Entering God's Rest - Hebrews 4

I was asked to conduct a funeral this past week for someone from Palo (years ago) that I had never met.  This sort of thing can be difficult because as a pastor it's hard to know which Scripture passages will be of the most comfort for the family when you don't know much about the person who is being remembered.  In the end, two passages from the Gospels helped me, Jesus and the thief on the Cross (how wide is God's mercy and how easily obtained) and the 99 and 1 Sheep (God cares enough about each of us to not let us wander off) were able to guide me in my remarks.
Thinking back on that funeral, there was a lot of talk from the family and friends about how their loved one was no longer struggling against the troubles that beset her during her life.  That's certainly true, but I think it misses the point a little bit.  We often think of heaven as a place where we no longer have to endure physical troubles (an aching back, poor eyesight, a handicap); while this is certainly true, it doesn't reflect the real reason why standing before Jesus some day will be so amazing.
The burden that we are all carrying, a burden whose weight we are so used to that we don't even notice it, is sin.  We live in a world where sin is everywhere.  A world where our lives are beset by temptations and tragedies that come from sin.  The true peace of God that we will experience when standing face to face with Jesus will be finally knowing what it is like to be holy.  When selfishness is no longer an option, when fear and failure slip away.  On that day, you will find that a tremendous weight has fallen off your shoulders, never to be taken up again.  On that day, you will truly rest.
I'm reminded of the song, "I can only Imagine"  I love that song; the lyrics are amazing.  "Surrounded by your glory, what will my hear feel?  Will I dance for  you Jesus, or in awe of you bill still?  Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall?   Will I sing Hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?  I can only imagine, I can only imagine."

When doing the Right Thing makes you the bad guy

It is an unfortunate part of my teaching job that when I have an opportunity to do the right thing it usually ends up making me the bad guy in the eyes of my students.  It's not that I'm tempted to do otherwise, but it's just kinda sad that when we're trying to help people educate themselves, to make positive steps forward in their lives, that we (our staff of teachers, and teachers in general) end up earning their enmity instead.
I had an incident today that involved a very upset student shouting obscenities at me after I did the right thing by reporting his behavior to our administration.  There really any wiggle wrong here; I had a clear obligation to do it, but it's going to hurt my ability to teacher other students and certainly wrecked my relationship with this particular student.  Sometimes doing the right thing makes you the bad guy.  I don't think I make much of a villian, but it's true just the same.
As a pastor, I'm used to the notion that not everyone is going to be willing to listen to the Gospel message; some will reject it for now, others for good, but there's a confidence that comes from knowing the absolute value of what you're trying to share with others.  In school settings, the students often complain that what they're learing isn't important (whether or not it is), and to add to this, they're generally forced to be here.  Imagine if your church was half full of people who hated being there, who tried to sleep during the service or spent the whole time texting on their phone.  It's days like this that make my ministry seem all the more important because the root cause of these problems in the academic world are spiritual needs of the students (and their families).  How can a student focus on learning when the only things in their life that has meaning are drugs and sex?  How can we expect a student to care about literature or history if they find their own life to be meaningless?  As always, God bless our teachers, their job is never easy {note: both my brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, wife and myself are teachers, I just have the fortune to also be a pastor}

What I've Learned about Marriage and Success - Ephesians 4:25

One of the things that you learn from being married for a while is that it doesn't take a triumphal entry to consider yourself a success.  I can't claim to have made much money in life, nor to have become in anyway famous (outside of a bunch of kids who recognize me as Mr. Powell; not quite the same thing), but I am proud to say that I have found success as a husband.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't know any secret formulas (even though the bookstores are full of books that claim to have them), I've just tried to take seriously the advice of Paul in Ephesians 4:25 that husbands need to "love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her".
As a pastor, I hope that I have a clear notion of just how much Christ loved the Church (after all, that's what I preach about on a regular basis; Christ's love for us), and let me tell you, that's an ambitious goal.  {Note to husbands: we don't have any chance of matching Christ's love for the church when we love our wives, but that doesn't mean we're not obligated to try}. 
So what does it mean to love your wife as Christ loves the Church?  Step one, you need to put yourself 2nd.  That right there is the root of the problem for most men.  We may be willing to say "I love you", but we're not so keen on saying, "I love you  more than I love myself".  Sorry to rain on your parade, but if you're not willing to go that far, you'll never be much of a husband.
Which brings me back to my original thought; I've had some success in my marriage to my beautiful wife Nicole because I decided early on to demonstrate to her that I care for her more than I care for myself through simple acts of kindess.  Maybe that means bringing home flowers unexpectedly, or leaving a note for her; whatever form it takes, those simple things are the small steps we husbands need to be taking in order to build up our character in relation to our wives.  Guys, it isn't the big moments that make you a better man (because you'll fail in them if you wait for them to decide to step up), it's living like a servant toward your wife each and every day.

What I've learned about marriage and failure

Over the years my wife has wondered if I ever get really upset; I've built up a reputation as a Stoic because of my even tempermant.  Not that there haven't been a few times when I've been pushed beyond my limit to endure, but they've been the rare exception.  In our marriage, this has at times been a blessing, allowing me to be a "rock" for Nicole to lean on.  At others times I've envied the way Nicole can find such release for her emotions, purging herself of the pain or sorrow through tears on my shoulder.
Because of this outward appearance, it may be assumed by some that I'm not all that affected by the emotions in others.  Actually, the opposite is true; nothing brought tears to my eyes quicker as a youth than the sight of my mother's tears (at a couple of funerals in particular); that connection was powerful, but I've found through our years of marriage that it isn't in the same league as the emotins connected to pain in the eyes of my wife.
I grew up being able to do most of the things that I wanted to do; school was easy, sports were not so much, but I found a home in cross-country and eventually in basketball when I finally grew.  My early disappointments (in particular being picked on by bullies as a small kid) were things that I could shake off with a joke or well-timed zinger.
Even during college when I was in a long-term relationship that didn't work out I didn't have that same connection to her that I now have with Nicole.  The end of that relationship hurt a lot, but it was still she and I and not we.  Being married changed everything. (that it doesn't for so many may have something to do with those high divorce statistics)  I no longer faced disappointment alone; if something that I was hoping for didn't happen (a job opportunity for example) I could no longer just laugh it off and allow my natural personality to insulate me.
During the last several years I have had to watch my wife struggle with the financial and job difficulties that we have faced.  I've done everything within my own power to help; but I can't fix the problem.  I've prayed for the situation endlessly; I've prayed for Nicole daily, but I can't make that hurt in her eyes go away.  If I succeed at something, she shares my joy, which is nice, but if I fail at something, Nicole ends up being the one who feels the pain.  Of all of the things in life that I wish I could take back or change, these top the list.  As a man who loves his wife more than anyone else he's ever met, how can I reconcile that love and desire for her to only have good things from our relationship with the stress and pain she feels when I'm not able to "fix" the problem we're facing?  I've spent nights staring up at the ceiling wondering about that; hoping for an answer.
I've always said, "the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord" (I didn't make that up of course), but until Nicole and I became one in the eyes of God I never knew how hard it was to say that for the both of us.

Preach the Word - II Timothy 4:2

In the modern Church the responsibilities of pastoral staff have often been segregated into distinct responsibilities (such as youth, outreach, visitation, etc.).  This varies of course with the size of the church.  In a small one staff member church the pastor becomes a jack-of-all trades; doing whatever needs to be done.  The average size church often has someone responsible primarily for the youth as well, and larger churches are able to assign staff to specific needs.
What do all of these manifestations of the role of a pastor have in common?  Perhaps the words of II Timothy 4:2 will help remind us what the core of the pastorate is: "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction."  In the end, no matter what the job description happens to say, a pastor's first job is to Preach the Word.  To be a conduit for the Word of God to his church in whatever times and places are available, with both correction and encouragement, and all of this with great patience and care.
I'll always remember the words of Ed Dobson (at the time, pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids) as he explained why he routinely spent 30 hours each week working on the Sunday sermon; Dobson explained that it was the most important thing he did and that even though he had lots of other responsibilities too, they came second to preaching the Word.
I've certainly never been able to spend that much time on a sermon, but I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment.  Our responsibility to our flock is multi-faceted, but in the end we'll be held accountable for how we preached God's Word because that Word is the Word of Life.