Take Two

As I was driving home last night from church, I was thinking about some of the things we’re doing now both in ministry and at work.  Specifically, some of the principles I really hold dear and it dawned on me that these principles have been taught to me for years, perhaps more than 30 years in some cases.

Let me backtrack and explain what brought this time of reflection on.  Our pastor asked for a specific song, an older one, and our music director who is twenty-something had never heard of it.  When we started singing it I recognized it immediately as one of those old songs I cut my teeth on when I was a kid.  In fact, there was a day when you couldn’t imagine having song service without cracking open the hymnal.  I am a huge fan of Chris Tomlin and really enjoy the vertical worship songs of today but when you sing G.T. Haywood or Fanny Crosby (I am sooo dating myself here) there is a tremendous power in their words which were formed by adversity it would be a shame if we lost them all together.  When I was a kid (and I will be 40 in September), I remember the hair piled up to the sky, ladies dancing the isles (my mother was a twirler herself) and services that lasted until midnight.  I realize that methods change and the message doesn’t change but I was wistful for a moment.  It’s not a bad thing to take a moment and appreciate your heritage.  As a side note, some of my favorite posts from the Layne sisters is about their parents and their heritage.  It’s good stuff.

So back to my story- I started working with this outreach yesterday and had a small turnout.  Two years ago, this would have caused me to want to bury the idea as unworkable.  I updated my pastor and told him that if I can teach a Bible study to two people for 12 weeks on Sunday morning it will be a success.  And I actually believe what I was saying!  It is one thing to profess a love for all things servant leadership but quite another to actually experience it.  I am not tooting my own horn here because I was as surprised at my change of heart as anyone.  But it occurs to me that the years of preaching I’ve received from my pastor and the influence of my parents and the wonderful Sunday School teachers and mentors who have poured themselves into me might actually be bearing fruit.  What a novel concept!.  I have seen similar instances involving my nursing practice.  I entered the practice of nursing in 1988 (yes, 20 years).  There are lessons my old school instructors taught me that I had no concept of what they were saying then that now make perfect sense.  The lesson just needed time to germinate.

The take home here for all of you pastors, leaders, teachers and parents is that the stuff you are trying to put in the noggins of your charges will bear fruit.  It may take 10, 20, or 40 years but keep planting and watering those seeds.  In due time, they will bear fruit.