AAGH! I just got back from Wednesday night church.
I had a good night with the kids...I had a very small group (4 of them!), but we had a blast squirting each other with water, eating ice cream, and having a fabulous time of worship and prayer.
But afterwards, I was talking to the guy who drives our bus. Not really "our" bus. We borrow one of the mini school buses from the school district. Our driver reminded me that they were going to start charging us a small fee every time we used it (I had asked him if he could get it for Kids' Crusade in July). I said, "Well, we'll do what we have to do, but I am praying and believing that God is going to provide us with our own van, anyway!"
Then he started talking about how both our pastor and a previous pastor had supposedly said that, "Well...even if we get our own van, do we have the $$ in our budget to fix it if it breaks down?" Implying, in other words, that maybe we shouldn't bother praying for one!!
First of all...I know that our current pastor would NEVER say something like that, and I am also well acquainted with the former pastor, who had a huge heart for Bible quizzing, camps, and all the other stuff that goes along with children's ministry - you know, things you NEED transportation for. So basically, some stuffy church member (probably the board member that we are trying to pray DOESN'T get back on ) probably told him, to shut him up, that "the pastor" didn't want one.
Instead, I told him, "Well, that's not going to stop me from praying about it. First of all, we're worrying about a ficticious problem right now, because we don't even have a van that could break down. Second of all, I could also walk out the door and get hit by a bus today, or the church could go up in flames, but that doesn't mean we stop the ministry because something "might" happen. And if God is big enough to provide us with a van, I think He'll be big enough not to leave us hanging if something happens to it!"
But that, right there, is the attitude I'm fighting against. Something "might" happen. So we shouldn't move forward with anything. Ever. We might as well build ourselves an underground bunker and move in with canned foods and guns and wait for Armageddon!
Continue to keep our tiny little church in all of your prayers...and keep me in your prayers tomorrow, too. It's supposed to hit 100 degrees here in Minneapolis, and this northern MN girl can't handle the heat!!!
I'm so sorry that you are still battling the same old thing. It is so hard, I know. Sometimes I just want to shake some sense in some people & yell "why don't you grow up?" But, of course, you can't do that. Try to keep telling yourself that you're not fighting against flesh & blood, but against satanic forces. (This helps me about half the time.)
About the van, what does your school system do with their retired vehicles, stuff in general? Here, the school system will donate busses, desks, projectors, etc., to non-profit agencies, including churches.
I'll be praying for you. I'm in Florida, so I know about the heat. Stay in & stay cool.
) probably told him, to shut him up, that "the pastor" didn't want one.
