Dodgeball - America's take on stoning.

I'm not sure what category this goes in. I can think of at least two. You might find it at least interesting:
Guitar players

Believe it or not, it's STILL COLD here. The sun shines, but don't believe it. I did, however, see crocuses and tulips poking up through the soil when I was downtown today.

I've had a great day and it isn't even done yet.

Jen and I went out for b'fast at Panera. We talked about parenting. Jeff & Jen have three very different daughters, each remarkable in her own way. Our conversation occasionally used one or the other of the girls to illustrate a point but mostly we talked about what it means to be a good and godly parent. When I get back to Pathway our next Foundations series is going to be 6 weeks on parenting and that formed the backdrop for our conversation. I LOVE talking about life issues from a biblical perspective.

From Panera I went down to the new DeVos Children's Hospital (opened in January) to see Tammi. She was one of my students for two years back in the early 90's and we connected. Tammi was average academically and sweet as could be. Over the years she has been through the ringer of life in ways no one should have to experience. She'd call me from Louisiana and be crying one sentence in to our conversation. Totally beat down by circumstances and the sins of others. Now she is the director of the outpatient pediatric oncology unit at the hospital, one of the leading programs of its type in the country. You talk about someone who blossomed! She's still the same sweet Tammi and as humble as can be. But she is also obviously incredibly intelligent, competent and skilled as both a nurse and an administrator.
I love that when she came down from her 10th floor office to meet me in the lobby we both instantly smiled huge and hugged. Same when we parted.

After grabbing some lunch at - where else? - Burger King I went over to the college to work on my sermon. I stopped into the offices of GMI to visit some friends and had a very pleasant visit. Then to the library to study. But instead of making progress on my sermon I ran into and spent the next two hours talking with Pat McGillicuddy. He was also one of my students, but I had Pat for five years as he went through the pastoral studies program. Because I was chair of that dept. he took a large block of his classes from me. He's now the pastor of one of the churches here in the G.R. area.

We talked about being a pastor, about preaching, about basketball, about some key Bible passages and their interpretation, about raising kids in the ministry....

Pat is one of several VERY bright Ministries Studies guys I had the privilege to teach and mentor. And now they are colleagues in pastoral ministry. How cool is that?

The best part is the people.

I have been blessed beyond measure by the people I've had the opportunity to work with over the years. I like working on cars, doing home remodeling, riding my bike...but nothing holds a candle to working with people. The years and the miles may separate us, but when we have the opportunity to visit, like I had today, my heart is filled.

When I talked to the elders about making this trip and attending the Pastor's Conference that starts tomorrow I told them I benefit from getting fed, from being taught.
"If your output exceeds your input your upkeep will be your downfall."
And while I'm looking forward to the conference and they speaker who comes with a strong reputation as a communicator with specialties in pastoral ministry, this trip has already paid full dividends. It has already reminded me (though I hadn't forgotten) how blessed I am to be a pastor. In fact, as I left the library I told Pat, "We're lucky to do what we do." I'll go back to the people of Pathway - as good a group as any pastor ever had the privilege to serve. It would be unseemly for me to greet them all at the door next Sunday and give them a big hug, but that's what I'll want to do.