One Pastor's Perspective

You might not think about it, but Monday is a WEIRD day for those of us in ministry.  Many pastors take Monday as their day off BECAUSE of what I am about to write.  You see, Sunday is a full-fledged workday for those of us on the ministerial staff of EBC.  It is the pinnacle of the week, a day we study and prepare for all week leading into it.  Then we pour our hearts out in the various things that we do.  And then, it is done … or is it??

Monday is a day of reflection.  While we should reflect on the good things, often it leads to thinking about what I could’ve done better.  Who I didn’t see (although most days I can check Facebook to see what those I missed did on the Lord’s Day).  It is a day that feels emotionally flat and empty.  I do a lot of menial work around the church on Monday, because it gives my batteries a chance to have a little success and recharge.

It is also a day when  I think about the concerns of the coming week.  This week, as I busily prepare for my departure to Honduras (next week), I’m thinking and praying for my Mom and Dad.  Had a good but brief visit with them this weekend.  Mom has a little minor surgery tomorrow, and Dad has something a little more substantial coming on Friday.  I am thankful Krissy is doing an internship at their hospital in Greenville, and that my little sister is coming up for Dad’s surgery.

For now, I need to find some coffee and start thinking about this coming Sunday.  One of the bold facts of life for every pastor is:  Sunday’s COMING, whether I’m ready or not!!!

For the next 10 days, my right hand has left the country.  He will be halfway around the world serving on a mission project with 11 others from the Ebenezer Youth Ministry.  That’s right, Drew is on his way to Kenya.

I remember MONTHS ago when Justin challenged our youth to pray and ask God if He was calling any of them to go.  Drew got his answer pretty quickly.  After a couple of weeks, I asked Drew “Have you been praying about it?”  He assured me that God had given him a clear YES and he was just waiting on every one else to catch up.  Then, a lump in my throat:  I wondered if Drew was taking it seriously…  Little did I know that my son was intently listening to God and just waiting on His next move.  As a general rule, we adults DON’T DO THAT often enough.  We want God to lead and bless, but the truth is we want to keep moving.  We have a problem with being still and knowing He is God.  Makes me proud that my son was doing exactly what he should’ve been doing:  waiting on God.

And now, the wait is over.  And he is on his way!  And I’ll be without my right hand for a few days.  But that’s okay … He might be my right hand, but his heart belongs to His Savior.  I wouldn’t have it any other way!!

Sometimes life moves at the speed of light.  At a seriously, break-neck speed.  That’s been my experience lately!!

I found out late Wednesday night that I will be going to Honduras with our mission team in July.  (I KNEW I should’ve done the paperwork for a passport a few weeks ago when Drew did his …)  So, I’ve been hustling to get all of that stuff done, taking shots, and trying to get my mind into the right place for this.  My heart is there … I’ve been ready for this for a couple of years now.  Situations have just never worked out for me to go.  But this time, it has … and I can’t wait!!

This is really going to be a different summer for the Wikes.  Drew is going to Kenya in June, Krissy has an internship at the Medical School at Greenville Hospital System in June and July, and I am going to Honduras.  And there will be a point in there where Diana gets a break from all of us!!  She can’t wait, either!!

Popular opinion believes this is celebrated date of Mexican independence … but we Wikes celebrate it for another reason.   (By the way … after writing this, I learned this is NOT Independence day for Mexico, which is Sept 16.  It is the date of the victory of the Battle at Pueblo!!)

But, we Wikes celebrate because TODAY is Drew’s birthday!!  Today, my son turns 17 years old.  And I cannot believe it.

I still, quite vividly, remember the very day he was born in Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans.  Two weeks before graduation from seminary.  Four weeks before we loaded up everything we owned and moved to Florence.  And, while Drew claims his cajun heritage (and I agree, he’s got a whole lot of N’awlins in him), for all practical purposes Florence is his home.  It always has been.  He has literally grown up at Ebenezer Baptist Church.  Poor kid, probably more than any other if you add up all the hours spent on campus (more than any except Krissy, Paige Self, and Tyler Self perhaps).

So today, we join our brothers South of the Border to celebrate.  But we Wikes celebrate for a different reason.  Happy Birthday, Drewbie Doobie!!!

I discovered something this weekend.  Something I do not like, yet it will possibly be a fact of life for me for the rest of my days:  If Diana sits on my left side in church, I cannot put my arm around here.  It’s amazing that it took over a year to discover that, but one of those little things no one ever thinks about is the fact that I RARELY am able to sit with her in church!

But, don’t get me wrong here … I am THANKFUL for where things are right now.  Because I remember where they were not too long ago.  I remember going to an FLT production of “Into the Woods” some time last spring or summer.  I was still hyped up on medication and I remember having to take my little pillow into the theater with me (because there was a day when I thought I would never be able to sit around without my left forearm propped up).  But that no longer seems to be an issue, and I will test that theory tomorrow evening as I attend “Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming” at the FLT and make sure Diana sits on my RIGHT side!!

It’s true, I still cannot straighten my arm out.  I tried on a sportscoat not too long ago that was two sizes larger than I normally wear and it STILL doesn’t hang right.  Doesn’t look right.  It makes me look like more of a Picasso than I really am!  And almost 14 months have passed and there are still many things I am unable to do.  But when I remember where I was this time last year, I see how far God has brought me.  He has been really good to me and this injury and recovery could’ve been much worse.

And, every week I find myself doing things I thought impossible last year.  And that, my friends, is why I am thankful.  God is good ALL THE TIME!!

Yes, it’s me.  Actually, the Wikes.  Standing in the need of prayer.

Several big things going on right now.  Some that God knows, and that is enough.  Some difficult needs.  Nothing that prayer won’t handle, though!!

I called Mom last night to find her in tough shape.  It seems Dad has progressed to the point where he talks about going home a lot.  Home, right now, is a house they owned in Berea when I was little.  In fact, I think the bought it before I was born and we lived there until I was 10.  So, they sold it over 35 years ago when we moved to Easley.  But for some reason, Dad is convinced that is home and the house he built with his own hands is just some kind of hotel or therapy center.  And its wearing Mom down terribly.  For the past few months, when people ask me how Dad is doing my answer has been:  “Physically, not bad.  Mentally, however, he is losing ground.”  Please pray for them … Especially for my Mom.

I really wish they would move down here.  For now, all I can do is pray!!  For this, and a couple of other “unspokens.”  If you feel led to join me, that would be greatly appreciated!!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

If you start looking for the greatest character flaws of David R. Wike, you’ll find TRUST to play an interesting role:  I think it has something to do with being an introvert, but I place a HIGH, HIGH PREMIUM on TRUST.  Trust governs much of what I do in life … I use it to filter true friendships, to decide with whom I will do personal business (and, consequently, business for the church), to decide for whom I will vote, etc.  And sometimes it hard to remember that we are not perfect!!

We are human … We WILL make mistakes.  The Lord knows I MAKE them all the time!  Sometimes I have a hard time with that one!!  When you think about it, GOD IS PERFECT and in Him we CAN place our ultimate and total trust!!  AND, we can trust our fellow believers, as long as we remember that no one is perfect!!  We all DO make mistakes from time to time and we ALL need to remember that!!  And there is a difference between making mistakes and continually proving to be untrustworthy.

In Matthew 7:2, Jesus said ” … in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  What does that really mean??  The WAY you judge others WILL BE the way you are judged!!

I’m praying for my ability to trust today!!  Hope you will pray for me too!  And, I’ll pray for yours!

I had not planned to write anything today.  Honestly, I haven’t written much over the last couple of months.  Sometimes there are things a pastor cannot write about, especially under his own name.  This has been a few weeks of those kinds of things stirring my heart and mind.

Today started out particularly tough.  Several things on my heart with which I am struggling.  And, honestly, there are only a couple of people to whom I can turn with stuff like this.  But I wasn’t about to do that.

So, I am sitting here at my desk a few minutes ago, working on my sermon, and I go to retrieve an email I sent to myself yesterday (yeah, I’m weird like that) with some research for the sermon and I see this email from an good friend (who I haven’t talked to in a while), who is several hundred miles away and several states away!!  It says:

“You are really on my mind this morning.  Praying for you and your family.”

WOW!!  God had him praying for me at 7:30!!  And that is about the time I really started grappling with this!  I sent him an email back, telling him this was a “God-thing” because I’ve got some stuff in my heart.  I thanked him.  He responded:

“Well just know that you are being lifted up!  I was reading my devotion at my desk here at work, and all of a sudden just got this real sense of “Pray for David”.  It was very strong.  And who am I to argue?