Being Pastor Mark

Today my computer froze while I was writing my annual report for the church. Lost it all. At least the frustration helped me shorten it up and write only what was most important. I'm not finished, but I got a pleasant surprise tonight - no overseers meeting! One of the guys has been sick all week, so I missed last Tuesday as well so I was still able to go to the hospital and visit uncontaminated. A free evening is a big deal in our house.

Ordinarily I'm out of the house Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday nights. Sunday is for hockey, which starts at 10:15 PM, so I technically have an evening at home, and it is for fun, not work. Not that what I do isn't fun and enjoyable most of the time - it's just not being at home with my family whom I love. Wednesdays are our official family night, Mondays used to be something, and we did have Fridays double-booked for a time. Does it sound a little like we're on crazy pills?

This is why I like having my office at home. I am productive here. I can lock the door. I have an urgency just the same as when I may be 'out', and it makes coming home for supper so much easier. Being a one-vehicle family, it's nice to be able to be home and work. On the horizon, however, there is an office being built for me elsewhere and I have mixed feelings about it, which is made obvious by the comments I just posted.

As things are, when I'm absent from work as I have been these past weeks with Judah in hospital, I feel a real weight of responsibility to 'keep things going'. For example, I led worship the Sunday immediately following Judah's birth because it was just so fast and one of my other worship leaders was supposed to be having a baby that same weekend! My brain was sort of there, but my heart was definitely elsewhere.

I was also supposed to be preaching the following weekend, but switched dates with the man who was supposed to preach this past Sunday. I asked someone else to lead that weekend and she graciously obliged. My sound man had to be away as well that weekend and had found a replacement. However, on Saturday, his dog died (no word of a lie) and he was greiving. He came over to talk and I volunteered to cover for him (he was going to say he couldn't anyway, and there was no one else capable that week). I ran sound and did the set up while teaching someone else to do it.

All that to say this Sunday I set up, practiced with the band, led worship, preached, closed with a song & prayer, introduced myself to new folks and got them 'connected', took down, and then went home. Er, I mean went to Faith's parents' place for luch for Len's birthday party. I really do ask for it, don't I? I could probably do less. I'm trying to work my way out of at least part of my job. Not every pastor's life is like this - except those guys in the old days when they and their wives did everything sort of the way we do, only on less income depending on the goodness of people to bring food for meals and such - oh wait, that is us!

Except for the fact that we make a fine amount of money, even for where we live in rich Calgary. It's hard to buy a house, but God provided that. And everything else we have needed and more. He's so good. And this time, our adoption cost us way less than the rest. That's good, because our kitty for this adoption was spent on a new van after we totalled our Sunfire (Meg). Never too late, never too early, God is always on time. It's a good thing we had the opportunity to learn that living as married students at PRBI when we got by on nearly $1000 per month. God is good.

- Mark