Before our 1st Wednesday service I was moving like a ninja, along the rows of chairs in our dark auditorium, trying to get in a good spot for a picture. (No, not a picture of me. A picture of our artists.) Focused on the stage, eye glued to the back of the camera and digits dancing on the aperture dials and shutter speed wheel I almost tripped over Dr. Bob. He had secreted himself in a chair and I’d failed to notice him.
He was just sitting there.
Praying.
Worshiping with the artists.
Thinking, I guess.
So, I sat down behind him, framed the communion elements in the background, and took his picture.
Then, I started thinking too.
I paused long enough to ponder a few of the questions people have asked about Dr. Bob. Questions like, “How does he know so much?” and “How come he seems to feel things so deeply and say things so passionately? What's driving that?” and “Why is it that whenever Dr. Bob is preaching, I feel like he is talking just to me?”
As I sat there with Bob it came to me. “Bob prepares,” I thought, “Bob actually prepares. He studies before he gets here. He prays before he preaches. He thinks about Jesus and he thinks about us. He prepares his mind and his heart and his spirit. Maybe that’s why he connects.”
After all that deep thinking about Bob’s deep thinking, I got up to leave. I didn’t get all the way out of the auditorium before I sat down, bowed my head and prayed, “Lord, help me learn from Bob’s life and Bob’s example.”
Then I stood up and went to prepare myself for Holy Communion.
Here's a passage Bob referenced during the service. I'm passing it along to you...
Colossians 1:18-23 - During the service Bob quoted this passage. I'll pass it along to you.Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead,* so he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world...
I really miss hearing Dr. Bob and others speak on Thursday nights. My schedule doesn't allow me to attend on Wednesdays. Any chance on having the journey classes available online? Even if its just the audio I would really appreciate it! - or offer some classes Thursdays!
Posted by: Jason | April 02, 2009 at 08:55 PM
I have a quote from Abraham Lincoln on my desktop that reads
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
I believe in preperation, Praise God for those who prepare before they share........
2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
Posted by: Ron Windbigler | April 03, 2009 at 10:35 AM