Walking down memory lane

It's always good to reconnect with family and friends who have known me since I was very young. This last weekend Maranatha CRC, the church I grew up in (from 0-18 years) and where my parents still go, celebrated their 50th anniversary. As part of the celebration former pastors returned for the festivities. There are still many people at Maranatha that were Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders or even vbs teachers of mine when I was little and growing up. Also, many people that have been part of my family's lives in some way or another. So seeing these people reminds me of who I was, where I've come from and how many people God has used in one way or another to shape me along my journey. Church has always been a huge part of my life (though not always by my choice!), so returning to the church of my youth is such a cool thing. I always enjoy visiting Maranatha when I'm in town.

Last Sunday, Larry Slings gave the sermon. He was the pastor there from 79 to 94...so from before I was born until I was 14. (My parents joined Maranatha when I was a couple months old.) As I sat listening to him I was very touched by the fact that this is the man who I learned to listen to sermons from, who taught many children's sermons, who delivered the word of God with love for 14 years of my life - half of my life! It was wonderful to hear him preach again. As I sat listening to him, it dawned on me that, though I remember enjoying Pastor Larry's sermons as I came to an age where I started listening, I don't remember a single one of them! In fact, for all the wonderful pastors I've had, I remember very few individual sermons.

This brings me back to a comment I heard a number of times at the youth pastor convention in San Diego. "You have to focus on relationships because kids don't remember the lessons. How many bible lessons do you remember?" I don't argue the importance of relationships in youth ministry, not at all. But I hate to hear the importance of lessons downplayed. Though I may not remember a single sermon from Larry Slings (or even a sermon from a few months ago), I know that the Truth that he preached week after week after week, and the passion for the Bible and thirst for righteousness that he showed through his preaching are the building blocks that formed my faith and changed my heart little by little as Truths took hold and became a part of who I am.

So I feel so thankful for having been blessed with faithful, loving pastors like Larry Slings, my grandpa, my father-in-law and our current pastor, Mark. I'm thankful for their gifts of preaching and teaching; for their loving relationships with congregations; and for faithfully writing sermons week after week that may be "forgotten" but that God uses to transform the hearts and minds of his children.