Presby-Musings

I was talking with a friend the other day about all of the things I was experiencing anew in ministry as I complete the first couple of months in my new church.  My friend is a retired pastor, and a frequent confidante.    As I talked, I was aware that I was rambling on and on in excitement, but I couldn't stop myself.  My friend listened patiently as I gushed about the people, the programs, missions, resources and all of the great growth potential of my new church.   When I finally came up for air, and gave him a moment to speak, he said something extremely wise.   "I think that the most important growth that churches can have is in the way they reach out into their community."   He went on to say that he wished that more churches focused on growing their ministries that showed Jesus to the world, rather than spending all their energy worrying about whether they have enough.   I wanted to kick him through the phone for being so right. ...

There is a story from the Gospel of John where Jesus and his disciples are passing by a blind man, who was begging.   Apparently, everyone knew that this particular man had been born blind.   In the ancient world, this was a sign of some kind of curse, which made the disciples ask, "Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?"   Jesus responds, "Neither.  This happened so that you would see the glory of God."   I've always been troubled by Jesus' response.  I suppose it's because I so narrowly escaped total blindness as a child.  If my diagnosis of congenital glaucoma had come just a little later, I'd be blind today.  Even so, doctors could only save the sight in one eye--I'm legally blind in the other.  If I'd succumbed to blindness, I imagine the last thing I would want to hear now is that my blindness happened so that other people could see the glory of God, which is exactly what the man in John's Gospel hear...