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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Riding Your Passion For God"
October 7, 2009
You could see the excitement rising as Stan Winman talked about what
God was doing in his life. A few years ago he joined the Christian
Motorcyclist Association and today he travels around New England sharing
the love of God with the people he meets. Most of them are hard core
bikers.
This didn't happen by accident. Actually Stan is a lot like you and me. Let
me back up a bit. He was finishing up his tour of duty in Iraq when he
made up his mind that when he got home he was going to get a bike. A few
months later he was on the highway driving his Harley under the New
England sun.
Stan was also an active church member. He loved the Lord and one day
when he was out riding he happened upon a group from the CMA.
Suddenly his passion for biking and his love of the Lord came together. He
found a ministry he could embrace.
That's how it usually happens. When God calls us he doesn't transform us
into clones of Billy Graham. He uses the gifts, talents, and passions that are
already there. I was thinking about this as I watched the baseball game
between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins the other night. I am a
passionate Tiger fan. I love sports. You can see that in my ministry.
A colleague of mine once referred to First Baptist, Norwich as the "sports
church." At one time we had two softball teams, a Sunday night bowling
league, a golf tournament and four youth basketball teams. On a typical
Sunday morning I'll pull out a Pittsburgh Steeler bobblehead or a Detroit
Tiger autographed baseball and make a point about God being our biggest
fan.
When I accepted the call to ministry I didn't change. God used me and
showed me ways to use my passion in his service. He does the same for all
of us. What's your passion? I know one person who used his love of
gardening to get involved with a local community garden project. I know a
man who was a good carpenter. He got involved with Habitat for Humanity.
I have a friend who is a financial planner. He now works with individuals
from his church to help them become better stewards.
What's your passion? God can use it to share his love with a world in
need. All he asks is that you offer it up to Him. So what are you waiting
for? Let's go out and have some fun for the Lord, doing what we love to do.
God bless. See you in Church. Cal
October 7, 2009
You could see the excitement rising as Stan Winman talked about what
God was doing in his life. A few years ago he joined the Christian
Motorcyclist Association and today he travels around New England sharing
the love of God with the people he meets. Most of them are hard core
bikers.
This didn't happen by accident. Actually Stan is a lot like you and me. Let
me back up a bit. He was finishing up his tour of duty in Iraq when he
made up his mind that when he got home he was going to get a bike. A few
months later he was on the highway driving his Harley under the New
England sun.
Stan was also an active church member. He loved the Lord and one day
when he was out riding he happened upon a group from the CMA.
Suddenly his passion for biking and his love of the Lord came together. He
found a ministry he could embrace.
That's how it usually happens. When God calls us he doesn't transform us
into clones of Billy Graham. He uses the gifts, talents, and passions that are
already there. I was thinking about this as I watched the baseball game
between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins the other night. I am a
passionate Tiger fan. I love sports. You can see that in my ministry.
A colleague of mine once referred to First Baptist, Norwich as the "sports
church." At one time we had two softball teams, a Sunday night bowling
league, a golf tournament and four youth basketball teams. On a typical
Sunday morning I'll pull out a Pittsburgh Steeler bobblehead or a Detroit
Tiger autographed baseball and make a point about God being our biggest
fan.
When I accepted the call to ministry I didn't change. God used me and
showed me ways to use my passion in his service. He does the same for all
of us. What's your passion? I know one person who used his love of
gardening to get involved with a local community garden project. I know a
man who was a good carpenter. He got involved with Habitat for Humanity.
I have a friend who is a financial planner. He now works with individuals
from his church to help them become better stewards.
What's your passion? God can use it to share his love with a world in
need. All he asks is that you offer it up to Him. So what are you waiting
for? Let's go out and have some fun for the Lord, doing what we love to do.
God bless. See you in Church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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