WHAT I’VE LEARNED IN 30 YEARS

     This past Tuesday, May 18, was the 30-year anniversary of two events. One of them is well known and the other is little known. May 18, 1980 was the day Mount St. Helens erupted in southwestern Washington state. And it was the day I started full-time ministry!  (I sincerely hope there’s no ominous connection there!)

     Going forward from that date, I spent four years as a youth minister at the El Portal Drive Church of Christ in Richmond, California – starting out as a single 23 year-old and leaving as a married 27 year-old (careful, Robbie!). From there, Janet and I did a semester of mission training at Sunset in Lubbock, Texas, followed by four-plus years of mission work in Rosario, Argentina. That’s where baby Katherine came along and we became three! The next stop was Oxnard in southern California where I preached in that bilingual church for six years – and where Jeffrey came along, making us a family of four! In 1994 we moved north to Martinez – back to the San Francisco Bay Area – where I preached for eleven years before moving to Gator Country at the end of 2005. It’s been quite a ride so far!

I told you all that to share with you some things I’ve learned in thirty years of ministry. I’ve learned that … 

  • this is not MY ministry, MY work or MY church – it is the Lord’s! (Mat 16:18)
  • you can’t serve people until you put them ahead of you and above you (Php 2:3-4)
  • people have the same basic needs everywhere you go: SALVATION (Luke 19:10), CONNECTION (1 Peter 3:18a; Acts 2:42-46) and DIRECTION (John 10:27-28; 14:6)
  • it is the Lord who makes me competent and capable to serve as a minister – and He deserves all the credit (2 Cor 3:4-6; 1 Cor 15:9-10) Now ,the occasional incompetence, that’s all me!
  • there are only 66 books in my library that are completely trustworthy and true and that we can’t live without – the Bible! (John 6:68; 8:31-32; 17:17; Mat 4:4)
  • when I spend more time reading men’s words than God’s words I get weak, tentative, doubtful, critical  and skeptical (Rom 10:17; 1 Tim 1:3-7; 4:6-7)
  • the best things happen when I rely totally on God (Prov 3:5-6)
  • my most productive time as a minister is spent on my knees (John 14:12-14)
  • I wouldn’t be where I am today without the blessing of an extraordinary Christian wife (Prov 31:10-31)

OK, now I’m all set for the next 30 years – and this time, hopefully, without a major volcanic eruption …

Rich Howell