Introduction to Lifestyle Worship II, Persisting

Yesterday I told you that during the next several weeks, Mission To Children is going to present one of the most important, one of the most significant, series we’ve ever presented and that you’ll ever hear.  I explained that the reason I can make that statement with such confidence is because it isn’t based on the works of man; its importance has nothing to do with me.  Instead, it’s based on the works of God; it has everything to do with God.
 
We began with Psalm 1, verses 1-3.  Let’s hear those refreshing verses again.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Today I’ll continue telling the true story of a young husband and father whom we’ll call Charles.  Charles was a man who loved God, and his quest for significant ministry led him into a time that would soon make him feel more like a tree ravaged by winter than a tree blessed with fruitfulness.

Let’s pick up story just after he resigned from a secure college faculty position in order to pursue a demanding program of doctoral study that also required a change of location.

Charles needed to support his family while engaged in doctoral studies, so he needed gainful employment in their new location.  God answered their prayers, and opened the door to his first fulltime music pastorate.  Having served for about a decade as a part-time church music leader, Charles welcomed this opportunity to expand fulltime into that important area of ministry. 

At first, he found the double challenge of his work and his studies to be stimulating and satisfying.  Listeners who enjoy Scrabble will understand that for Charles to do the PhD program and the music pastorate at the same time was like scrabbling on a triple-word-score!

Over the next six years of study, he was recruited to develop similar music ministries in two more churches, one at a time. Each of those commitments required another round of energy and stress: selling their "old" house, buying a "new" one, moving their family and belongings, and establishing new relationships, new routines and a new work culture.

Concerning their children, Kay and Charles agreed that they wanted her, rather than a day care center, to mother their kids. With that decision, they commissioned her principally to home ministry and committed themselves to one very modest income.

Having thus planned the work, the next stage was to work the plan.

Academically, the pressure increased as the program progressed. It was like climbing a mountain that got steeper as Charles got weaker. Each ridge Charles conquered brought a moment of celebration coupled with a tired-but-determined look at the next challenge on the horizon.

Days "off" from work were often spent in research-related activity. Evenings, after romping with the kids, were spent likewise. The struggle to compress the generous study time needed into the meager study time Charles had available made the difficulty of grasping new concepts – and the possibility of failure – much more acute.

Meanwhile, their church ministry was both exhilarating and exhausting as each phase of development came and went: looking for potential, budgeting for growth, bringing people together, sharing ownership of the vision and mission, keeping people together, planning programs, executing programs, evaluating programs, pastoring individuals as well as groups. The deeper Charles got into ministry, the greater appreciation Charles had for the constant tug-of-war between time spent in public ministry and time spent in personal ministry.

There were other pressures as well. Though they lived conservatively, every 30 days they faced the threat of more month than money. Furthermore, they were concerned and frustrated as they watched his parents, several thousand miles away, progressively lose their hold on health.

Inner tension cranked up notch after notch as he shouldered these burdens and yet tried to maintain some sense of balance in his life. Charles was getting close to personal limits he had never thought existed.

Yet, there seemed a profound rightness about what they were doing even amid the overwhelming schedule. Kay and he had not expected it to be easy, but they knew this situation was temporary. They figured they could outlast it.

In fact, they were not only surviving but they were accomplishing what they set out to do. Their sustaining hope was the expectation that God would use them, along with what they learned or developed from their experience, for His glory.

"It's winter now, but spring is comin'," Charles told himself doggedly. His doctorate was now on the verge of completion and his third church ministry in this 6-ear period – the one that had brought them to  the Midwest – was again developing ahead of schedule.  Things were going well, and it wouldn't be long until Charles could relax his intense pace.  Or so he thought.

When we resume tomorrow, we’ll find out what Paul Harvey calls, “the rest of the story!”

© 2007 John Garmo. If you would be interested in using this article, please contact us at Info@MissionToChildren.org.