Our news cycle continues to churn away on the death of Osama Bin Laden.  We are learning more and more about all of the particulars involved in that event.  I read mostly mystery or suspense novels when relaxing.  Many of them concern various degrees of cloak and dagger plots.  This mission sounds very much like a story lifted from one of those books.  One difference is that this story took almost ten years to complete rather than the usual 400 pages or so in print.  We can wish that our world was not such a dangerous place but it is what it is.  War and conflict are woven into world history since its earliest days.  Now we face dangers that move with much more stealth than ever  before.  We cannot begin to speculate on any reprisals that may or may not occur.  It is enough for a few days that our country can at least find some closure over the past decade of seeking this one man.  Not even the original attack provided much cooperation among the various political parts of our nation for very long.  We can feel very proud for now that brave men and women trained, planned then carried out this raid successfully with no injuries. 

Today was also spent doing the usual catch up stuff around the house for a Monday.  Our church hosted a meeting for area churches at night.  These were once very big things in terms of attendance.  Very few made it out on a cold, rainy evening to get together.  I was not surprised from seeing how the crowds continue to dwindle over the years.  Let me at least say thank you to everyone who put all of the food and preparations together.  I do appreciate it.  Let me also announce that our smaller congregation still remains in the top five in terms of financial support of this work.  This is one of those things that does bring me appropriate pride for our efforts.  There may not be many of us here but we do pick up our share of the load when it comes to missions.  Not every church can say that.

You may not be surprised to read that I tend to be a bit of a rebel when it comes to such meetings.  Do not think that my participation is somehow off but it means I really do not fit in any Baptist clique.  It is also nights like this when my shy side tends to really show itself.  Maybe someday there will be an expert who can tell me why this happens.  I just do not mind being out of the focus during any occasion.  To be front and center has some appeal but that usually goes away very quickly.  The host church minister is invited to bring a short message at the start of our meetings.  Younger days would have me trying to amaze and captivate the listeners at the gatherings.  Tonight is a far different story.  I was content just sharing some of my personal story to the small crowd.  Old age does tend to give you a varied perspective on being fascinating.  Maybe the chance was missed to wow the handful of people.  Maybe it is fine to go in a different direction.

My conclusion was basically a few ideas gleaned from my years of ministry.  Most lessons learned in this job come the hard way.  These were just some of my thoughts from my experience.  One suggestion is to remember that you are a human being.  Long before anyone becomes a minister is the day you are born just a human being.  Ministers are prone to imagine a claim to divinity that eventually leads to horrible decisions.  I am content just being a person.  Another idea is to teach or preach the scripture however your personality allows.  I used to be able to rant and shout with the best of them.  There are times that still may call for a more forceful delivery.  Just do not imagine that increased volume makes the truth more true.  A last thought is to admit when you are wrong.  Just being in ministry does not mean you are smarter than everyone else.  I learned long ago that most church conflicts are rooted in ego and not issues.  We fight because of our conviction that no one else is as smart as us.  We seldom really agree to disagree.  Our tendency is to wait for a later date to prove our position as correct. 

Tomorrow will be another day.  My hope is we again use it wisely for God's purpose.

Bro. Trey