Let's Gather at the Campground

Church camp is a wonderful institution. A little out of date, probably, but hey, so is camping in general. In fact, the more primitive way of living is in vogue in some circles. My in-laws live in a place where there are lots of get-back-to nature people. They like to have compost piles and hang their laundry on the line, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with these things at all. They prefer a simpler life in some ways. So, if it's all right for them as a lifestyle, I guess it's all right for us for a week.

I have to admit the thing I find most difficult is being without my own bathroom (and I miss my tub for a long soak at night.) Yet, there are some great spiritual and social experiences one can only have on a campground. We'll survive the heat, the bugs, the mud, the steamy shower rooms. We'll arrive home with stained clothes and lots of wet towels. And we'll make plans for next year. Because as long as there's a campground and folks who want to gather there, that's where I plan to be!

Buoys and Ministry

A buoy is a brightly-colored floatation device that marks dangerous places in a body of water.


Buoys upon a choppy sea
You and I are called to be.

Bouncing up, not going down
Keeping faith in higher ground.

Made of stuff that cannot sink
To haven's peace ourselves a link.

By our colors showing true
the Light that shines, the Life that's new.

Patriots in the Churchyard

From moss-covered beds, they speak to us. Beside them, tiny flags wave gently in silent salute. They're gone from us in body, but their mighty spirit battles on. We owe them our freedoms -- not just the right to speak, and to print, but to assemble, to worship. There would be no Sunday service this week without their sacrifice. Thank God for them. Thank God for America. How blessed we are.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus Who......took upon him the form of a servant......." (so as to assume the guise of a servant [slave]) (Philippians 2:5-7)


If I have my facts right, the above verse refers to Jesus girding himself with a servant's towel. He "took upon" himself the actual role and garment of a servant. And we are called to do the same. Paul says to "let this mind be in you" or to "let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you" (Amplified)

Sometimes we are surprised when we are expected to serve. But isn't that a servant's role? Should we who have pledged to serve our husbands, families, and congregations be amazed when we are called to follow through? Society tells us that serving is groveling; Jesus teaches that serving is greatness. He served -- with joy and a willing heart.

"Lord, make me like Jesus."

What to believe

I cringe inwardly when I hear someone demean a preacher or his wife. For one thing, it's against Scripture because God wants us to honor those in spiritual leadership. For another, it flies in the face of Paul's teaching about the body of Christ.

Pastors and their wives are gifted people - but God threw in the element of variety: they are all gifted differently. Each will have ministry priorities that will come to the forefront during their pastorate at a given place. God has created it this way so that different areas of church life and administration will be addressed as time goes by. Our likes and dislikes don't really matter because preachers and their wives answer to God, not their fellow preachers or their congregations. Granted, there may be some times when, sadly, a pastor may really fail his church in some way. God has provided for these situations to be addressed in a biblical way, but I'm not speaking of these BIG failures but of more miniscule areas of misunderstanding.

I hope you adopt my attitude, and pay little attention to the criticisms you hear about other colleagues in ministry. God does not want us listening to gossip or slander. And, of course, you know that the person relaying the information sees the news from his or her own spiritual, emotional, and historical viewpoint. All these variables may color one's perception.

So, the old adage bears much truth -- "Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see." The church of Jesus Christ would be so much more effective if we followed this sage advice, don't you agree?

The Piecework of Ministry

The pastoral ministry is like a patchwork quilt.

Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers were quilt makers. They saved scraps left over from dress patterns and bits and pieces acquired elsewhere and turned them into items that provided comfort and beauty.

When you and I, as pastor's wives, reflect on our years in the pastorate, we can identify with the pattern of those long-ago quilts.

In the first squares, we see the hesitating stitches of the first pastorate, the brilliant color swatches of youthful zeal and high hopes.

In the later design, we contemplate the pastel-shaded blocks that represent new babies and the parenting years.

Then come the dotted and striped patterns of new ideas our husbands so exuberantly introduced to the congregation.

Further inspection shows us the dark tones of disappointment and trials, and maybe a few patches of double-knit fabric with its stubborn texture and bland personality -- we've all had seasons of life like this!

Scattered throughout are color bursts of bright hue that tell the story of good times -- pastor appreciation days, retreats, campmeetings, family vacations, souls recovered and discipled. The mix of bright and dark forms a pattern as complex as the realities of life.

Yes, someday, you and I will examine the design of our ministry patchwork with awe -- for then we will see the plan of the Master and observe unmistakably that the thread of His presence encompasses each carefully-chosen section of our lives.

Site will be updated after Inter-Church Holiness Convention!