Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


5.06.2007  

Brown, Not Really Barren

Alright. Despite my great and, at times, paralyzing fears, I didn't see Dr. Brand with his shirt off. Therefore, I can say with gratefulness that I've not acquired retina scarring while in Michigan. What I did see, however, was much scarier and sobering than a big, shirtless man.

In Michigan, I was to accompany Dr. Brand while he gave a series of lectures on Apologetics. The group was small, not much more than twenty, maybe thirty, but that was not at all indicative of the preparatory labors involved in getting Dr. Brand there. I was reminded of what it's like in the "real world." I saw a pastor, Barry, whose commitment to an unwilling and biblically illiterate congregation and community has yielded...well...not a whole lot.

At least, not yet.

I almost felt like Barry was a farmer who was showing me his freshly tilled field. No prize-winning tomatoes, gargantuan watermelons, or sweet corn awaited my gaze. Not even a few green sprouts breaking the brown soil in a straight line as evidence of his diligence were there. Instead, he showed me his vast, barren field, and smiled.

And you know what? I smiled back.

It reminded me that as a pastor, Barry's done a lot of back-breaking work that doesn't yield immediate fruit. He's done the hard work first, the work that will provide the nutritious, root-friendly ground that will allow his work to weather the storms of life for the long haul. It reminded me that often times, I'll prize the spiritual giants who take home the blue ribbons of our faith, the guys who've been faithful through the thick and thin of life. Nevertheless, I need to remember that the hard, thankless work is often what goes into such prized longevity.

Thanks, Barry.

posted by Bolo | 1:38 AM
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