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Forty years ago this month, I was ordained. I’m not sure how I feel about that. For one thing, celebrating a 40th anniversary makes me think I must be older than I think I am. I looked around to find something that I own that was a part of my life back. I couldn’t find much, other than a few books that are now mostly dated and seldom used. Everything else has been replaced, used up, or upgraded. A co-worker, who just learned about my anniversary said, “Wow! If you were Catholic, you would be a relic.” I told him he had just lost five merits. For another, to achieve 40 years in ministry doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment. It seems more like having perfect attendance than getting a good grade. It means I’ve simply managed to live long enough and was able to avoid quitting or being fired---though admittedly there were some pretty close scrapes with the latter two. It is not like being elected by your peers to some high office in the church (I am forever grateful that didn’t happen!) or winning an award as “The Best Pastor of the Year” (if there were such an award, would we call the trophy a “Martin”?). But then, maybe being a pastor isn’t about personal accomplishments anyway. Arriving at
my first congregation, the pastor who had been serving the interim told me“The
people here are eager to meet you. For many of them, you will be
the most important person in their life.” I was astounded. At that point in my life, having then as yet neither wife
nor children, I didn’t consider myself the most important person in anyone’s
life. How could these people, whom I had never met, have the expectation
I would be the most important person in their lives? This
was nothing I had ever considered or imagined. The pastor who confirmed me and had built a relationship with me even when I was in grade school, was certainly an important and influential factor in my decision to become a pastor, but during my High School and years away from my home attending college and seminary, no pastor really had been all that significant in my life. I had no concept of the importance of pastors.
Then there was the time I was walking down the street, when a passing car stopped, backed up, rolled down the window, and a person told me that the time he had spent at my church had completely transformed his life. It was an individual whom I barely remembered, who had since moved away, and happened to see me as he was passing through. And then there was the letter I received in the mail from a person who described me as a “minister of Satan” because she was upset about the worship service last Sunday that had included the planting of a tree. This too, I discovered, goes with being considered important. Being important leads to far more praise and far more blame than you deserve. I eventually learned that there were times when conveying God’s presence to people could be useful. As for the rest, both acclaim and criticism, it was wise not to take too seriously. So maybe it is a good thing that celebrating anniversaries in ministry really doesn’t have anything to do with accomplishments. They are but another reminder that the most important things that occur in ministry, whether taking a baby into your arms at the Baptismal font, or placing a communion wafer into an outstretched hand, or sitting silently with a member in the surgery waiting room, or speaking the benediction at the end of the service, have virtually nothing to do with you are and everything to do with God. Being present is sometimes worth more than the good grade. Stormy Weather  Church
roofs damaged in Kearney. Parsonage basements flooded in Cozad and Polk. Farm
homes of parishioners damaged or destroyed in Aurora, Pickrell, Ceresco, and
Johnson. The chimney of a church in Papillion struck by lightning. Small
Group members rallying to the aid of group members whose homes were in the
path of the Millard tornado, assisting with debris removal and weatherproofing. Neighbors
helping neighbors. Friends helping friends. These were some of
the scenes that have played out in churches across the state of Nebraska in
the last two weeks.
Disasters, we always assume, happen to someone else. These past weeks we’ve all been perilously close to disaster if not in one. Maybe its time to rethink this assumption. Nebraska
Lutheran Disaster Response can help your congregation prepare for disaster
survival. Storms also provide an opportunity to care for those in need. Nebraska Lutheran Disaster Response also offers a Disaster 101 training that can prepare members of your congregation to do clean up, case work, reconstruction and other tasks that are often needed in the disaster recovery process. Though
most of these responsibilities will soon be passed on to someone else, for
now, for information about any of the above, you can contact me.
After 40 years, this is the job for which I’m applying In Christ's Service, Roger Kruger This e-mail newsletter is an endeavor of Partners in Caring, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc. I envision it as a way to share ideas, resources, and conversation about the joys and struggles of ministry. I welcome your input. Feel free to pass it on to friends.
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Anniversaries
But
I was soon to learn he was right. There was, for example, the time I went
to call on the woman who lived across the street from the church. Her little
boy answered the door. I asked him if his Mom was at home. He left
to go find her. A few moments later, I heard him yell out the back door, “Mom,
God’s here!”
Preparation
can make all the difference in the world in saving lives and recovery after loss. Who’s
in charge if you are incapacitated? Where do people go in your church if
tornado sirens sound? How are valuable records stored? How do you
check up on parishioners after a storm? What do you need in a safety kit. These
are some of the subjects that a Congregational Disaster Preparedness training
will address. There are a number of volunteers across the state able to
lead a workshop that can help you congregation prepare a disaster plan. We
are also assisting with the unmet needs of victims of the current storms.It
is evident that some will need outside assistance in order to meet basic needs
in the coming months. Donations made to Lutheran Family Services, designated “May
Storms” (the fund was started before the storms continued into June),
will go to provide this needed help.