and healing.
(1 Corinthians 11.18
NRSV)
Maybe you have heard the ridiculous story of a Pastor Nominating Committee that chose a
candidate for pastor. When the committee brought the nomination back to the church for
approval all but one of the congregation confirmed the selection. The one member who voted no
had no real objection to the pastor but he had always enjoyed fishing with the former pastors and
he just knew this pastor would not enjoy fishing.
God of peace, bring peace to my church as we work to be effective in touching people's lives
with your love. Amen.
