On a recent Sunday morning as I was getting out of my car to go into church out in Isabella, someone outside greeted me with the words, “I was thinking about you the other day.” Without any thought, my immediate answer was, “You must have been playing golf, right?”  Exactly.

I pondered that some later.  I thought about other answers I might have given like, “Did you run into someone I know?” or “Oh, you must have visited some church,” and the list could go on.  But my response was “Golf!”

Of course, my response had a lot to do with whom I was talking to at the time.  Since we shared an interest … since we had talked some about golf in the past … it only seemed to make sense.  Just by the way he said it, I kind of knew where it was going.  We laughed, and then we talked more about golf. :-)

But it did raise an interesting thought in my mind.  How are we known?  By what are we known or by whom are we known?  Or maybe the question really is how do we want to be known?

Of course, it’s not wrong to be associated with golf, or some other hobby or interest, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily the most important thing in my life.

Now, if God is the most important thing in my life … and the church … what is it that I’m doing to convey that to others?

Something else … and this too was a comment made to me out in Isabella on that same morning.  I walked through the front doors and was immediately (with a smile) asked the following questions “Didn’t you bring an ‘assistant’ with you today?”  Let me explain …

I happened to be gone recently on a Sunday for a continuing education event – a Lutheran Men in Mission Conference out in Omaha, NE – and then several weeks later took a ‘personal’ Saturday to go with the family and show Holly a few of our Lutheran Colleges (as we look ahead in the not-so-distant future and her choice of higher education).  Clyde Johnson led our Saturday service and then also preached on Sunday while I led the services.  It all was just a little jab – noting how others had been ‘filling in’ for me recently.

Well, I was on my own … leading worship, preaching, and everything else that goes along with my normal week.

Well, back to that question, “Didn’t you bring an ‘assistant’ with you today?”  That too, I thought about.  No, I didn’t have an assistant, at least as the question was asked.  But then, aren’t we ALL really ‘assistants’ in this work that we call the church … in this life in which we carry out our service and ministry to God?  In and through our baptism, have we not all been called as children of God, to be active participants in this life of faith?

We tend to see so many things as the ‘job’ of the Pastor … it’s what he or she has been called to do … it is their responsibility.  But having said that, it is not pastors alone who desire for God – and the church – to be the most important thing in their lives.  And not only for their lives, but a desire also for the lives of their families.

As members of our church, how do we convey what is important to others?  As members of a family, how do we convey that to our spouse and/or children?

Yes, it’s a challenge … so are you up to it?!  Not alone … but with me, your church, and your family?

I will always enjoy golf, and I will often be heard talking about it, but my work … my life … is all about God, and I pray it is also for you.

Many Blessings!

Pastor Dave