Yesterday’s entry in Streams in the Desert had a stirring poem by Archbishop William Alexander. The poem moved me as it spoke to my heart’s passion. Listen to this…

“If I have eaten my morsel alone,”
The patriarch spoke with scorn;
What would he think of the Church were he shown
Heathendom—huge, forlorn,
Godless, Christless, with soul unfed,
While the Church’s ailment is fullness of bread,
Eating her morsel alone?

“Freely you have received, so give,”
He says, who has given us all.
How will the soul in us longer live
Deaf to their starving call,
For whom the blood of the Lord was shed,
And His body broken to give them bread,
If we eat our morsel alone!

Oh Church, I confess to being a glutton, but I can no longer fully enjoy our feasts, the meetings of shared faith. My heart longs to take the abundance of life to those who hunger, those who cry out, those who have no hope.

To those who wait, “I don’t know how to get to you, but I’m coming. Hold on a little longer while I find my way and learn. I want to bring you a bite of hope, a bit of love and acceptance. I’m a coming. Don’t give up.”

To God, “Help me bring the answer to their cries. Show me how to do this. What is your way? Fill me with your amazing love and let it pour over them. Here am I.”

“Where is your brother Abel?” (Genesis 4:9)

Unpacking the Pastor’s Workload: 7 Tips for Women to Help Out

All hands on deck! The job is big and the pastor can’t do it alone. Women can help unpack the pastor’s workload and make a powerful impact in the lives of those in the community and the church. As I mentioned in the previous post, Partnership with Pastors, I have a desire to help the ministries of the church be effective in their mission. The following is part two of that post and lists seven tips for women ministering to women. Ladies, you can do this.

*

1. Realize you have something to offer. A listening ear. Wise counsel. Party planning. Training expertise. Organizational skills. Bake and Take friendship talent. You can always offer relationship to women who need relationships.
2. Pray for a discovery of where you can help both in the community and in the church.
3. Look for opportunities to serve women by determining their needs
4. Communicate your availability and interest in helping your pastor reach the women of the church and community. Be sure to express your intentions of strengthening the church and families.
5. Ask the leadership, pastor, or women’s ministry leader, what needs they see and how your skills and talents can help meet those needs.
6. Learn the skills necessary to become more useable. Be teachable and always adapting to changes.
7. Believe that God can use you to make a difference in the lives of others. No task is too small to make an impact, nor too big for you to do your part.

You can make a difference. With so many needs in our communities and churches, you have a great opportunity to assist life change by joining others and partnering with pastors.

* photo from www.jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu.

The “little ole me” attitude keeps me from partnering with others to do big things, or try feats that could never be done on my own. Feelings like, “What can I do? Not much, I’m not trained.”  But partnering with pastors and other leaders with vision will build God’s kingdom and strengthen our families.

Faith and togetherness. Our weaknesses are made strong with God and others. I feel inadequate (no big secret), but with faith to trust and obey God along with joining others, amazing acts are completed. When I consider what faith and togetherness does in my life, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

When Lynn Snider, the Executive Director of South Baptist Texas Association, heard about my desire to partner with churches to reach women, he invited me to share at several pastor’s luncheons of the SBTA. I offered my assistance to make a difference in the lives of women in their community. Being a pastor’s wife, I understand the burden and workload of pastors and the benefit of women ministering to women.

Robin with Pastor Elmo Johnson and Anita Wood

At one luncheon I joined Anita Wood, SBTC Women’s Ministry Regional Representative and speaker at Capture Me! iGETitLIFE Women’s Event. We traveled to the 4th Ward in Houston and met Rev. Elmo Johnson, pastor of Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church and president of UpLift 4th Ward Community Development. Anita and I offered our assistance to the pastors followed by an awesome prayer time and lunch at This is It Soul Food. We met some of Rev. Johnson’s members working and dining at the restaurant. His ministry is evident all over the 4th Ward. If you want to make a difference in the lives of people, seek out and learn from Rev. Elmo Johnson.

During each pastor gathering I offered:

•    Inspirational events for the community and churches
•    Women’s ministry training for leaders of women
•    Vision casting for the women of the church (to assist the pastor in counseling and ministering to women)

The pastors appreciated the counseling women vision and were eager to find that kind of assistance. My pastor-husband brought a godly woman, or most often myself, into every counseling situation with females. He found extra support for the lady in crisis, a “girlfriend” with which to pray and talk. This partnership lightens the pastor’s workload and frees him to focus elsewhere.

Look for future post Tips for Women Ministering to Women, Unloading the Pastor’s Workload

I’m feeling a little down today. Tired. Dirty contacts messing with my vision. Girls gone to camp. Feeling alone…

Too much to do. Too much strain in my faith (that God would use me). My turn to whine.

Girlfriend calls. Wants me to fix lasagna for the fellowship tomorrow night. I want to stay home in pj’s.

Writing? How can I do that when I need to call every women’s ministry contact in God’s creation on behalf of Capture ME! ~ iGETitLIFE 2009 Women’s Event. At least I’m not laid up in the hospital with a spinal leak like the iGETitLIFE coordinator. She just had a baby and the epidural caused spinal fluid leakage (pray for Jamie). And I want to whine!

(sigh)
Look. It’s like this. I obey God and still I have troubles. 

(picture from gizmodo.com)

I’m trying to not be despondent. I know God’s in control. I’m doing what he asked, but I just don’t see his hand at this time. My faith doesn’t require sight, but my sense of security sure likes it.

"If you will…firmly exhibit your faith at the precise moment, you can sometimes actually snatch victory from the very jaws of defeat… lifting your heart to God in a moment of genuine faith in Him can quickly alter your circumstances…He can turn defeat into victory in a split second, if we will only trust Him." ~Streams in the Desert

Going to cleanse my contacts for Firmer Faith and Clearer Vision.

Are churches engaging the culture, making changes to spread the news and share the hope of Jesus? Or are they just twittering?

In business, I’ve tweeted quotes of conference speakers. And, when attendance wasn’t an option, I’ve watched tweets of twitterers at the conference. Their twittering created a feeling of connection with the event and gave the most impressive information almost like I was there. I’ve also taken conference notes on my iPhone and scheduled noted events in my calendar all while listening to the speaker. I’ve seen speakers reading scripture from their Blackberry and following their presentation notes from the same. Mobile devices aren’t just phones to those who utilize their great functionality. They’re cool tools!

Should these awesome devices be used during church? For a long time I’ve thought how Twitter can be used to create a community that is involved rather than spectating during church. Christ followers want to interact, make a difference, and worship. They don’t want to watch church. They want to engage. Those who use mobile devices and Twitter in their everyday life will naturally want to do so during church.

Twitterers heralded the prayer request for the shooting of Pastor Fred Winters of Maryville, IL that happened during a church service.  My husband and I received the real-time tweet and brought the request to the attention of our church meeting a thousand miles away. Real-time prayer needs. Should we twitter in church?

I wonder if the question of twittering in church could be rephrased, “Should church engage the culture?” When we send missionaries into a culture, they study it to learn effective ministry in it. We live in a post Christian culture that needs engagement for the purpose of sharing Jesus. My previous post with great video, Twittering Ministry, shows how today’s business world has changed and the implications for necessary change in ministry.

Once I had a friend jokingly tap me on the shoulder during the service and whisper, “Are you texting in church?” Me, a preacher’s wife, texting in church? I’ll admit to nothing. At that time I was only taking notes.

It seems taboo to utilize a different way of making notes than scribbling on a piece of paper. Wasn’t there a time when scribbling on paper was considered prep for passing notes in church? Now churches have fill in the blank outlines and other methods of engaging attendees with note taking. Why not the PDA? It won’t get lost or tossed as scrap.

Churches could teach their parishioners how to engage each other and their community during church with these not-so-new tools and alleviate the stigma of “not paying attention.” The fact is users may be even more engaged in worship and ministry than those sleeping or staring blankly at the wall behind the pastor. (Do you know how many ceiling tiles are in your church?)

Time magazine released an interesting article worth reading, “Twittering in Church with the Pastor’s O.K.” Certainly our world gets it, and some churches are getting on board as well. Check out a worship leader’s perspective “Using Twitter the Phone in Church.” by Chad.

 “What is Twitter?” some ask. It’s micro-blogging, or broadcast texting. You can say whatever to whoever wants to listen in 140 characters. You can use text messaging on phones, applications on PDA’s, and online computers to Tweet. For a better description of the what and how of Twitter, check out Michael Hyatt’s step-by-step posts or peruse Social Media Strategies and Tools Explained blog by Beth.

Oh, and tweet me, @RobinBryce. Let’s engage for the glory of Christ.

My kids are singing At the BWA Youth Conference on stage. Here’s the link to the live feed.

http://www.bgct.org/texasbaptists/Page.aspx?pid=5078&srcid=1832

Read about it on the blog

Cool!!! Wish I could be there!!

Wishing,

Robin Bryce

"Success is an illusion."

I heard it said and thought of the profoundness. All we have is given us. God provides even our ability to breathe. Without his love we are nothing. Success is given us as a blessing of his love only, not our merit.

Vonda Skelton my friend, author and speaker, placed in her blog an article I wrote about attaining a successful life and leadership. Though I worked on the article, the ability to do the work was given me and I must pass the credit along to God who gave it.

If success is an illusion and love is the substance, then I am successfully loving in my longing. My two oldest children, Jonathan and Christa, have landed in Germany today to sing in four concerts in Berlin and Leipzig. They went with Texas Baptist All-State Choir on invitation to lead worship at the Baptist World Youth Conference. They will be back August 5th. As teens, they’re a long way from Mom. I’m excited for their opportunity, but I’ve got the Mom thing going on emotionally. Dad’s told them as a souvenir he wanted the Whittenburg Door where Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis.

Sure wish we were with them!

I’m antsy. Pacing the floor, starting a fire for the night’s chill, beginning dinner and washing dishes. I’m sitting, watching smoke, trying to keep a paper flame going long enough to ignite the wood. My heart aches; it races with anticipation. Impatience. Readiness. Anxiousness. Desiring to get rolling, see the flame roaring, and NOT the smoke in the fireplace. NOT the buying of a book proposal. NOT the increasingly busy speaking schedule. No, it’s the vision…I am driven.

I must go, do. I’m to work, reclaim people as Christ’s, first in North America then the world. The vision is so much more than a book or a speaking schedule. It drives me, inflames my passion. IF God can use me according to all he asks of me, lives will be changed restoring God’s kingdom, redeeming the lost. I’m ready to get going. Or I think I am.

This aching is intense and makes my adrenaline run. I feel the ‘Here I am. Send me.’ of long ago has me in the starting blocks pointed in the right direction having to wait for the gun to go off. Settled, relaxed, and resolute in mission. Tensed and ready for action.

Am I crazy? Why does my heart burn so hot? Do you think I am abnormal?

I do. I am a nobody, but God gave me this passion—a vision that consumes me. Every day I pray for God’s direction. Bit by bit, step by step, in all He has led me through, I come closer and the steps of the vision become clearer. Please pray. Pray I don’t lose my first love, and that I keep after God, not running ahead or lagging behind. I want to consistently follow God’s lead at all times. I need Him excruciatingly. What to do with this ache? All I know is… to remain close in prayer.

Will you join me? Pray “Here am I; send me.” Or “Use me.” If you mean it and believe it, your life will never be the same. Mine hasn’t, but what an adventure.
Robin