Five minutes on Friday

Please remember “North Delta EFC” – our LPD “Church” of the Week. Thanks to Anna (Ben) Crumback at Sointula Community Church for producing the Church of the Week!

Dear friends,

Good Friday morning,

My father was a university professor. He was also a very humble and practical man.

When he passed away ten years ago, his brother, Dr. Charles Stewart, also a university professor wrote:

“Ray was an unusual combination of talents.  Scholar and academic, yet firmly grounded in the daily world of his fellow humans and always ready to join in at whatever level when his skills were needed.  As a lifelong academic myself I have known more Ph.D.s than I could begin to count.  I have known only one who could build a house himself, from the ground up, my brother, John Ray Stewart.”

I am very proud of my dad – both for his godly character and example, and for his humility.

Upon dad’s retirement, the George Bernard Shaw quip, “Those who can do; those who can’t teach,” was shared in fun – and modified to say, “Those who can do; those who can’t teach; those who can’t teach, teach teachers.”

While not true of dad, it does make a point about the danger for all who teach.

As a pastor, I have always been challenged by the words of the Apostle Paul, where he speaks of his determination to “practice what he preaches.” He writes:

“I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. “(1 Cor. 9:27 – The Message).

Paul speaks of the danger that faces every one of us who has the privilege of preaching and teaching the Word of God – hypocrisy – to profess and teach with one’s mouth, but then deny it with one’s life.

My personal goal is that at the end of my life, it can be said that, “He walked with God and practiced what he preached.”

In a recent article, Joel Rainey speaks to the challenge “Three Ways Pastors Struggle with Personal Application,” and offers some practical counsel to we who have the privilege of preaching.
3-ways-pastors-struggle-personal-application/

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Please click this link to this week’s Five Minutes on Friday with the LPD . This week look for news on North Delta EFC and thoughts about pastoral transition. Five_Minutes_on_Friday_Aug_25_2017.pdf

• LPD Pastor and Staff Orientation – Monday, September 18 at ACTS Seminaries/EFCC Office. Orientation is a requirement for all ministry credentials in the EFCC. If you have not already attended, please plan to do so!    Please see attachment:   

LPD_Pastors_Orientation_2017_Invitation.05.pdf 

• JOB Postings Is your church hiring? Please let us know at the LPD Office! We have several resumes available and also, we are glad to post your position profile on our district website. Please email Josephine at office@lpd-efcc.ca