The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sang a song called "The Waiting" in which the title of this blog is a line in the song.

The Chorus of the song:

The waiting is the hardest part

Everyday you see one more card

You take it on faith
You take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part.
(words by Tom Petty)

This speaks to me in so many ways. Right now I feel like God is having me wait until all the pieces of the puzzle are ready to be assembled. At times it is frustrating for me. I have such a desire to reach out now to people all over, yet here I sit writing blogs several times a week.

Then today happens. Right before Easter, a lady Jehovah's Witness came up to me and when she introduced herself, I introduced me. She seemed taken back only for a minute at the announcement of Reverend, but she composed herself and we briefly talked, with me telling her about Upside Down Christianity. She gave me her "Watchtower" magazine, I gave her my business card with my blog URL and she left. File 13 on the mag and I didn't think anymore of it. (i was going out of town that day for the weekend and had too many other things on my mind. I especially didn't have a lot of time to talk.)

Fast forward to today.

She came back today with another man. Bibles in hand, they are ready for battle. She said she had thought of me often and wanted to come back and talk to me. (God is giving me one more chance to witness to her? Maybe? Since I was too busy last time? Sorry God, I won't do that again!)

So they are quoting scriptures, and I'm answering them right back from memory, even backing up my own beliefs with my own scriptures from Micah, Revelation, Joshua (not everyday scriptures that you carry around in your head.)

Years ago i would have had to shut the door on them to get some peace. (one time I scared a bunch of them to death (unintentionally), another story, another time, although I am almost dying to tell it right now.) This time after about 30 minutes, they said they had to go, and said goodbye and left. But for 30 minutes I got to witness to her.

So I got to thinking. If I was at another town, in another church, I would have missed today's opportunity. What she does with the info that I gave her I am not sure. Will she remember it? Will she shrug it off? I pray not. But it lightened my load a bit to know that while I wait on where God will send me next, He is still able to use me here where I am.

So Tom, here is my breakdown of your song:

The waiting is the hardest part

Yep, it's a booger when you have to learn patience while God prepares you and others for where you're going next.

Everyday you see one more card

They say you live with what cards you're dealt in life. Frankly, each hand keeps getting better and better.

You take it on faith

Twofold: My faith is what drives me to do the ministry, and my faith in God will supply all I need to have the ministry that He has planned for me

You take it to the heart

I have treasured your promise in my heart so that I may not sin against you. Psalm 119:11 NASB

The waiting is the hardest part.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalm 27:14 KJV

May God bless you in your waiting.

Well, what do you know?

From a Previous Post:

Have the church membership split up between the elders/deacons of the church. Have each one responsible for keeping in touch with the families that are assigned to them. If a family misses 2 or more weeks of services, have them contact the family to make sure that everything is alright. Send out anniversary and birthday cards as appropriate to their families. If a family has a need, they are to contact the elder first, then the elder will contact the pastor if they are not able to meet the need or if they determine that the pastor would be the appropriate one to handle the situation. This frees the pastor to focus on the most important needs of the church, and it also has someone besides the pastor responsible for the congregation and their needs. 

Too many churches think that the only one who should keep up with the members and their needs are the pastor. The elders look upon themselves as the group that tells the pastor what to do. They don’t have to do anything themselves, except maybe pray over someone occasionally.

When a church is new and just starting out, the pastor is the one who does most of the work. But once a solid congregation begins to form, positions in the church are filled and ministries are put into place, then it is time for others to really step up and take on their share of the responsibility. One way to do this is for the elders/deacons of the church to share in the ministry of the congregation.

These are the people who are supposed to be above reproach in your church, and should be comfortable ministering to anyone, whether in the church or the community. So split the congregation up among them. You can use the alphabet, geographic location or any sensible way of dividing the membership. Let each elder/deacon have a copy of the people who they are being given charge over. Share as much information as possible. Then the elders/deacons should make sure that they gather all pertinent information that may be missing. If the elder/deacon is unfamiliar with this particular family, have them contact the family and make an appointment to visit them. If a family that is assigned to them misses church for 2 or more weeks, have them contact the family to ensure that everything is alright. Birthday, Anniversary, Sympathy cards should be sent as appropriate. Have the elder/deacon deliver the card to the person in charge of mailing all church matters so that the church can pay for the cost of postage, unless the elder/deacon chooses to provide that themselves as an offering to God, not their tithe.

Issue a list to each family showing who is assigned to which elder/deacon, and make sure that all contact information is provided, especially cell phones if available in case of an emergency.

It is hard for a pastor to visit each and every family regularly, and this takes some of the load off of the pastor so that they can dedicate their time to the most needy at the moment.

Everyone wins with the effort. The church tends to be alerted easier if there are any needs of a family, the members know that someone cares about them, and the Pastor can minister to the most needy of all.

Of course, the pastor should always have an open door policy for anyone who would like to speak with him. This is not a replacement for the pastor’s role in counseling. It just allows more time for any counseling that is needed.