Sharing with pastors the potential of letting God use them for evangelism is a privilege and a joy. But some of them are discouraged, they have tried things that haven't worked. Pastors live under tremendous pressure, and they and their families are under constant attack from the enemy. We must pray for them.
Flying from California yesterday, I reflected on a number of the amazing things that took place Sabbath with the live Jesus in Your Church telecast. I really believed the Lord listened to those who prayed for this telecast. The entire team commented on how palpable the blessing of God seemed to us all. God took control of the program in spite of our personal limitations. I don't have any figures yet as to how many watched it live on Hope Church Channel, but I do know it should be a blessing to many.
So, here is a list of specific things I'm grateful to God about, from my personal perspective. These are things I was worried about regarding the telecast, though I should know that "Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning" (DA 330). I'll just mention four:
- The Moderator. Connie Vandeman Jeffrey did a terrific job. She internalized what we were trying to do in a very short time. It took me a while to finally connect with one of our well-known evangelists to be the MC, but the schedule did not work out. I then asked a good friend, also in media ministry. He happily accepted, but had to call and cancel just two days before the program. That's when Connie stepped in.
- The Technical Issues. After planning and practicing for four hours on Friday, I stayed a while because we had trouble between my computer and their screens. Without a monitor, I couldn't use Power Point, and I'd have to entirely reformat my messages. Eventually, they found a way to make it work. And then, on Sabbath morning, we discovered the PPT configuration changed when in their equipment. They fixed just minutes before we needed to use it. The technical equipment at the Media Center is so sophisticated that anything can go wrong. Fortunately, the staff is really good, very professional, and things worked quite well.
- The Sermon Length. For those who know me well, you know I tend to speak long, if given the chance. On Friday, we shaved more minutes from my first sermon due to program's needs. I cut some more. On Sabbath morning, I was impressed to dispense with one illustration, in case I'd run out of time. I was so fearful I'd watch the countdown clock and see 4 minutes left with 13 minutes worth of material! But it all worked out. I finished everything I needed to say with 14 seconds to spare. Now, tell me if that isn't a miracle! True, for the second sermon I went 5 minutes over, but I even consider that to be a miracle, since I only had the time to piece it together between sermons, and had no idea how long it would take to preach it.
- The Live Crowd. We had someone from the local conference working hard to generate interest in the churches to be part of the live audience. We needed 25-30 people, but the problem was that they needed to be there at 7:30 in the morning. On Wednesday before the broadcast we only had five people, though more for the afternoon. We decided to cancel that and work with camera only. However, we started getting phone calls from people wishing to come! In short, we ended up with 75 people in the morning, and 35 in the afternoon. All extremely supportive. What a difference they made, and what a blessing they were!
And that's one more reason I'm thankful today.
"Rejoice always;
Pray without ceasing;
In everything give thanks;
For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thess 5:16-18
For the ill-attentive among us, us being me, how does one sign up for being a prayer warrior?
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