Ben Hulst

James, thanks for the review. I read this at the beginning of my ministry about four years ago and it was incredibly insightful and "necessary" reading for entering the ministry. It is so easy to give into the temptations to feel needed, to thrive on that, and to ultimately sell our souls to be necessary. As John the Baptist so truthfully stated, "I must become less, he must become more." May this be true of all our ministries, that Christ is the necessary one and not us.
Blessings,
Ben

Meg, may I call you Margaret, good to hear your thoughts. We miss you in K-zoo. Thanks for the post. Having served as delegate once before and heading there again this summer, and having just returned from the Prayer Summit, I must say both were uplifting experiences as a whole. Obviously they had a bit of different focus and while the Prayer Summit didn't have any committee meetings, I did find that synod did have plenty of solid prayer and attention in a worshipful way to the needs of the church. This can continue to grow and I trust the movement of the Prayer Summit can help that happen. Having gone to synod, I see the necessity of it. Just as a church community must continue to worship together, a council meet face-to-face and a classis do the same, it is vital for us as a bi-national denomination spread across a broad continent to do the same. Stewardship of finances is one thing, but stewardship of relationships and face-to-face meetings that help bring understanding is way more valuable. I remember talking about that at the Prayer Summit, of the need for face-to-face meetings to encourage and equip one another for greater ministry strength. Blessings to you. Ben