Competition

Competition

Twice a month, I meet a pastor friend of mine for coffee. Neither of us need another cup of coffee and a sweet roll mid-morning. It's just a good excuse to catch up on life. You see, John and I are good friends. We first met a number of years ago at a weekly pastor's prayer meeting. When that dissolved, we decided to keep up our friendship.

What do two pastors talk about over coffee? Surprising enough we share what's going on in each other’s life. Our kids are grown and we have pastored for a long time, so we talk about the challenges we face growing older as well as staying focused on pastoring and preaching. We've had several joint Easter services as well as sharing the Sunday morning pulpit.

I am making a point here that there is no competition between us. There is no bragging about how large our congregations are (both churches are small) or what a whopping sermon we gave last Sunday. We are two ordinary guys from different backgrounds who have a heart for the church in our community.

When I was pastoring in denominational church life, there was a strong sense of competition. Money and numbers gave you bragging rights at ministerial gatherings. There was no encouragement or opportunity to share your insecurities. It was all business and no time for relationships. You had to keep up the image if you were going to stay in the game.

I want to go on record saying that I appreciate my friendship with Pastor John. He encourages me as well as challenges me. I walk away from our time together knowing that we are laboring together. More than once we have had to remind each other these words of Jesus: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me; watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of life. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.”