These past few weeks we've had our fair share of LifePoint members spending a significant amount of time in hospitals, rehab centers, or recovering at home. It's always difficult as a pastor to see people hurting and suffering. As I write this Jym Shorts article, quite a few are still facing long stays away from home and family, and a few are in hospice care comfortably waiting for Jesus to call them home. Our church family has grown, making it more and more difficult for me to perform the services that many expect from a lead pastor. "Surely when we need our pastor the most, he should be available." There's nothing particularly wrong with this sentiment. Pastor means "shepherd," and shepherds care for their flock, and the truth is I very much enjoy making visits in homes and, in the sad situations when it is necessary, hospital and hospice rooms as well. When I visit, I don't do so grudgingly. I genuinely love the people who make up LifePoint and I want to care for them appropriately.
There is hardly anything I want to do more, and do more well, than be a shepherd to this flock. But real life facts intrude upon this for me every day. I am one man, and one man cannot keep up with over 1200 people. This is why we have multiple pastors at LifePoint, a Soul Care Ministry, a Care Team, a Visitation Team, and a plurality of sitting elders as well. I consider my most important task as the lead pastor at LifePoint to be the role I take as the expositor of Scripture during our worship time on Sundays. I'm not the only pastor who does this, but it is my primary task. It is a task that takes up a great deal of time. This, of course, does not negate the need to shepherd the flock in other ways as well. I love what I do, even on days when the weight of caring for so many people becomes burdensome. It isn't a burden because I don't love the people; it is a burden because I know that I cannot meet everyone's needs, and even if I could find the time, I don't have any magic bullets to fix every problem. We have many godly and gifted people at LifePoint, all of whom are perfectly capable of assisting in this care, and I am extremely thankful for that. God has also compiled a great staff at LifePoint, including all the supporting members.
One of those staff members, Mary Veal, heads up our Children's Ministry. She does that very well. Now that Mary is a full-time staff member, she gets the pleasure of an additional job responsibility that all of our full-time staff get, the assignment lovingly entitled "other duties as assigned." That other duty for Mary is to oversee our Visitation Team. This team is tasked with helping us care for all of those who are in the hospital or in other circumstances in life that keep them from regularly attending worship at LifePoint. These are godly, caring individuals who volunteer their time to assist in this vital ministry area. This team is now somewhat depleted due to the fact that some of them leave for the winter months and others have found themselves in a situation where they are physically unable to help anymore. If you have a gift of mercy/compassion, or just a desire to help care for those who are hurting, and you are able to be free occasionally to make a hospital or home visit, please contact Mary at or by calling the church office at 317.881.4010. Mary would love to hear from you.
As a reminder, our Life Groups have a primary function to act as a gathering where people can live out our Five Priorities (Worship, Grow, Connect, Serve, Share) in community together. The "connect" component includes getting to know each other and caring for each other so that, in circumstances when we need care or a visit while in the hospital or other situation, we have a built in "family" of friends who can help meet that need. A visit while you are in need from a friend from your Life Group is every bit as important as a visit from a pastor/elder and part of the way we demonstrate love to one another.
I hope you will understand my intentions when you read this article. I have reached a point where I must simply let it be known that I cannot do it all. It does not diminish my love for you, or the love I have for my role as one of your pastors. I just need help, and that need will only increase going forward if God sees fit for our LifePoint family to grow numerically. We are not a perfect church, but we are a healthy church, and healthy churches don't rely on one man - they don't need to. By God's blessing, we are well-equipped for every good work here at LifePoint. We can all thank God for that.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym