Looking For A Job In the Summer of 2011 - Update

I started the process of looking for a new ministry job at the end of May. It is now near the end of August, 3 months later. Here is what I am finding out; there are a lot of people looking for work, there are a lot of people looking for ministry jobs, the average professional job seeker takes between 33 and 104 weeks to start working again. I spoke with a pastor in a medium sized church a couple of weeks ago. He is filling two pastoral positions. He told me he was overwhelmed by the number of resumes he had received. He said the last time he had to fill a position, pre-2008, he only got 5-6 resumes and since only 2 were qualified, it was easy to fill the position. While he didn't tell me how many resumes he had received for the position I was looking at, I could tell he was nearly paralyzed by the stacks of applications and resumes. One music position at a larger Iowa church generated 100 resumes. A Birmingham, AL church looking for a church administrator received over 70 resumes.  While we are all aware of the very difficult national economy, unemployment rate and housing market, it really hits home when you are trying to find a job and sell a house.

The good news is that God knows what is happening, His word is still true, and people are getting hired. I have several situations that I'm waiting on, and I'm optimistic that very soon I'll be "back in the saddle." A friend gave me a booklet written by a friend of his when he was unemployed. He wrote "God has already identified my next job, my assignment is to find it." I firmly believe that God has picked our our next ministry position and He will help us find it.

For our friends that have shared a meal with us, written cards, called and emailed, thanks so much for your support. Thanks for your prayers for us. Please keep holding us up in prayer. We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary — we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Rom 5:3-5 the Message

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart

I have been reading Near To the Heart of God, Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns this year along with my daily Bible study. Today's hymn, Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart really jumped out at me.

It was written by George Croly, an Irishman who was asked in 1835 to reopen a church that had been closed for 100 years. It was in the heart of the London slums, but his powerful preaching attracted large crowds. He prepared a fresh hymnal for the church and he included this hymn he had written.

   Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
   Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art; and make me love Thee as I ought to love.


   I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, no sudden rending of the veil of clay,
   No angel visitant, no opening skies; but take the dimness of my soul away.


   Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh; teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.
   To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh, teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.


   Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love, one holy passion filling all my frame;
   The kindling of the heaven descended Dove, my heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

Read each verse slowly, meditating on each one. This is a wonderful prayer of submission to the will of God.

Today Is Our Anniversary - Best Years of My Life

Today Kathy and I are celebrating 37 wonderful years of marriage. The big event on the weekend of our wedding 37 years ago was the resignation of President Richard Nixon on our rehearsal evening and then his leaving the White House with his family on the day of our wedding. There are a lot of highlights that are vivid memories, but there is also a lot of time in which I do not recollect much. This kind of reminds of the story of the two retired guys who are talking and one says to the other, "I couldn't help but notice that you call your wife 'sweety', 'baby doll', 'sugar', and other romantic names. How have you kept that much romance in your marriage all these years? The other guy turns to him and says, 'actually, I forgot her name about 10 years ago and I've been too embarrassed to ask her what it is."

Well, for us, it's not that bad. We have many wonderful memories that we recall. We've been so blessed. One of the biggest blessings has been our unified desire to serve God full time, anywhere, anytime. We've had some great adventures, and both of us have seen our experiences as adventures in helping to build God's kingdoms. We've had the blessing of raising six children, three birth children that are now grown and all involved in full time ministry, and three teenagers still at home that bring both great joy and present interesting challenges. We look back at some great ministry successes and people that we've had the pleasure of mentoring and guiding into successful ministry and other careers. Today we have an interesting predicament, looking for a job and trying to sell a house in an economic climate that is creating financial havoc in our nation. However, God is faithful, He will provide.

As I think about today, the greatest blessing for me is the love that Kathy and I share. I love her so much. She is my best friend and confidant. I love her laugh, and the way she brightens up a room. Of the two of us, she is the "people person" and I enjoy watching her be with people. I love the fact that after we've been with a group of people I get to go home with her. 37 years is a lot, particularly in our present society, but for us it is another signpost on a lifetime commitment that we agreed to 37 years ago. Now we're older, hopefully wiser, and ready for the next adventure, whatever or wherever it may be, together.

Our Universe Never Ceases To Amaze Me

Last week I watched a Discovery Channel documentary on the 400 years of the telescope. It was a very interesting progression from a simple spyglass with limited range to the current telescope technology that will replace the Hubbel telescope. The pictures of our galaxy and well out into our universe were amazing. The knowledge of how stars are born, the rapidly expanding universe and our relative size in our universe were just a few of the topics covered. I was amazed again at our Creator's work.

The documentary's narrator mentioned more than once how much we cannot see and speculated on how much more there was out beyond what our technology could reach. This reminded me of how big our Creator must be. Psalm 147:4 says He determines how many stars there are and calls them all by name. In Psalm 33:6 it says, He merely spoke, and the heavens were formed and all the galaxies of stars. In another place in scripture it says that He spreads the stars as a canopy over His throne. I can't even imagine how big God must be to be able to do this. Plus, the universe is expanding at a rapid rate. Does this mean He is still creating, and the universe is expanding to allow room for all His new creation?

I am thankful for one huge thing. In this documentary, they showed earth as a large planet and then began to pull away to show how vast just our galaxy is, and then continued to pull away beyond the Milky Way. Of course, Earth, had long disappeared from sight. So, I am thankful that the God who created this incredible universe, knows where I live on this tiny planet. He cares about me, loves me and knows exactly what I need. And in return, He allows me to know Him. Incredible...