God’s Preaching Plan
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2024 Blog #30
July 22, 2024
God’s Preaching Plan
I left pastoring a congregation on June 30 and am preparing to be a hospice chaplain. Soon I will begin my orientation to begin this new ministry. After many years of ministering to the elderly, sick, and dying people, I feel that God has prepared me for this.
My plan for July and August was to attend Reformed Churches in the area and decline preaching opportunities, instead being able worship God by sitting in a pew and listening to someone else preach. I always have enjoyed this during August vacations in my cabin and attending church at First Reformed Church in Wynantskill, NY. It seems that God has other plans for my preaching calendar.
I received a call from a colleague who was desperate to find pulpit supply for July 28. He was practically begging me to fill in for him. I know the feeling. Pulpit supply is difficult to find in this part of the world. Ministers who retire usually move to other regions where housing prices are lower. This leaves us with a shortage of people who can guest preach. There is also a shortage of Reformed Church seminary students resulting in fewer ministers, and more vacant pulpits in our area. It has become a chronic problem.
I was not without empathy for my friend who needed me to preach at the end of July. I have been in this situation before, pleading with people to do pulpit supply. It simply isn’t easy. In the end, I consented to preach on July 28 and let go of my plans for a preaching-free summer.
Get Mark Ennis’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
This past week I received a call from yet another colleague asking me to fill in for pastoral care emergencies at her congregation. She had a family emergency and had to fly south to take care of this. Once more, I had sympathy for her. I’ve been in such positions before, having to arrange emergency coverage. With fewer full-time ministers around, this can be a daunting task. I consented to fill in for emergencies for her.
To my surprise, she called me while she was away on family business our airline industry experienced a software disruption. Her plane was cancelled, and she was not immediately able to book a new flight.
“I need a favor,” she pleaded with me. “If I can’t get a flight back, can you preach for me this Sunday?”
“This Sunday?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m hoping to be back in time, but I just don’t know.”
I really wanted to go with my plans for not preaching this summer but somehow could not let a colleague or a congregation down. It just didn’t seem right.
“Of course,” I said. “Send me a bulletin.”
This is the first time in my life I have ever had to preach after someone else had planned the sermon, picked the scripture, and selected the sermon title.
And so it is that after only two weeks off from the pulpit that I preached yesterday and will be preaching again next week. We humans often make our plans but frequently God laughs at us and our plans and has God’s plans for us. I guess I’m back into preaching. Do you know anyone who needs a person to fill a pulpit? I guess I’m available.
To hear my podcasts or read more of my blogs, please see my website www.MarkWilliamEnnis.com.
