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Two recent events have tested my emotional equilibrium. They've also shed light on the work of pastors.
Event #1
The Pastor and Worship Leader - that's two people - from the church I grew up in are being redirected to their next assignment from Above. Randall and Melanie Burns have served Military Street Baptist Church for 33 faith-filled years. I cannot fathom such a feat, particularly in today's day and age.
Pastors are in the people business, where winnowing can become downright messy. Try doing that in a small isolated town where everybody knows everyone else's business. But this duo stayed the course through highs and lows.
I've had a bird's eye view of at least the first two decades of their ministry, even though I have not lived in Houlton, Maine, since college. My mother worked as the pastor's secretary, then as the financial secretary for the church.
But my connection to the Burnses goes much deeper. Mom also served as an adopted grandmother for the couple's children. She loved that role, and she loved them.
I do too. How could I not? We became friends. They took a long road trip before a working Sunday to sing at our wedding. Randall counseled us and performed such a meaningful and personal service at Mom's funeral. Debbie and I both love them.
I'm talking about two humble God-lovers with high standards who pursue their callings with passion and excellence, both gifted musically with a rich understanding of the Scriptures and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. And willing to speak the truth in love even when compromising it might have made relations easier. Any Bible-believing church in America would have done well to hire these two talented servants. And I'm sure the Burnses could have landed at any of those churches had they chosen to.
Their send-off rocked me. It seemed an emotional paradox of celebration and grief. Believe me, the loss is palpable even from fifteen hundred miles away.
The 33-year love affair between servants, congregants, and townsfolk ended with such grace and aplomb. Wow did they finish that assignment well! Committed to that ministry with such earnestness until the very end. And dearly loved by those they leave behind.
But God has opened a new chapter. And a new chapter can't be written without closing the current one.
Why has this rocked my world, even though they are relocating two hours from our home in Tennessee, where we can see them more often?
This couple was an institution in a hometown I love and appreciate. I took so many trips to Houlton on weekends during my thirty years living in Bangor, Maine. They were a constant for a chunk of those years. Thinking of them will always remind me of my mother. They honored her.
I can't imagine the emotions people in that church, let alone the Burnses themselves, are feeling now. But God already knows what the future holds, and it will be oh so good!
Event #2
This past weekend, recovering from a cold, I skipped my usual Saturday night chat session on Needhim.org. But I decided to take one chat on Sunday evening before getting an earlier start on another night of restorative sleep.
Immediately upon signing in, up came a chat. I opened it, and to my shock, the chatter's IP address placed her in a location I know well. After she introduced her problem, I recognized her. I also know people in her life and others around her who could help her.
It was her first-ever entry into our portal. I'm one of hundreds of volunteers for Needhim.org, and I take chats worldwide but only a few each week. If anyone doubts the existence of God, I offer this highly improbable "coincidence" as Exhibit One.
I'm still befuddled as to why God chose me to help her. I'm also frustrated that I couldn't do more. As a confidential service with no capability of following up, I couldn't disclose my identity nor reveal hers and therefore my hands were tied. I tried my best to speak truth and hope into her situation and share resources to help her, but after three hours, she drifted unannounced into the night. Maybe she fell asleep or inadvertently lost her connection. Perhaps someone else lost it for her. Shrouded in secrecy and destined to swallow her alive without further intervention, her issue and her circumstances broke my heart. I longed to connect her with people on the ground there who I know could help her.
I've lost sleep and work time over the emotion of that exchange and my inability to do more for her. I rarely see the end of these stories, but somehow when it's personal, it's costlier.
Pastors
These two events have caused me to think about pastors. Oh, how easy it is to take them for granted.
Effective pastors have inordinate demands on their time. I've been a beneficiary of several wonderful pastors who have given freely of their time, wisdom, and comradeship. They have too little time to go around. No shortage of people will suck them dry with personal problems they'll choose to do nothing about, only to come back time and again over the same issue.
Pastors hold deep within them many secrets too sensitive to share with other people. They honor the people they serve with not only their wise biblical counsel but also their tight lips.
I have a new appreciation for how heavy that weight can become. It must be so frustrating when a counselee seems unwilling or unable to grasp their God-given solutions.
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