I'm In A Club!

The Boys and Girls Club (B&GC) that is. I started volunteering there today. It was very reminiscent of my days as a day care worker. If you're not familiar with the B&GC, it's an afterschool program. It consists mainly of children that come from single parent homes or live with their grandparents. It has the opportunity to get to know their parents as well and could result in some Bible studies, but I really enjoy spending time with the children as well.

I got to help one boy with telling time. He did really well with it. Another boy had some problems reading, but with patience and work, he read the whole paragraph that was assigned to him, and it had some pretty hard words for him. These kids are in the first grade, I probably should have mentioned that. They kids had a snack and then we played Money Bingo. The BINGO cards have coins on them and the players have to figure out what amount of money is each square. A lot of the kids there have a good ways to go with counting money, but I know they'll get it by the end.

The first day brought along a bit of trouble though too. One of the kids had apparently been picked on on the bus ride to the the club. His reaction was to hit the bully in the face. Unfortunately, he seemed to be treated as the "bad kid." Now I understand that some kids tend to break the rules more often than others, but what I've come to find is that when you treat them like the bad kid, they act the part of the bad kid. They are just told they are bad, they are rarely encouraged to do what's right or told why they should do what's right. I was glad I had the opportunity to talk to about about what he did, why it was wrong and what he should have done. Maybe I'll have more time with him in the future.

Of course I tried to find a spiritual application to this as well. I already had a kid or two asking me if I would be back Wednesday. I don't know if I will or not as I do have priorities before B&GC like my family and the church here. It really surprised me that he asked that though. I also had one boy there who didn't know me at all come up and ask for help on his homework. I would think it had something to do with the fact that I was visibly forming a relationship with the kids from the start. They saw someone open, honest, and wanting to help. I think a lot of relationships within the church fail too because we as Christians fail to have this character. We show up, worship God or study the Bible and then go home. Almost every congregation seems to have someone that fits that build, even the smallest congregations. Throughout the New Testament we see the charge to aide and strengthen our brethren. This can only really be done when we show ourselves to be honest, open and wanting to help each other. Many times someone remains closed because no one has ever opened up to them, but as soon as someone opens up to them, the person that is usually as closed as a clam can't be stopped. Do you help people open up, or shut up?

Love you all,

Carl

Don't Taze Me Bro!

My Saturday nights are fairly routine. Ben usually goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 and then I go up to the church building to print off my sermons, class notes and the bulletin for Sunday morning. If I haven't already picked up the mail for the church before printing, I leave the building when all of the printing and folding is done and then head down to the post office.

Tonight was one of the special nights though. Occasionally I'll stop at the gas station that lies betwixt the two locations to pick up a drink and a snack for Kristen and myself. Kristen returned to a fridge that only had apple juice left as a drink so I decided to try and shine as a husband and get her a drink as well as the ice cream sandwich she'd reminded me she was wanting for much of the day.

I got to the gas station and a younger man, maybe around my age, was standing in front of the entrance and didn't seem to want to move. I squeezed past him, got what I came for and went to pay for it all. As I was waiting for the cashier to ring up my items, I noticed a small gathering by the window and that the man once blocking the door had moved to the other side of the parking lot. I saw a red dot on his chest and I assumed that someone at the window had a laser pointer and was just trying to confuse him. That's when I saw the police officer step into view...with a taser in hand. I don't know if the guy ever got tased or not, but he eventually went down to his knees, was cuffed, and then put in the back of a squad car.

While all of this was going on, the people within in the store were glued to the windows. They were both visibly and audibly excited. They all wondered what he had done. They all wondered who he was. It was the event of the night.

I paid for my items and left, and as I drove to the post office I began to wonder how many of those people would be excited to worship the God of Heaven and Earth the next day. A group of people near me were getting excited as a man hauled off to jail, yet how many of them would be excited to give praises of thanks to the God who gives them all breath? Why is it that we get excited over someone's life going down the drain, but for many, it takes every ounce of willpower one has to get out of bed Sunday morning to give praise to God?

Love you all,

Carl

Underpaid Preachers

I recently heard of a preacher or two for the Lord's church who made over $100,000 a year just as a preacher. That's impressive. I guess my first thought would have to be if that preacher and his family really need that much money a year, and I hope that the congregation puts even more towards making the Gospel available for all. Then I have to wonder if this preacher is underpaid?

Wait. A preacher makes at least $100,000 a year and I have the gall to suggest that he might be underpaid? I did indeed suggest that, but it doesn't mean what you probably think it means. At least in my mind, a preacher isn't truly paid in a check he receives every week, two weeks or month. Now don't get me wrong, congregations should support their preacher financially. It is an optional decision left up to the preacher and the congregation really, but the congregation should do what they can to financially support their preacher. I suppose we could have a full discussion about that, but I Corinthians 9 as a very good explanation of this.

Okay, so preachers should be supported financially if possible, but I know I've said that that wasn't what I was referring to earlier, so let's get to the heart of the matter. In my mind, the Gospel preacher doesn't find the true riches of his labor in a check from the treasurer, but from the growth of the congregation. Most preachers put in a lot more work than you think. The Bible classes they teach aren't just common knowledge to them, they have to study and compile the notes they use. Sermons take time to write, and are practiced and studied throughout the week. Most write a bulletin article every week and those don't just magically appear in the computer one day. No, it takes more study to produce those. That's every week too, unless someone fills in or the preacher is gone for some reason or another. On top of that, the preacher is expected to visit the sick and the shut-ins. They are expected to have families over and are expected to do the bulk of evangelism for the congregation. The thought that a preacher only works one day a week is far from the truth!

Now imagine that you've taken the time to put something together for a loved one. A husband, a wife, a child, a friend or just anyone you care about. You put time and effort into it and when it is presented to them, you just get a, "I appreciate that," and then the receiver just goes on unaffected by what you've put much effort into. I would guess that most preachers feel that way when members listen to sermons or classes or read articles that the preacher has invested his time into and walk away saying, "thanks" for it, but remaining largely unaffected or taking the time to consider the Word of God that has been taught. Not only does the preacher put time into what he does, but hopefully he puts love and concern for the souls of the world into it as well.

Where I preach, a young man will be filling in for me when my family travels to Memphis at the end of the month. When I arrived here, it was all he could do to get up and read the announcements. Now he'll be preaching the Gospel. That alone is a big "pay check" to me you might say. It lets me know that people are growing spiritually and wanting to work for the Lord. It reminds me why I chose the life I chose. No amount of money compares to being able to watch fellow Christians grow in wisdom and activity.

The next time you sit through a class or a sermon, or the next time you read and article in the church bulletin, please take time to consider how much time has been put into that. Take the time to thank him, to let him know how it helped you grow and what you've learned. Let him know just how much his work there means to you. Even if it just a few sincere words, it means a lot. Along with that, try to become more active. Get more involved with the work of the Lord in your area. Actions speak louder than words, especially to your preacher.

Please make sure that our preachers are not underpaid.

Love you all,

Carl

Introductions

Hi, I'm Carl, and I'm about to go meet my wife and son after being separated for almost a full week. It's been a bit rough, and a bit lonely, but that might be a good story for a different blog post.

I am a preacher, but before that I am a husband and a father, and before that I am a Christian. My goal in life is to be pleasing to God and follow His Word, and I whole heartedly believe that if do that, the whole husband/father/preacher will fall into place quite nicely.

I'm a bit blunt and a bit (understatement?) sarcastic, and I can thank my mom for that. I'm a nerd and I do enjoy computers and video games on almost any platform, and for that, I thank my dad. I enjoy reading and writing and being cliché, right? In all honesty though, I did plan on becoming an English teacher and/or a novelist before I took up the role of a preacher, so reading and writing come almost naturally with that.

I'm married to Kristen, and am beyond blessed to have found her. She blogs too, and does much better than I. You can find her scribblings here. She is a wonderful wife and more importantly a wonderful Christian. I wish I had more time to go on about her, but as I said, I need to get going very soon so I can pick her up from the in-laws. I have one son, Benjamin, who is almost 14 months old. My wife's blog is dedicated primarily to him, so if you want to know his life story through both words and pictures, her blog would be the place to do that.

This blog is not a means for me to just preach. I will post my weekly bulleting articles and the column I write for the newspaper, and I will more than likely post spiritual entries as well, but it isn't just about that. This blog is primarily about the life of a preacher. Too often people get the idea that the preacher or minister or whatever you want to call him is some spiritual superhero, that he knows all of the answers and is always strong in the face of trials and that he'll always act exactly as God wants him too. That just isn't true. I wanted to create this blog to help others explain exactly what it's like to be a preacher and what we do (and yes, we do work more than just one day a week) and the trials and emotions we have to deal with. It isn't an easy life, and honestly, as much as I love to preach the Gospel, I wouldn't wish this life upon anyone who did not honestly want it. Preaching isn't just a job, or isn't something I do just to make ends meet, it's a life.

I guess that's another reason I wanted to create this blog. Not only to help others realize what goes on in the life of a preacher, but to constantly remind myself of the decisions I've made and why I made them. To remind myself to do all that I can to help teach others about the God I love and serve.

I really do need to go now. I'm actually running a bit late as I need to get ink too so I can print out sermons, class notes and bulletins for this Sunday. I hope this blog is helpful to you and is able to spread throughout many lives, not so that I can be famous or well known by any means, but to help people be more thankful for those that do choose to spread the Gospel, and to help encourage others to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Love you all,
Carl