Pastor’s Corner

(January 2011)

Thin Ice

A couple weeks ago I was talking with my son after he returned from an ice-fishing trip. Our discussion turned to the topic of thin ice and the dangers associated with not knowing your environment or how to safely judge the thickness of the ice. Many times I have used the expression with our kids that they are on thin-ice indicating they have pushed the limits of my patients or grace. This got me to thinking about my own life. Are there areas in my life where the ice is thin? If you have ever been ice fishing you are consciously aware of those words of warning spoken near or around thin-ice, “Do Not Step Here”. One misstep could cause you to plummet through the ice into the frigid water below.

What many of us fail to realize is that we have within us areas of the soul that speak those words of alarm as well, “Do Not Step Here.” Yet, somehow, mostly through our own neglect we allow others to trample all over our “fragile things”, and then we wonder why we don’t seem to have the energy and feel like we are sinking.

Often people, who are in service to others, and especially those who are Christians, often believe that they must give all they have all the time to all who ask wherever they may ask it. As a pastor I know that I am guilty of trying to meet everybody’s needs and fear letting anyone down. The unhealthy expectation of a good pastor is that he/she is always there for everyone whenever they need them. I’m beginning to realize the toll this can take on a person physically, mentally and spiritually.

Jesus was very intentional about his work. He did not heal all of the people in Jerusalem. He did not raise all the dead. He knew his mission, and he stuck to it. He was also very conscious about his boundaries.

In the morning when Mary saw Jesus after his resurrection, he told her, “Do not touch me.” Yet, later, that very same afternoon, he allowed Thomas to plunge his hands into his wounds. Part of guarding your thin ice is recognizing when and where and how to raise and lower your personal boundaries at appropriate times.

I have been in pastoral ministry for 16 years and I am still passionate about the ministry and the people I have been called to be in ministry with. I am amazed sometimes of how much energy is poured out of me toward the vision, mission, administration and the people I’m called to be in ministry with. It is awesome to see how the Holy Spirit works through the laughter and tears and life changing dynamic of God’s people, but it is also demanding and overwhelming at times.

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of leading a group of people on a spiritual pilgrimage knows that to stay fully focused on the task and the people in front of you, you have to drop your shields, filters, and barriers so that the Holy Spirit can flow and guide you. This means that at times you are vulnerable and exposed.

What I have failed to realize is how fragile these years of ministry have left me. Through the encouragement of our Staff Parish Relations Committee and the District Superintendent I realized that I needed to take some time apart to allow my cup to be refilled, or I’d have nothing more to give. I realize that my energetic relationship with God is on thin ice and cannot be sustained at that level without my taking time apart, alone, in order to be refilled.

Jesus did the same thing. He took time regularly to draw apart, pray, and be refilled for the draining work that he was to do each day. His fragile thing was a unique, intense, one-on-one relationship with God the Father, and he did not let others trample on or barge into or interrupt that time. I want to personally thank you all for your support and understanding in granting me this time for spiritual renewal. I know that I will return spirit filled and renewed in my relationship with God and I will be a better pastor to you because of it.

When Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple, Jesus said in anger, “My Father’s house is a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). Jesus knew that this connection- the fragile thing of prayer- needed to be nurtured and guarded and tended each day. As I ponder this passage I wonder where I have let thieves set up their tables and begin to haggle with me, keeping me in effect, from entering my relationship with God. Time spent in prayer, time for meditation, time alone- these are just some of the ways to guard and respect your fragile things. Jesus taught us to respect the fragile things in our lives or else we can fall through the ice and sink.

I challenge you in this new year to a time of personal reflection to name the most fragile thing in your life? How are you guarding and respecting the boundaries surrounding it? Do you feel like you’re standing on thin ice? What might you need to do to reclaim it? Finally, how might your relationships and your life transform when you allow your fragile things the time and space they need?

Wishing you all a blessed New Year,

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                                                                                                         aaron

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    Statement
-Seeking God’s purpose-
-Offering God’s love-
-Nurturing God’s world-
  

      Vision  

    Statement
We believe God has called us to reach the unchurched of our community with the good news of Jesus Christ; to equip them with a faith that works in real life; and to send them out with a purpose and a passion to serve Jesus in the world.