As I consider my sins…those secret and those public… my spiritual slothe in feeding my soul and those charged to me…of confronting those dear lost people I know with Jesus and this beautiful Gospel of the God who sought out and died in His people’s place, I am broken and reminded of my everpresent need for His Grace. Can I bear the cup? No. Jesus bore the cup. Who killed Jesus? I killed Jesus.

20Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
21these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
23And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24″Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25″He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
26″If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

John 12:20-26

Last night I was reading a biography of Curtis LeMay, the much misuderstood Air Force General of WW2 and Cold War fame. I challenge folks to read about him from people other than those of the Vietnam and 60’s period. A very interesting man who was very much anti his stereotype.
I read where he gave a scared officer in his bomber group in early WW2 Britain some personal advice
“Nutter, you are probably going to get killed, so it’s best to accept it. You’ll get along much better.”
I guess many men have given similar advice. Maybe the writers of “12 O’Clock High” took this directly from LeMay or maybe many commanders at that time in 8th Air Force (the US strategic bomber force in Europe) may have given it as the more flamboyant General Savage (Gregory Peck). But, it does sound remarkably like the sermon my pastor (Ken Hardin, Grace Community Baptist Church, Monks Corner, SC) gave this morning.
The language of death is one the Bible uses over and over again…mainly to express bad things. But here, in John 12:24-25 Jesus uses it in a paradoxical fashion. He tells us that if we hate our lives we will save it. If we love our lives here on Earth more than God, we will lose it. Paul tells us to “consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to Christ” (Romans 6:11). Or “”I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians (2:20).
In a very real sense, we who have been called to God through Christ into the church must die. Our desires for material things, safety, comfort, power in the world must die. For we have died in Christ.
As General Savage and General LeMay (then LTC LeMay) said, to them the only thing that mattered was putting bombs on target so as to end the war quicker…therefore consider yourself dead already. Christians, are already dead to this world. We are to have but one goal and ambition, serve Christ, glorify the Godhead by relying upon HIM  and living for Him, in Him.
I must admit, even this very weekend, I recieved a couple of affronts and took them very personally. One had to do with money (it really did hurt and wasn’t my fault…lets just say no groceries were bought this weekend) and one loved one selfishly assaulted another with their words…which lacked any understanding.  But, that is what we should expect. Everyone has those problems…as a Christian, I should expect far more for HIS sake (the 2d was partially so). But what seperates (or shouldseperate) believers from others. We do not take our suffering as against us, but as against the one who loves us and we know there is purpose…God’s glory in our suffering. He is served. I haven’t fully embraced this teaching, but I know it is true. Please pray for me, and I will pray for you that we will ultimately love God more than our earthly lives and will in effect die to sin and live with Christ.

This is the devotion I delivered to an Interdisciplinary Group meeting in Atlanta during my corporate training.  Just posting it as I promised.
A Refuge
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:1-4

We live busy stressful lives. Children to school or daycare; fight metro traffic; help Mom and Dad or worry about Mom and Dad if they live a couple of hours away; a thousand and one bills to keep track of just to live our modern lives; the yard needs mowed and there just isn’t any daylight; spouse needs time…what time? Did I mention the kids are back in school and I just had to spend way too much money for the right sneakers and new clothes…they just grow or grow fickle way too fast…not to mention they ultra-specific school supply lists. The in-box of life seems to keep refilling and the out-box, well it isn’t filling nearly so fast…too many things that just don’t get finished. And then there are strained relationships that I just can’t seem to get reconciled.
And that is live.
Oh, did I mention that we work in hospice. None of our patients actually get better. They all are preparing to die. All of their loved ones are dealing with a volatile cocktail of emotions, and oft times we do also.
And that is life…it seems to be battling against us from start to finish.
But there is a place. It is rather similar for many and different for everyone. It maybe alone in the mountains looking down on the landscape, just you and your thoughts. It maybe dinner with an old friend, who knows you as no other. When you finally get an evening alone with your spouse or companion. It maybe a closet where you can just cry out, pray, meditate.
This place is your refuge. It is where you can feel safe and be recharged. We all need that place…all of us in this modern world (3d world subsistence farmers need it too!). But our lives in the good old USA, we are doing… and doing. Sawing wood and never sharpening the saw. I hope you have a refuge and fortress where you are safe, a place to dump some of the stress and mourning that we absorb. A place where you are fed and can renew you soul.
This is in some ways a bland blog…I learned how to do this from a CPE friend, Karen Humbert, who is now the rector of a ECUSA (Episcopal) congregation in Huntington, WV…this free flow liturgy as she would call it I think. It seemed to hit a few of the folks I gave it to in Atlanta, but being in a secular environment and not knowing all the members of the group, I did it bland. The SALT I would add to it is simply this- Each human beings’ true refuge is the Triune God of the Bible. One who loves His people so that He would sacrifice His own Son (a very real part of Himself) to wipe their sins from the record. But hates the sin that destroys us and dishonors Him so much that the Son had to die in place of sinners. Your place. Put your trust for this life and the next in the Son, Jesus Christ. Acknowledge Him as the LORD of the Universe and the Savior of Creation seemingly lost in sin. Know Him, Love Him.

• I have no idea about the about this website juntosociety.com. So please don’t think I endorse them, I don’t know of them, but their site had the best rendition of this great story about an American hero and his views on taxation and government spending…David Crockett. Crockett was a mythical hunter, Indian fighter, Congressman and a soldier of America’s Manifest Destiny at the Alamo. He was also an advocate for the American Indian against his political mentor Andrew Jackson and came to be haunted by much of his Indian fighting.
  I read this story as part of a MA History Readings in US History class at Murray State (KY) soon after I left the Army in 1991. My professor was Dr. Burt Folsom who is now at Hillsdale College and is a frequent guest at think tanks and occasionally on CSPAN. This story and Dr. Folsom’s other assignments has been formative in my thinking on money and the role of government. I hope you enjoy.

Patriotism

 

Not Yours To Give

Col. David Crockett
US Representative from Tennessee

Originally published in “The Life of Colonel David Crockett,”
by Edward Sylvester Ellis.

One day in the House of Representatives a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:

“Mr. Speaker–I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him.

“Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week’s pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks.”

He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.

Later, when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett gave this explanation:

“Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. In spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and, besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done.

“The next summer, when it began to be time to think about election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up. When riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came to the fence. As he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but, as I thought, rather coldly.

“I began: ‘Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called
candidates, and—‘

“Yes I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine, I shall not vote for you again.”

“This was a sockdolager…I begged him to tell me what was the matter.

” ’Well, Colonel, it is hardly worth-while to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest.
…But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the more honest he is.’

” ‘I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it, for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question.’

“ ‘No, Colonel, there’s no mistake. Though I live in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in Georgetown. Is that true?’

” ‘Well, my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did.’

” ‘It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. ‘No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this county as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week’s pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.‘ “The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington, no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution.‘

” ‘So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you.’

“I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man should go to talking, he would set others to talking, and in that district I was a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him, and the fact is, I was so fully convinced that he was right, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him, and I said to him:

” ‘Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress, but what you have said here at your plow has got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot.’

“He laughingly replied; ‘Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before, but I will trust you again upon one condition. You say that you are convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will tell people about this vote, and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and, perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way.’

” ‘If I don’t’, said I, ‘I wish I may be shot; and to convince you that I am in earnest in what I say I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and if you will get up a gathering of the people, I will make a speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will pay for it.’

” ‘No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section, but we have plenty of provisions to contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those who have none. The push of crops will be over in a few days, and we can then afford a day for a barbecue. This is Thursday; I will see to getting it up on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you.’

” ‘Well, I will be here. But one thing more before I say good-bye. I must know your name.’

” ‘My name is Bunce.’

” ‘Not Horatio Bunce?’

” ‘Yes.’

” ‘Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen me, but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud that I may hope to have you for my friend.’

“It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity,  and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met him, before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it is very likely I should have had opposition, and had been beaten. One thing is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a vote.

“At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger than I had ever seen manifested before.

“Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and, under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until midnight, talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before.

“I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him – no, that is not the word – I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if every one who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ would take the world by storm.

“But to return to my story. The next morning we went to the barbecue, and, to my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had got pretty well acquainted – at least, they all knew me.

“In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:

” ‘Fellow-citizens – I present myself before you today feeling like a new man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice, or both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for your consideration only.’“

“I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation and then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:

” ‘And now, fellow-citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that the most of the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me of my error.

” ‘It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the
credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his convert and that he will get up here and tell you so.’

“He came upon the stand and said:

” ‘Fellow-citizens – It affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised you today.’

“He went down, and there went up from that crowd such a shout for Davy Crockett as his name never called forth before.‘

“I am not much given to tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth more to me than all the honors I have received and all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of Congress.‘

“Now, sir,” concluded Crockett, “you know why I made that speech yesterday.

“There is one thing now to which I will call your attention. You remember that I proposed to give a week’s pay. There are in that House many very wealthy men – men who think nothing of spending a week’s pay, or a dozen of them, for a dinner or a wine party when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt of gratitude which the country owed the deceased–a debt which could not be paid by money–and the insignificance and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum as $10,000,  when weighed against the honor of the nation. Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it.”

 

What am I, and where am I?
Strange myself and paths appear;
Scarce can lift a thought on high,
Or drop one heart feeling tear.
Yet I feel I’m not at home,
But know not which way to move:
Lest I farther yet should roam
From my blessed love.
Some small glimmering light I have,
Yet too dark to see my way;
Jesus’ presence still I crave;
When, O when will it be day?
Is the evening time at hand?
Will it then indeed be light?
Will the sun its beams extend,
To chase away the night ?
Will the Lord indeed appear,
Give me light and joy and rest,
Drive away my gloomy fear,
Draw me to his lovely breast?
Then his love is rich and free;
Jesus, let me feel its power,
And my soul will cling to thee,
Love and praise thee and adore.
© 2005 Red Mountain Music
www.redmountainmusic.com

 

He is my refuge and my fortress
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler[a]
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
I don’t know exactly why, but two weeks ago, I began to contemplate Psalm 91. I really don’t know why. It came to me by what in my mind was sheer coincidence. I remember the next 2 verses talking about though you are in battle and men are falling all about you God will keep you (A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.) being quoted to the old man dying (supposedly) in the middle of the Sean Thornton/Red Will Danaher melee at the end of The Quiet Man. I had heard on a Biography Channel show about Jimmy Stewart that his father gave him a new Bible with the 91st marked for him when he went to Europe to fly B-17’s over Europe. But I can’t say I had a personal experience with the Psalm…I had with several…115, 40, 31, 103, 95. Well, in personal devotion and corporate worship, I have really gotten into many Psalms, but not 91. I don’t know why not, but I haven’t.
Then, as I said it came to me…well on second thought, not out of the blue, but through the Bible study our church is doing on Psalm 119. Psalm 119:114 speaks about God and His word being a “hiding place and shield.” It got to me. I cross referenced to Psalm 91. Hmmm. Last week when training in Atlanta I was asked to give a devotion for an IDT meeting (all the different care givers discuss the patients together), and of course I worked from the first 6 verses of Psalm 91. I will post that for you all a bit later. But Hospice folks, indeed all healthcare pros need a hiding place. A safe place to dump emotions they absorb from being exposed to the suffering they deal in and their own emotions and stresses. Indeed, everyone needs a refuge.
Today I met a lady on my first visit in God’s new ministry for me. We were bringing in both her mother and husband to the system. But on the way the nurse doing the initial interview called and said the mother may be dying in hours so we sped up. Needless to say, I spent most of my day with that family. The daughter/wife who is the main caregiver for both ailing patients needed a refuge. What better than Psalm 91. Just a short prayer with a lady beginning to grieve an imminent loss. Then a short talk with a non-responsive lady. The reading of a Psalm (yes 91) and telling her it was OK. Her daughter had a refuge and a fortress. Someone that would keep her from the snares and pestilence of hopelessness. It was as if I had never been away from the ministry of healthcare chaplaincy. It was home. It is home. Praise be to God who knows the desires of our hearts when even we don’t.
Find your Refuge, your Fortress. They are actually a person…a God. Jesus Christ.

This is basically a journal entry type of post. Nothing quite so profound or thought provoking as I would normally hope to provide both for my soul and mind work and for any readers edification.

The week was really helpful. First, I was again reminded how much I like visiting with sick and stressed people. I know that sounds strange to the average person, but chaplains you will find are seldom average (is anyone?). There is a real feeling of specialness (sic) when someone shares their story with you or their heartfelt concerns.
I also feel as if I was given a good system to work out the paperwork. Remember folks, much of hospice work is under DHEC (state health department) regs and is paid for by Medicaid/Medicare funds through said state agencies. So, we do need to document for the taxpayers (of which I am one) if we actually did what we were contracted for and how their money was spent. Being a taxpayer, I fully agree with accountability, being me, I hate paperwork and am a slug on said work.
Of course, the biggest problem for me…or challenge is not the documentation, or organizing my work day and week, but…how do I apply The Gospel to my work? This was always my biggest question during CPE. I don’t think I was ever criticized for unloading on a patient in two years (meaning witnessing to Christ without an invitation). My supervisors (one a process theologian who at times held more Orthodox views in contempt, and one who was a bit new age-E) would have been sure to pass said criticism on. But, there does seem to be an assumption that if one is “conservative” or a “fundamentalist” that there is a danger that the chaplain will attempt to be judgemental or evangelistic in a very offensive way. As if pointing to self reliance isn’t guiding someone to a religious conclusion.

I guess that is where my Reformed convictions come in to play. It isn’t up to me to save or convert anyone. God must be at work. Given the opportunity, I will gladly share God’s story of Creation, Fall, Sin, and Redemption. But my first job is to meet the folks where they are. And pray for the appropriate situation as I provide for their lower level “spiritual needs.”
It is a great thing to be on mission for God in a unique and full-time way. I ask anyone reading this posting to please pray for those Divine Opportunities when a patient expresses their need for knowledge of Christ and for my discernment to see it and be the messenger. To be the pastor for my fellow hospice staffers, and to seek God in each situation.
In Christ Alone,
Greg

Well folks, as of tomorrow I will be taking a new role in the Kingdom and my life. I will be the Charleston area Chaplain for Serenity Hospice. This is a good fit for me I believe as I thoroughly enjoyed me time as a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) resident in 01-03.
I hope to use the blog as a bit of a journal of my experiences and an effort to educate others in the experience of ministering to patients and families preparing for death and dealing with the subsequent grief and mourning. I hope that God will give me some insight by using the blog to develop a more Biblical view and method of this ministry than I find in the literature now.
I am very humbled that God basically just dropped this opportunity in my lap when I wasn’t looking for it.
For my Christian brothers and sisters, I ask that you pray for me to be a faithful witness for Christ as I negotiate the thin line of being employed be a secular organization to do soul work.
I will be posting this weekend and then next Friday as I take part in training and hopefully a couple of times a week there after.
Grace Alone,
Greg

http://word4women.wordpress.com/

Here is the second part of Rick Thomas’ littel posts on Biblical change. As Americans or humans we want results without the prior prep or foundation. The work is God’s.

http://www.competentcounseling.com/2009/07/29/behavioral-change-must-be-rooted-deeper-than-the-surface/

Greg