A little accounting business

Said my ‘good byes’ in Long Beach—tough, of course, but right.  By bro, Tex, put his arm around me, looked at me, and said, ‘Paaaster, don’t look back…’  Funny thing is, I did look back after I drove away from the Sanctuary—I looked back to when I had first been asked to lead a weekly prayer meeting for the homeless, and I remember thinking, ‘Well, Lord, I have the ability to do it, but God, really--me?  Long Beach is an hour away from my home!  I am already tapped out; my ministry plate is full—how will I fit one more thing?’  He made a way, broadened my worldview and my heart in so many ways.

I think an accounting is in order at this point.  Remember the parable of the Talents, where Jesus described three different measure of talents given to three men by their master?  He went away, and when he came back, each had to give an accounting of what he had done with the talent he had been given.  See, all of us will stand before the Lord one day, and he will ask us what we did for him in this our one-and-only life; therefore, at the risk of looking self-righteous, please allow me to give an accounting to you this day. 

A pastor is a shepherd, and Jesus taught us that the sheep know the voice of their shepherd—such is their familiarity with him.  So who is the shepherd whose voice is heard in these daily briefings?  Well, do you remember seeing these funny-looking massager things a few years’ back?

That is a pretty good representation of me!  I have answered the call to shepherd four groups of people:  (had been five, but now no Long Beach)

1.  I am a wife and mother to my family—four children

2.  I am a corporate pastor to an international company

3.  I am the teaching pastor to a group of ladies who have become my family--Women of Passion

4.  I am an international pastor to the hundreds who read my Bible studies—“Morning Briefings”

And from time to time, I speak at women’s retreats, luncheons, etc., which is really a great joy!

The first requires little explanation, but if you’d like to see my family, check out www.pastorwoman.com.  Second - What the heck is a corporate pastor? I lead the upper management team in a weekly international conference call prayer meeting, have face-to-face Bible study sessions, and then counsel with those within the company who need spiritual direction, comfort or encouragement.  (It was for this team that I originally started writing Morning Briefings.) From the beginning of this corporate relationship, God has taught us and shown us over and over again to seek him for two basic things:    his favor and his wisdom.  “May the favor of the Lord rest upon us, confirm and establish the work of our hands; yes, confirm and establish the work of our hands.”  Psalm 90.17  and “If you lack wisdom, ask God, and he will give it to you.”  James 1.5   

Third – Women of Passion is a weekly Bible study and so much more.  I started the group 10 years ago, and it has seen several iterations.  Our community is authentic, diverse, loving, growing, accountable, and there for each other.  Besides leading them, they in turn love me and accept me; they are my safe place.  (Do you have a safe place?) 

Fourth – I think of this as “rest of world”.  God has taken the Morning Briefing readership into the thousands, distributing the Word to 108 countries, via written and podcast formats.  Podcasts are free and available through iTunes, and of course, they enable you to hear the emotion and inflection in my voice, which adds just a little to the delivery!  Daily I hear back from those in Pakistan, India, African countries or from a sister on the east coast I will never meet until Heaven. 

Morning Briefings have two purposes—to go verse-by-verse through books of the Bible, and also to weave in timely, discipleship lessons that are apropos to endeavoring to live the Christian life—such as ‘how do you hear the voice of God?’  ‘How do you keep going when life doesn’t go like it should?’  The archives of Morning Briefings are available and downloadable on www.pastorwoman.com.  Some are listed as topical, others from the various Bible books themselves.  Please take a look.

All of these are under the umbrella of Pastorwoman Corp., a 501-C3.

That is my brief accounting – now, let’s talk about the talents you have in your hands.  What are you doing with them?  Please accept this challenge:

WRITE DOWN HOW GOD HAS GIFTED YOU today, along with your EXPERIENCE—what you are able to do.  (speak, lead, administrate, etc.)  And stay tuned for tomorrow.

Christine

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