Dear God,
It’s the Monday after Easter Sunday, but I am sure you’re already aware of that fact. I hope you were pleased with what happened at church yesterday. By the way, thanks for being there. Church is always better when you attend. I hope you felt honored and I did not hinder people from meeting you personally. I realize I am already rambling here, but you know how tanked I feel on Sunday afternoons and on most Mondays. Why can’t I be one of those pastors who are hyped after a service instead of one who feels like a can of Spam?
It was great to see 102 people baptized last night and hundreds more praying to follow you during the morning gatherings. I hope you felt honored and trust that the spotlight was on you more than those of us on the stage.
Lord, help me not to notice the empty seats more than I see the faces of people sitting in the occupied chairs. I do want to pray for new people to attend New Life and fill the empty seats, but I also want to be a good shepherd to those who are there.
Lord, help me to not be so aggravated when people give me immediate criticism about the Sunday talk or wait for me off the stage to point out one minor detail I got wrong. They should wait a day or so to give me their opinion but they don’t and probably never will. Forgive them Lord, because they have no idea how vulnerable and tired I feel right after a service. They have never been on a stage in front of people talking about life and death issues. When you give them that chance, I am sure they will then be more considerate about when to give their feedback.
Lord, help me not feel like every Sunday has to be “the best Sunday ever, in all of church history.” Not every talk has to be epic and not every worship service has to be “off the chain.” Remind all of my pastor friends on Twitter not to hype every weekend like it is the Super Bowl of all church weekends, every single week. You know that every Sunday service is not that great, because you attend their churches, too. Help us to build disciples with our weekend gatherings and not to create consumers who expect a new and improved product every weekend.
Lord, thanks again for allowing me to pastor New Life. Keep me focused on the important things and help me to ignore my own carnality. Thanks for the time. I hope to talk to you again real soon.
Love,
Brady