Pastor Carm Aderman
Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, Omaha

Several years ago someone shared a quote with me from David Dethmers. He said, “You can expend a considerable amount of time and energy pushing a car to make it go forward or you can turn on the engine. It’s the same way in the church… we tend to spend much effort and energy getting ready to do ministry, planning for ministry, and hoping ministry will happen. But, we forget to turn on the engine. Prayer is the engine for mission.”

I am struck by how often we go about the business and busyness of the Church and forget to include our Lord in the ministry. I am also convinced this oversight is the source of much of the difficulty we experience in ministry.

Life and ministry are full of “storms” - those challenging, sorrowful, conflicting times when it is it easy to be overwhelmed, angry, and scared. Whether the issue is a recent shooting or a congregational conflict, financial difficulties or broken relationships, it is tempting to look only at the storm and take our eyes off the Lord.

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