An Unforgettable Weekend

This past weekend was the most unforgettable weekend of my life, not to mention one of the most difficult. My father passed away last Monday at the age of 75 years. In the midst of consoling my family, dealing with the funeral arrangements I was also going to be the one officiating his services. Talk about a tall order! Years ago after his mother's funeral over which I officiated, he asked me if I would oversee his. In the last several months, as his Alzheimer's Disease progressed, he would remind me from time to time that he still wanted me to oversee his funeral. On the one hand, I couldn't imagine having the strength to do it, but, on the other hand, I couldn't imagine someone else leading those services. I was the one.

It was only going to be through divine strength that I could possibly hold my emotions in check and get through the services. After sending out broadcasts via phone, texts, Facebook and Twitter, the response began pouring back to me. The prayers of so many covered not only me, but my entire family this weekend. Words can't begin to express the appreciation I have for so many lifting me up to the Lord. I could feel God's arms wrapped around me and His strength encouraging me and sustaining me.

Oh, and did I mention it was Easter weekend, too? Talk about an emotional roller coaster... The spectrum of feelings I experienced from the visitation on Friday to the funeral on Saturday to our Easter church service on Sunday must have been similar to what the disciples felt: sorrow and disappointment being replaced with excitement and jubilation!

Yesterday was probably the best service we've ever had since we launched City on a Hill Church almost three years ago. Worship was amazing! King's Kids rocked the socks off of our children! We had a record attendance! Our ministry teams were all over the place, taking care of everything and everyone! The Holy Spirit poured out of me during the sermon and transformed lives for eternity!

This Easter weekend held so many memories for me. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it by being there in person and by supporting me through your prayers. I will never forget Easter weekend 2011!

You Talkin' to Me?

"You talkin' to me?"

This was the classic line from DeNiro in the movie Taxi Driver.

There's some relevance in this line, though, for pastors, leaders and teachers. We need to know to whom we're talking. If we don't know our audience, we may talk below them or above them.

Case in point. I'm going through more training this week for my secular job. This week, my trainer is a former Junior High School teacher. As a reward for answering questions correctly, we're being given stickers. Yes, that's right - stickers...

There's nothing worse than being treated as someone you're not. So, teachers, leaders and pastors, know your class, audience and flock. Know how to reach them. Know how to teach them. Know how to inspire them!

Hands-On Training

The company I'm working for is a service provider which means I'm actually working with not only my employer, but also the client. That means, I get to carry around two laptops (in addition to my personal one) and learn two company's systems. For the last few weeks, I've been completing online training about these systems. This week, I've been engrossed in hands-on training with an instructor leading us in every step to ensure we know how to use these systems in the field.

There's really nothing quite like hands-on training. I'm one of those people who can read about or watch a demonstration, but until I actually try it myself, I just don't get it. There are a lot of people like me in that regard, and there's no environment where this is more important than ministry.

Pastors, teachers and leaders need to not only teach and model ministry, but give opportunities for hands-on training to all believers. Every person in the Church needs to be given the opportunity to go out and serve. He needs to share his stories with others. We shouldn't wait until he's completed his Membership 401 classes. She shouldn't wait until she's read the Bible from cover to cover. Yes, every Christian should be involved in proper (and formal) discipleship steps. I'm all for those! But let's not let the formal training get in the way of opportunities for hands-on training. Let's make sure we're all doing ministry in the real world!