Eze 44:5-(9)
I was in for a shock the first Sunday at my new pastorate. The rural church had been without a pastor for about two years and the effects of being without a leader were evident. I sat down in my pew to enjoy the preliminaries of the Sunday School service. A lady who did not have the appearance of an acquaintance with the conservative holiness culture walked up to the platform with a song book in her hand. I later discovered that she was not a Christian, BUT her granddaddy had be a founding father of the church. I also discovered that she seldom missed a service, knew everybody in the country and was a gossip.
With a lot of help from God and intestinal fortitude that accompanies immaturity I was able to 1) get a new song leader, 2) convince the church people that they should only elect Christians to positions in the church, and 3) win the lady’s friendship and support.
A person who is involved in the leading of worship to God must be a person who loves God. To give someone a position of leadership just to encourage them to become a part of the church organization is to misunderstand out mission. We are to seek and save the lost.
Dr. Gayle Woods
Jn 6:43-51 (44)
FORTUNE, a leader among American business publications, also provides conferences for senior executives of the nation’s corporations. Bringing together leaders from a variety of fields, including top corporate executives, economists, technologists, entertainers, scientists and government officials they encourage the generation of ideas regarding the trends that embrace all within the larger context. The programs include panels, short vignettes, and interviews during which time those involved in the brainstorming sessions seek to think strategically toward the future.
These conferences are by invitation only. That explains why I have never attended a Fortune Conference. Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is by invitation only as well. In this I have enjoyed the esteemed privilege of being recognized.
I was not invited to a relationship with God because of anything that I was able to accomplish on my own. I was not invited because of my intellectual prowess or my profession status. God took the initiative. From the cross He heralded an invitation to all mankind. Unlike the Fortune Conferences, God did not only choose the best and most promising. He invited the unlovely, the undesirable and the unlikely. Through the work of the Holy Spirit the Father continues to send out reminders to individuals encouraging each one to come to repentance. Have you received yours?
Dr. Gayle Woods
