Prodigal Kids - Guest Post by Jim Fontaine

     Prodigal sons and daughters cause great heartbreak to their parents when they rebel. It’s not just the rebellion against the parents that causes them pain, though. It’s also painful for parents to watch their children willfully turn from God.

     But does a descent into sin mean there is no coming back? Does it mean there is no hope for the person who turned away? Absolutely NOT! God excels in the resurrection and restoration business. We all love comeback stories, stories where people screw up royally but then turn their lives completely around.

     So, if there is a love of such stories, why do we sometimes act as if people who turn away are beyond the reach of God’s grace and have committed the unpardonable sin? We can’t look at anyone as a hopeless case. We have to look at even the worst of sinners as a redemption project and someone worthy of God’s grace. Remember, Paul could not have been further down the wrong path. He was against Jesus and was a terrorist to Christians.

     But Paul explained God’s unconditional love, grace and patience shown to him when he wrote in 1 Timothy 1: 13 – 16,

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 

Paul wrote of God’s amazing grace and unlimited patience. God wants to show grace. God wants to show love. God wants prodigals to come home and He draws them to Himself with His love and grace.

     It must be the same with us. If we want the prodigals in our lives to come home, we can’t browbeat them. We can’t berate them. We can’t shut them completely out of our lives. Yes, we may have to let them go their own way, even if we know they are going the wrong way. Yes, we may have to speak God’s truth in love. We may even warn them in love before they go, telling them that they are headed down a dangerous path away from God.

     But prodigals need to know that the door has not been shut. Now, of course, we don’t affirm or condone the prodigal’s sin. Sin is sin, no matter who commits it. Prodigals need to know, however, that we still love them despite their sin and that, when they choose to come home, they won’t see us with our arms angrily folded or pointing a judgmental finger that says, “I told you so.” They need to know that they are coming home to nothing short of unconditional love and grace. Guilt trips never work. It is grace and unconditional love that will draw a prodigal back home.

     It’s like the story a prodigal daughter who left home soon after her father died. Night after night, the mother prayed and waited…but her daughter never came home. At her pastor’s suggestion, the mother printed off pictures of herself and wrote, “Come home” on the picture. She hung the pictures all over surrounding towns in tough places where she thought her rebellious daughter might go. One night, the daughter saw a picture of her mother with the simple message, “Come home”…and her heart started to be drawn home.

     She arrived early in the morning, surprised to find the door to the small apartment open…where she found her mother awake, praying, and crying. The mother threw her arms around her long-lost daughter, so glad she was home. The daughter, overwhelmed by her mother’s love, asked, “Mom, why did you leave the door open?” The mother responded, “Oh, Louise, the door has never been closed since the day you left. I left it open all the time expecting your return. I didn’t want you to find it shut when you came back.” That’s the way it is with God. Oh, you may think you’ve done something so bad that you can’t be forgiven. But you are NEVER beyond the reach of God’s grace! Forgiveness is always available because, when it comes to God and Jesus, the door is never closed. All we have to do is come home and ask.

     Do the prodigals in your life and mine know the same? Do people who have hurt us, disappointed us, angered us know that we still love them and have never stopped? Despite their descent into a sin-filled life that is not honoring God, do that know that amazing grace and forgiveness are still waiting at home for them?

     As with the Prodigal Father, the door of our hearts must always be ready to welcome them back home. We must be patient, as God was with us, praying and waiting for prodigals to come home. Like God was with us, we must maintain unconditional love for prodigals while they are away. And like God was with us, we must show amazing and undeserved grace when they come home. The prodigals in our lives need to know that home is a place where the grace and love of God is always waiting for them. So, whoever the prodigals are in your life, whether family members, friends, or church members who are missing, open your arms and your hearts…and always be ready to welcome them when they come home.

 

Jim Fontaine became the pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Brimfield, MA in July 2016 after completing a 13-year pastorate at Burncoat Baptist Church in Worcester, MA. Jim has been married to his wife, Paula, for 24 years and has four children.

How to Enjoy Your Retirement

Titus 2:2-4 - Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good and so train the young women . . .

America is slowly graying as 10,000 Baby Boomers retire every day. Retirement is supposed to be a fun- filled time spent with family, a time to create joyful memories with grandchildren, travel to places we have always wanted to visit and engage in learning and service opportunities that we did not have time for when we were working. Regretfully, many Baby Boomers are finding retirement to be less fun, joyful and adventurous than they had hoped.

Time magazine reports in a May 23, 2016 article that a growing number of Baby Boomers have isolated themselves as they age.  This is a negative trend. It is harmful for retirees, but it is also harmful for our culture. Our culture needs the wisdom of the older generation. Laura L. Carstensen, the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, writes: “A large body of research shows that emotional experience improves with age. People are slower to show anger and more prone to see silver linings. They solve emotional charged conflicts more effectively and are more likely to forgive and forget.” In other words, they have a lot of wisdom and maturity that their family, friends, community of worship and local organizations need. When they isolate themselves during their twilight years instead of investing themselves in others, everyone suffers.

Another reason retirees need to resist this trend toward isolation is because it is not healthy for them. The Stanford Center on Longevity’s Sightlines Project tracked six age cohorts to see how well they are doing in areas critical to long term well-being. “There is ample evidence that social engagement has positive effects on health and longevity. Social isolation is as strong a risk factor for early mortality as cigarette smoking.” Just think about that. Isolating one self from the community brings early death just like smoking!

If the evidence is overwhelming that the community needs its seniors to be involved and that seniors need that involvement, why are today’s retirees  less engaged? Carstensen points out that “Boomers are less likely to participate in community or religious organizations than were their counterparts 20 years ago.” Their parents were the Builder Generation who built strong churches and healthy community organizations. And when they retired, they had built in connections to make those retirement years joyful and adventurous. But the Boomers rejected those institutions and preferred a more individualistic approach to life. Now, as the Boomers enter retirement, few of them have meaningful connections to churches or other community groups, and that is causing them to feel isolated and alone. The individualism they were so proud of when they are younger is now literally killing them.

The good news is that retirees can do something about this. There are churches everywhere! Find one and get involved in it. Don’t just show up occasionally for a pot luck dinner, or only for Sunday morning worship. Get as deeply involved as you can. Deep friendships can be formed with great people who can change retirement from a time of loneliness to a time of great adventure. There are many small non-profits in every community that could use a volunteer. Find one that needs your skills and start volunteering each week. It is amazing how it changes one’s perspective on life. And those kids who never call? The phone works both ways. Don’t sit and wait for it to ring. Pick it up and call a family member or friend. We are as connected as we want to be and in retirement, connections are vital for our own health and for the health of those around us. Shake off that isolation and invest yourself in others!

Lord, help us to invest ourselves in others during our senior years instead of isolating ourselves. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Where is the Love? A Study of Love – Part One - Guest Post by Logan Loveday

Introduction:

Have you ever heard the popular song by Black Eyed Peas called “Where is the Love?” The question that song asks is one that many people ask. One reason we struggle to understand what love is, is that people often think that all love is the same. But to really understand what love is we have to realize that there are four different kinds of love. The New Testament reveals those different kinds of love through the use of four different Greek words.

The four kinds of love found in the New Testament:

•                           στοργή – storgē

•                           φιλία – phileo

•                           ἔρως – érōs

•                           ἀγάπη – agape

I just want to talk about the first two types of love in this post.

1.     στοργή – storgē love

•                           This love is a “familial love” and is characterized by affection and the ability to transcend discriminating factors.

•                           It is the love of parents toward their offspring and vice versa. Ephesians 6:1-4, Proverbs 22:6, Colossians 3:20-21, 1 Timothy 5:8

•                           Many examples of family love are found in scripture: such as the love and mutual protection among Noah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis, the love of Jacob for his sons, and the strong love of the sisters, Mary and Martha in the gospels, had for their brother Lazarus.

•                           Family was a vital part of ancient Jewish culture.

•                           In the 10 Commandments God charges his people to: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12

•                           One great example of this type of love is found in the relationship of the prodigal son and his father.

•                           Healthy families always love each other no matter what. They may disagree with each other and have different opinions, but they must continue to love each other.

•                           Parents may not always like their children’s behavior, but they are always to love and care for their children. Parents may have to punish their children in order to teach them right from wrong, but they must never stop loving them. When children do not have this type of love, it influences all the other relationships in a negative way.

2.     φιλία – phileo love

·        This love is typically what you would find between friends and includes the strong bond and commitment of deep friendship.

·        Jesus had a lot to say about Friendship

·        John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

·        God gives us this advice when it comes to choosing Friends

·        Proverbs 12:26 “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

·        Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

·        Proverbs 14:6-7 “A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.”

·        Proverbs 22:24-25 “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”

·        1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.”

·        If we have Phileo love, it will impact how we treat our friends

·        Luke 6:31 “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

·        Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.”

·        Ephesians 4:29-32 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

·        Colossians 3:12-14 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

·        Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

·        Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

·        Proverbs 19:20 “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”

·        Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

·        This kind of love does not happen overnight. It takes both a commitment of time and work for it to develop. But as a friendship grows stronger, we develop bonds that last a lifetime. Once we have this type of love for our friends, we are often loyal to them even when they don’t deserve it.

·        Sadly, some people never develop this type of friendship and therefore they will never know phileo love.

Conclusion:

Experiencing these two types of love is one of the reasons why it is important to be part of a local church. The body of Christ should be a healthy incubator for both of these types of love. Family love and friendship love should naturally spring forth in the “family” of Christ in which we have “brothers,” “sisters,” and eternal friends.

Do We Have Too Much Stuff?

After 19 years of starting churches in rural areas in Vermont, my wife and I are preparing to relocate to Connecticut to plant churches around the urban areas in that state. As part of the preparations for this move, we are selling our home. Our home is an old Vermont farmhouse built around 1860. It has large rooms and lots of nooks and crannies to put stuff. We have spent countless hours cleaning out closets, garages, attic space and bookshelves. It seems like every time think we are done, we find one more corner that we have not sorted yet.

We have sold some of the stuff. Most of it we have given away to people in our church, to the Salvation Army, to a family that lost their home to a fire, and to a big church yard sale that raised money to help needy children. And yet . . . we still have more stuff we keep finding that we just do not need!

Somewhere in the process of cleaning, sorting, packing and distributing all this stuff it occurred to me how “rich” most Americans are, including myself. Only in America do we have clothes stored in totes and boxes because we cannot wear them all. Only in America do we have a set of dishes that we only use at Christmas and another set we only use when company comes over. Only in America do we have chairs, tables, beds and decorative items that we have not used in months, or years, and yet they sit in our extra rooms with no real purpose other than when a guest uses those rooms a few times a year. Seriously, who needs that many clothes or dishes or beds or chairs or tables?

Perhaps it is time for us to think through the consumerism that so grips our nation and start considering how we might use our excess to help those around us and expand God’s Kingdom. In order to really do that, I think we may need to clean more than our physical closets and attics. The reason we have all that extra physical stuff anyway is because some emotional or psychological need propels us to want more and more and more. When we clean up our emotional and spiritual closets and attics, I think the physical ones will be much easier to deal with. Just some thoughts from an empty nester re-evaluating life . . . .

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

When Cravings Collide

I started in ministry when I was only 18 years old. I have served as a children’s minister in a large church, a youth minister in a medium sized church, and as pastor of both small and medium sized congregations. In my 26 years in these various capacities, I have seen many families that were torn apart by internal struggles. Though they loved each other, they just could not overcome their negative feelings toward each other. Some families broke apart and no longer have any connection with each other at all. Other families remain connected, but tension lies just under the surface, ready to erupt at any moment. I have often pondered by people who love each other have so many struggles with each other.

In my devotional reading the other day I was reminded of James 4:1, “What is the source of the struggles and conflicts among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you?” This verse seeks to answer the question of why we have struggles and conflict with other people in our lives. This verse identifies the root of these conflicts as the cravings that are inside all of us.

What do we crave? We crave acceptance.We crave love. We crave control. We crave power. We crave recognition. We crave security. We crave both connection and independence, which makes us feel conflicted internally. Some of these cravings are normal and may not lead to conflict with others. But some of these cravings will cause conflict because the other people in our lives crave the same things.

While there should always be enough love to go around for all members of the family, it is impossible for everyone in the family to be in control. While every member of the family should be accepted for who they are, not everyone in the family will have equal power or independence. When we forget this important truth and our cravings collide with the cravings of others, the result is always conflict.

What is the solution? For non-Christian families, I am not sure there is a great solution. They will just have to negotiate the situation the best they can and hope it works out. But for Christian families, the solution is to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matthew16:24-27). As Christians our goal should not be our own power, our own control or our own agenda. As Christians our goal should be to lift up Jesus in every area of our lives. That can be hard in the midst of a heated discussion with those we love. But it is the only path to lasting happiness and peace. Any other path will lead to constant conflict with those we love.

The next time our cravings begin to collide with the cravings of someone else, we should take a deep breath and ask ourselves what response would glorify the Lord. Then, as hard as it may be, we should choose that response. Though it might not result in the instant gratification that our society has become known for, it will produce long term healthy results. And when it comes to family, we should be looking for better long term results. After all, we will be part of our family for the rest of lives. A future without constant conflict sure sounds better than one with constant conflict.

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

Confessions of a Recovering Workaholic

Hello, my name is Terry and I'm a workaholic. I am celebrating five years of balanced living, but every day is still a struggle.

Anyone who has been to a recovery group of any kind probably recognizes that opening sentence and some form of the second sentence as well. For me, those are not just words, but a living testimony. I admit it. I love to work. Part of it is that I love what I do. It is not just a job, it is a calling from God to build His Kingdom. But honestly, it is more than that. For me, work is almost a compulsion.

Though some people may work a lot because they want the money, in my line of work (which happens to be vocational ministry) I make the same amount of money no matter how hard I work. Since ministry outside the Bible belt is a notoriously underpaid profession, in my case, it is clearly not about the money.

Though it took me a long time to admit it, part of the reason I work so much is because it makes me feel good about myself. I work hard and I am good at what I do. Therefore, I get a lot of praise from others for my efforts. I can see how my work makes a difference in the lives of others, which also makes me feel good. Both what I observe about the result of my work, and what others tell me about what they observe about my work, combine together to build up my self esteem. Therefore, the more I work, the better I feel about myself.

Though feeling good about one's job is not necessarily bad, it can become bad when it becomes a person's primary motivation for working. Our primary motivation for working should be to bring honor to God, not just to feel good about ourselves. If feeling good is our primary motivation, what will we do when our work no longer makes us feel good? After all, we all have bad days. No one's job is "fun" all the time. And even if we did find a job that was fun every day, if the job becomes our entire life, instead of just being a part of it, we will quickly find ourselves out of balance. We will focus on our jobs while neglecting our families, our friends, perhaps even our own health. And when that happens, families fall apart, health issues arise, friendships end. No job is worth that!

I came to this realization five years ago under the strong tutelage of Dr. Jim Wideman, the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of New England. Dr. Wideman was also my field supervisor for my doctoral studies. After observing my behavior for a period of time, he refused to pass me along in the next phase of my studies unless I learned to take a day off. Learning to take a day off was by far one of the hardest lessons I learned in the process of getting my doctorate. But without question, it was also one of most important and life changing lessons I learned. I am grateful to Dr. Wideman for holding the line so tight on the need for a regular sabbath.

My resolve was severely tested this past Saturday because the ministry organization I lead was holding their annual meeting on the same day as the "Senior Day" for my son's football team. My son is one of the captains of the team and a senior in high school. He, along with all the other seniors, was to be recognized at the start of the game. Our organization had invited a "big wig" from the home office to come speak at our annual meeting. The old "workaholic" urge quickly rose up in my spirit and I was so tempted to skip the game and stay for the entire meeting. It was easy to justify in my mind. It seemed "reasonable." Surely my son would understand. But after considering what would bring glory to God, I am happy to say that I resisted the urge and left the meeting at noon. I made it to the game twenty minutes before it started and was there to stand on the field with my son when he was recognized. I was further rewarded during the game when my son made an amazing 74 yard touchdown during the third quarter. Those kinds of touchdowns are once in a career kind of moments and I am so thankful that I was there to witness it.

Yet, I must admit that I wondered what some of my peers thought of me for skipping the second half of an important meeting with an important person from the home office. Would they understand how important it was to support my son? I found out the next day. I received two different emails from two different leaders in our organization, both commending me for making the "right" choice. They both mentioned how it honored God for me to be a good father and thanked me for setting the right example. I was touched.

My encouragement to my fellow workaholics is to take a day off. Spend some time with your family. That project will be there tomorrow, but your son only makes a 74 yard touch down once in his life!

Young Adults Can Have Fun Without Alcohol and Drugs

Yesterday we had lunch at the P and H Truck Stop in Wells River, Vermont. Anyone who lives in the area probably knows about their famous Maple Cream Pie and their Broasted Chicken. But I am not a restaurant critic, so I will let someone else regale the world with fancy descriptions of the Vermont culinary masterpieces that are created there. What I want to focus on is WHO I was with.

There were ten of us. Four of us were “old people.” We are in our 40’s so we think we are still quite young, but our kids think we are ancient. After all, we grew up using phones that had cords attached to them and we actually know what a “phone book” is. The other six were young adults ages 17-20. Only two of them were our kids, the rest were just friends. Though I have many friends from a wide variety of backgrounds, this particular group happens to all be Christians.

It was interesting to watch them interact with each other. They laughed a lot. They occasionally whispered to each other (at which our straining old ears tried to eavesdrop unsuccessfully). They talked about school, teachers, music, movies and other things that are critically important to young adult happiness. There is a game room at the truck stop (another good reason to go there) and these young adults played the crane game again and again, winning one stuffed animal after another. Someone must lose money on those games, but it was not our group of young adults! The young adults then went swimming at a local watering hole before returning to our house to watch a movie.

As I sat on the porch listening to them laugh inside about whatever comedy they had chosen to watch on TV, it occurred to me how wonderful it is that a group of young adults can have so much fun without alcohol or drugs. I think that those of us who on the upper side of “young” think that all teenagers are having wild parties with mind altering substances that will have serious  negative impact on their future. I am not naive. I know that such groups of young adults are out there. But yesterday I observed a group that had a lot of fun without all that stuff. And the group of young adults who I spent the yesterday afternoon with will remember what they did yesterday without having to throw up every ten minutes.

Perhaps what young adults need is a little space to laugh, a living room in a drug and alcohol free home where they can hang out, and some caring adults who know how to be present but keep a safe distance. Perhaps if they had these things, they would be just fine. I like to think that the Christian faith of those young people had a lot to do with their wise choices yesterday. I also like to think some good parenting was involved. I praise the Lord (and thank some caring parents) that there are young adults out there who do have the ability to have fun without being drunk or stoned. May their tribe increase!

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

Houses Built on Sand

I saw him staggering across the beach as I packed up our chairs at the end of a great day of vacation. Soon he was not just staggering, he was vomiting into the sand. He slowly made his way over the walkway through the sand dunes, stopping to relieve his lurching stomach every few steps. As I followed a few steps behind, I realized that he was drunk. He finally sat down on the steps to the boardwalk and continued to discharge the contents of his stomach off to the side, in full view of the many who were walking by.

Finally his father found him and tried to move him over to a more discreet place where he could finish emptying himself of massive amounts of alcohol. But it was hard not to overhear the conversation between father and son. The father kept saying, "Puke over here out of the way" and the son kept saying "Dad, you have never been there for me." It did not seem to bother the father that the son had drunk so much that he was puking, it only seemed to bother him that the son was puking in front of others. The son did not seem to understand that his father was trying to help him, even if only with part of the problem.

As my family passed by the sad scene, I said to my own adult son, "I hope we never have a conversation like that." He assured me that we would not. We saw that young man several other times during our recent vacation at the beach, and it became painfully obvious that excessive amounts of drinking was only one of that young man's many issues.

As I reflect upon that situation, I cannot help but think about the story Jesus told in the Gospel of Matthew 7:24-27. That story illustrates in a powerful way that if we build our lives on the Rock of Christ, then when difficulties come, we will find the strength to endure. But if we build our lives on the shifting sands of human opinion and what feels good in the moment, then when difficulties come, life falls apart. That young man, though barely launched into adulthood, is living a life that is already falling apart. It is a challenge to those of us who claim to know Jesus to build our lives on His Word, empowered by His Spirit and in a way that conforms us to His image.

Lord, help us build our lives on the eternal Rock of Christ!

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

Similarities of Raising Kids and Church Planting

I spent this past week visiting family in South Carolina for Thanksgiving. We saw lots of relatives, and all of them mean something special to me. But without question the two family members I wanted to see the most were my two oldest children who are both in college in South Carolina. We do not get to see each other as often as I would like, so spending several days together was a special treat. We played games together, remembered good times from the past, ate far more food than we should have and genuinely enjoyed our time together. It was the best part of my vacation.

As I reflect on what is happening in my children’s lives, I am very thankful to God for helping them mature into responsible adults who remain spiritually focused. I do not know what the future holds for my children, but I know that if they remain spiritually focused and continue to make responsible decisions, their future will be bright.

It occurs to me that church planting is much like raising kids. We pour ourselves into a new church plant instilling values and responsibility in the core group. Then we turn them loose to make their way in the Kingdom of God. When those church plants take responsibility for themselves and remain spiritually focused, they do well. When they fail to assume responsibility for themselves, or they lose their spiritual focus, they are doomed to failure. Mission strategists like myself do our best to give them all they need to get started right. But in the end, we entrust them to the hands of God and pray for them to soar to new heights. I rejoice when I see that happen and thank God that He allows me to be a part of such an exciting ministry.