Post Surgery

It was seven years ago today that I was having a quintuple heart by-pass performed at Saint Thomas Hospital.  To say the least, that was a memorable event.  In fact, I have come to think of it as a marker in my life.  "Now was that before or after my heart surgery?"  I recall hearing David Letterman say about his by-pass that it was the most profound experience of his life and that he recommended it to everyone!  Well, I don't think I would go that far, but I know what he meant.

The other day I said to my wife, suppose I had an audience with God while I was unconscious having the surgery and He had said to me, "Randy, I'm giving you seven years."  How well have I used them? My dear wife told me that she knew I pray more and read my Bible more post surgery.  She also thought that, taken as a whole, I'm a better preacher than I was before my surgery.  I think most importantly she thought I am more appreciative of her these days.

Well, if I had such an audience with God, I don't recall it.  I was told by my cousin, who works with anesthesia, that it is impossible for people to go into a dream state during surgery.  I will take his word for it.  I just know that I'm profoundly grateful to God for His watch care over me seven years ago and every day sense.  I suppose the best way to show that is to live for Him.

Being A Good Pastor

I have to admit that my thinking about what makes a good pastor has changed with time.  As a younger man I suppose I saw the pulpit as the paramount thing a pastor was to be concerned with.  I know that I have tried to spend the lion's share of my time preparing for my messages, especially my Sunday morning message.  And yet I was struck by something this past Saturday.  I went with a group from my church to the Ocoee River to do some whitewater rafting.  It was a lot of fun, and I have to say that I throughly enjoyed myself.  On the way back home though as we were just making small talk I suddenly realized again that I was old enough to be the father of any of the folks on that van!

Ok, I knew that already, but then I began to think about these younger folks.  What do they really need from me?  What can I do for them that would minister to their need that they are not likely to get from someone else?  Now, you might think I would say they could get good sermons from me, and that would be partly right.  Truth is though, there are other guys just as good (and some better) preaching in the pulpits a sensible driving distance from their homes.  I think the one thing that I can do is care for their souls.  I'm not saying that no one else, in time, would care for their spiritual well being, what I am saying is I care about it right now.

That leads me to one of the folks on that van.  I really like this person, but I know there is some real spiritual need there.  This brings me full circle to how my perception of the pastoral life has changed over time.  If I really am going to be a pastor to that person I need to be burdened by their problem.  That leads to praying in private and hopefully some personal counseling.

The older I get the more I realize that the pastoral life is about caring for others souls.  It isn't an easy thing, it isn't a public thing, I don't even think it is often an appreciated thing, but that being said it is what I see as the essence of being a good pastor.  I just pray the Lord will grant me opportunity to do more of it in the years ahead.