Ministry for manly men

Today's blog post is by David Hetrick, chief deacon at The Oasis:

When the day-to-day job just isn't as fulfilling as it used to be, one thing I have found that brings immediate satisfaction is volunteering at the Oasis Renewal Center.  Last weekend I was carving walking paths around the chapel, and carving out swaths of grass where the labyrinth and the greenhouse will be.  It was satisfying to be able to look at my work as God’s work! 

The Oasis sits near the border, nestled between the scrub oak forests that extend into Mexico and the rolling cattle lands of southern Arizona.  It's covered in wild prairie grass, yuccas, junipers, oaks, and cacti.  It’s a wild place so I had to buy the Brush Annihilator 4000 to cut the paths through the woods! The review said this machine "Whacks weeds like a sheep on steroids." There's something innately satisfying - and really manly - about that, so I tried it out. The reviewer was correct.

After two days of cutting, whacking, raking, scraping and trimming, I could clearly see that I had made a difference. I felt like I was doing the Lord’s work. Ministry doesn't all have to be indoors, you know.

As we go through each day following God's calling as leaders, it’s good to be able to reconnect directly with God.  Two days at the Oasis might be just what you need!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human taskmasters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. 

It is the Lord Christ you are serving."  

 Colossians 3:23-24