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Church Learns Lessons from Umbrellas
by Greg Miller By Greg Miller 2015 Pastor Timothy charged Deacon Tony with generating new ideas for church growth and increasing members' faith. Deacon Tony had owned his farm for nearly a quarter century. He knew the importance of the right combination of lots of warm sunshine and plenty of good steady rain. The deacon realized the growth of seasonal crops and the growth of faith and church membership could be favorably compared. Deacon Tony shared his idea with Pastor Timothy. "Let's give an umbrella to everyone in the church," he suggested. "Why an umbrella?" Pastor Timothy asked. "On rainy days, the umbrellas will keep our members from getting drenched. On sunny days, the umbrellas will keep the sun out of everyone's eyes." "What spiritual application are you driving at, Deacon Tony?" "When the people open their umbrellas for rain, it will symbolize the blessings God showers on His people every day." "But wouldn't the blessings just bounce off?" "Yes, and that's my point. God's blessings would bounce off the umbrellas and fill up all aspects of our lives with His favor. He is such an awesome God!" "That's right! Most of the time, we have very little idea of just how wonderful God is to us." "So what would the upside down umbrella represent?" "The upside down umbrella would be much the same type of symbol, catching and overflowing the goodness of God. In this case, however, the overflow would represent us sharing His magnificent blessings with those around us." "In sort of any invisible way, huh?" "Yes, a spiritual and practical application." The following Sunday morning, Pastor Timothy and Deacon Tony walked through the congregation. Pastor Timothy carried a miniature version of the umbrellas. Deacon Tony walked behind him, dropping greenbacks on top of the umbrellas. The ones, fives, tens and twenties slid off the umbrellas and onto the carpeted floor. "This represents God's blessings filling up every area of our lives," Deacon Tony said. Pastor Timothy turned the umbrella upside down and once again walked through the congregation. "When we carry our spiritual umbrellas like this, we share the overflow of God's favor with those around us," he said. Pastor Timothy and Deacon Tony asked the ushers to distribute the umbrellas to the congregation's members. Miniature umbrellas were then given to the congregation's children. 'Little Deacon Troy,' the 10-year-old son of Deacon Tony, was wise beyond his years. He looked out at the congregation and announced, "Most people think we young people are the Church of Tomorrow, but I'm here to tell you that we are the Church of Today!" He added, "And we children are examples of the blessings that God has given to you adults!" To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected]. By Greg Miller 2018 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |