Something Good

The past several years have been trying times for Beverly and I and the entire church scene. We (and more specifically me) have been rejected at two churches. One because I wanted to go into full time ministry, the other because I wanted to stay in full time ministry, but because my perception of church leadership differs drastically from the conventional view of church leadership, these events have caused us to currently view ourselves as "members at large."
But yesterday was a good day. I got all misty about two young people who wanted to be baptized, and they were kids I didn't even know.
A little back story. Seven years ago or so I made the acquaintance at a men's group gathering at our local church. I was serving as an elder at the time and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the guys who were 15 years younger. We had a lively Wednesday night class, good retreats, honest discussions.
One night a guy showed up who was all muscles and testoterone. Brash and outspoken, he intrigued me, because he made no bones about the fact that he felt a lot of this "church" stuff was nonsense. He bragged that, as far as he knew, he had never prayed, and frankly, didn't see the point now. Never challenge a salesman. At the time there was a few of us meeting for breakfast at Cracker Barrel and praying with each other. This guy shows up and at least changed the vocabulary of our little group.
Over time it became obvious that he was well versed in substance abuse, the tax man was after him, and his wife was ready to jettison the whole deal. We developed an honest conversation about the real truths of life. When he asked me questions about something I couldn't answer I told him so, but over time and a lot of talk, he came to an understanding of God's will.
There are a lot of turns and twists, failures and triumphs, moments of joy and moments of heartache, and yes moments of frustration, this story was one where I learned that long term disciple making takes a multi-year commitment from the discipler. We spoke almost everyday, but the short story is that he is now a growing believer, with his family intact, running his career with integrity, and is quickly approaching his 10 year pin. I am still amazed that he has made it this far.
So how does this tie into the kids mentioned above? The kids are his niece and nephew, from his brother who was further from the Lord than my friend. His mother attends, he has developed an entire group of people who just a few short years ago were the major causes of his downfall.
Yesterday God allowed me to once again enjoy the harvest of ministry. I was convinced that the exhilaration of teaching and mentoring were gone, but God allowed at least one more moment for me to see the outflowing of his Glory through my life into the lives of others.
As my kids will tell you, it doesn't take much to get me teary eyed, but this time it was right, it was good, and because we share the harvest I was connected to the moment. You just never know where this stuff will end up.
To my friend and to those kids, Godspeed.
Don