One part of my "job" is to officiate funerals. It's maybe one of the toughest parts of my job, because when I hardly know the person, I have to do some detective work to find out things in order to give the saint the best Service I can as well as do the best I can for the friends and family.
When it's someone I know, it's even harder, because even though I know something about the person, I've developed some sort of relationship with them.
Today was one of the tough ones for me. A true saint passed away this past week, and it struck me harder than I thought, even while I knew his time on earth was coming to an end.
Something that many people may not realize is that pastors have feelings too. I'm not saying this to build myself up - the family today knew how close this gentleman and I was... I'm saying this because I know of colleagues who are bogged during funeral planning and post-care and don't have time for themselves to mourn.
And as we all mourn in different ways, so do the pastors, as well as the people who help with the other work - the folks who put the fellowship dinner together, or the musician, or the funeral director, or the custodian.
Even though October is "Pastor Appreciation Month", be sure to take time to remember everyone in those moments when too many things are taken for granted.
... after all, it may not be the best cup of coffee, but it is a cup of coffee.
I turned 49 yesterday. I have to say that I wish that I could have taken the day away to enjoy it a little more, but I had plenty of work to get done, but for me, it's not so much about the "day" as it is about the "celebration". So this Saturday will be the day - doing a Walk in support for Down Syndrome at Pierce High School in the morning, and then going to see Bob Newhart (you know, the EMMY AWARD WINNING for his appearance on the BIG BANG THEORY Bob Newhart)
(Yeah, I'm a fan)
I can recall my 30th birthday because of someone calling me in the middle of the night to be the first to wish me a happy birthday.
I can recall my 40th birthday because the choir of the church I was serving would start the Worship with a song, and the song that day was "Happy Birthday".
And now that I'm getting closer to 50 - much closer - I have to admit that I can feel my heels dragging just a pinch.
The other day as I was driving down the road, I recalled a trip I took with my dad when I was little. I believe we were going to my Grandpa Burkhardt's 50th birthday party.
I could be wrong on a detail or two, but again, I reference my newly acquired age.
I do remember thinking about Grandpa being 50, and thinking "Boy, he's really getting old". Umm, yeah.
I also remember doing the math in my head as I was walking home from elementary school on Columbus Ohio, and thinking "how old will I be in 2000, and what year will I be 30, 40, 50, etc?" And again, the idea of a new century seemed far fetched, let alone being 50 years old. Thank God there was a nice old lady that lived a couple doors down from us who taught me about Heaven and such (it's where I remember first learning "...red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in his sight..." and learning about "letting Jesus into your heart", using a particular picture as an illustration).
But as I've rounded the last corner on the road to 50, the idea of being "old enough to be a grandpa" and not being so shocked when the movies I enjoyed in my younger days comes on American Movie Classics.
But one thing that sticks in my head was a recent trip to meet my new doctor. As we were going through my file, I noticed my age and discussed my family history and mentioned "you have a couple of years for "that" procedure.
Then he saw my birth date and said "see you soon".
When I started preaching, I would be amazed at the number of people that would tell me "good Message" or "great Sermon". I was even more amazed at the number of people who would say that and then I'd remember seeing them sleeping during the Message.
But there has been times when someone will come back and chat about a particular part of something I preached. Maybe a sermon illustration, or how the key topic rang in their ears, or how something said reflected on their own life.
In more than a few times, these instances have brought people to tears.
I hope that the tears were from the power of the Holy Spirit touching their lives in some way - maybe a caring memory, or a reassurance of grace. Sometimes people have told me directly how they were touched by something in the Message or the Scripture that particular day.
On the other side of that coin are those who see someone moved in a particular way and then will stop and stare, or point out how someone was crying on the way home after church.
I've had moments when I've been moved to tears because of a Message or the Word. Heck, there are some hymns that I can't sing because they make me cry (but yes, they will pop up during my churches' Worship Services... there is an advantage to having the pulpit far from people). And to this day, I still get choked up when I think about certain parishioners from my past, young and old, still alive and passed on, and the impact they've made in my ministry.
When the Spirit has touched someone in such a visible or meaningful way, it's a great thing to celebrate, especially in a time when we're so rushed that we can't find out own glasses on the bridge of our noses.
