We are now almost two years into a global pandemic. To say that vocational leaders are tired and discouraged would be a colossal understatement. On the front end of it, most seemed to quickly acknowledge, “This isn’t going to be a sprint, we’re going to have to lace up for a marathon.” And pastors did just that.
I’m what many in the church refer to as a “pastor’s wife.” I haven’t always been one. I gained this title or label almost nine years ago when my husband, David, accepted his first pastoral position as associate pastor of our church. Up until then, we both had careers but were very involved in lay ministry together.
We all have those moments when someone says something that resonates deeply with us. We often don’t even know why, but something tells us: “Pay attention here.”
The Christmas season is upon us and I would like to share some stories about a blending of traditions in our home.
We hope that you have seen and heard the news that we welcomed a new president here at Focus on the Family Canada this summer. If you missed seeing Jean-Paul Beran’s story in one of our emails or in our October magazine, you can click here to get to know him and his family.
As we turn our thoughts towards Clergy Appreciation Month again this October, I was reminded of the verse on which this celebration is based: 1 Timothy 5:17.
Have you ever heard anyone use the saying “that’s just the tip of the iceberg”? I’m sure we all have and maybe we have said it ourselves. Whenever I hear someone refer to the tip of the iceberg my mind goes to the historical story of the Titanic. The iceberg that was seen was literally only the “tip of the iceberg.” It was the part of the iceberg that was unseen that sunk the supersized ship that was said to be unsinkable.
Serving in the background of our retreat ministries is an amazing group of men and women without whom we could not do what we do to serve ministry leaders and married couples.
My mom and dad have taught me a profound lesson on what faithfulness looks like. They celebrated 65 years of marriage before my dad’s recent passing and those years covered some very hard seasons. When I was younger, I fully expected my parents to get divorced eventually. Part of that stemmed from seeing that they didn’t spend much time together and I could often hear them fighting when they thought my brother and I were sleeping. The other reason I expected it was because most of the kids in my class were from one-parent homes. I can only recall two of my classmates whose parents were still together besides mine. When my parents did fight, I often wondered if this would be the time where they would walk away from each other.
“Just beyond the boundaries of our cities is a unique lifestyle of faith and family of those who have a special connection to the land on which they live.”
Tim Beadle knows of what he speaks. He has spent the last 15 years on the road, travelling this beautiful country of Canada, checking in on rural pastors. What started out as a job turned into a burning passion to understand not just rural ministry but the pastors that God has called to minister there.