I once lived with a colony of people in a hot, dry desert. We were chronically thirsty and this thirst drove the purpose of our existence: we were constantly searching for water.
This barren land contained dangerous snakes. The snakes would try to squeeze the breath out of us by wrapping themselves around our necks. The master of the land warned us repeatedly to stay on our guard lest the snakes choke us. Even more so, he warned us of the fatal snake, one slightly larger, who did not squeeze our breath from us, but rather would render a death blow to us in the form of a fatal bite.
We would get so engrossed in our search for water, and our enjoyment of water found, that we would forget about the snakes. More than once, I found myself clawing at my neck to remove a constricting snake with the help of others around me. I would gasp for sweet air once the snake had been destroyed, shaking in terror, heart pounding, vision slowly returning from black to color. Each time it happened, I swore I would never again let down my guard against the snakes.
Slowly, however, as time passed, my fellow colonists and I would relax into our routine and again become so focused on finding water that we would forget about the snakes. Inevitably, the snakes would see their opportunity and attack. The fatal snake was particularly sneaky. He often traveled with the other snakes and was difficult to distinguish until it was nearly too late. When he was spotted, we would cry to our master who would battle the snake on our behalf.
I came to the point where I just accepted the presence of the snakes. I had grown weary of always standing guard and figured they wouldn't kill us. Sure, they could cause great pain and discomfort, but we fight them off. As for the fatal snake, well, we would just cry to the master if he got too close and he would fight him off for us.
One day, the snakes were swimming in the water, but I was trying to scoop up some water despite the danger. I realized too late that the fatal snake was there. He was quick and strong and was soon crawling up my arm. I cried to the master, but he didn't come. In a panicked frenzy, I tried to pull him from my body, but to no avail. Exhausted, I collapsed and the snake arose to strike my back.
Hear the Word of the Lord. We live in the desert and long for eternity. We are constantly in search of that which will satisfy our thirst. Satan and his minions prowl like snakes, seeking to destroy and our Master has warned us to stand guard. Brothers and sisters: do not let your hearts be calloused, do not grow weary in the fight for what is good. For the Lord is with us and will come to our aid when we call upon him. But a day is coming when he will turn aside and allow us to be overcome by the evil desires of our heart.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Mr. Weinlaeder
On Sunday, April 28th, 2013, many gathered to celebrate Mr. Ken Weinlaeder's life of ministry in Lutheran schools. He retired from RCLS in December. I was privileged to be invited to speak at his celebration due to the unique and important roles he has played in my life. This is what I had to say...
I am honored to have this opportunity to speak today. Mr. Weinlaeder has had such a profound impact on my life that I wonder how I can justly speak of him in just a few minutes.
Mr. Weinlaeder was my 7-8th grade teacher at Immanuel Lutheran School in Plainview and that's when I first got to know him. It was then that he began to ingrain "Ken-isms" into my vocabulary. Those who have had Mr. Weinlaeder as a teacher know of what I am speaking. The most memorable Ken-ism for many of us had to do with the fair. One of us would whine, "That's not fair!" to which Mr. Weinlaeder would invariably respond, "The fair's in August."
He had this amazing ability as a teacher to help even the most thick-headed of us learn difficult things, like math, diagraming sentences, or not to chew gum in class. We learned alliteration in the form of 25 sentences if we needed a rebuke.
Those of us in his first class at Immanuel were groomed to play ping pong in the Olympics, and I'm convinced that if we were all to get together today, we could still race around that table playing Around the World; but it may not be pretty.
You see, Mr. Weinlaeder was a challenging teacher. He could be downright scary! But he played and had so much fun with us telling funny stories and jokes and torturing us with his puns. We worked hard and laughed a lot.
The only thing that seemed to knock Mr. Weinlaeder off balance was pre-schoolers. Once when some in our class had to hang out with the pre-schoolers because their teacher, Mrs. Mussell, became sick, we had a rambunctious kid who called Mr. Weinlaeder, "Zero Nose." We were all at a loss as to what to do with a little person who was undaunted by his authority!
Mr. Weinlaeder shone the light of Christ in such a way that he made us seekers of that light. There were quite a few of us who chose a life of service to Christ. In some way, God used Mr. Weinlaeder to inspire us to go in that direction.
I remember how in college I needed a place to student teach and Ken advocated for me to be able to do that student teaching at RCLS. I cannot even express to you all how it touched me to have someone show confidence in my heart and ability like he did. He ultimately made it possible for me to graduate college and teach a number of years in Lutheran schools.
I got to ride back and forth from Plainview to RCLS with Ken. On one of the earliest days, he had to look at me and say, "You know, you can call me Ken." So, I did; but I think I blushed every time I said his first name for a month because it seemed so strange!
I remember one day on our trip, I was talking to him about my concern about what heaven would be like. Ken told me, "Heaven will either be all that you hope for, or it will be even better." I will never forget those words and how I've shared them with countless students.
Eventually I got to be on staff at RCLS with Ken. Doing ministry side-by-side with Ken was one of the greatest privileges I've ever had. This is a man whose heart and vision is for the Lord--100%. His enthusiasm for the Gospel is contagious. He brings so much joy to life's journey with all of his mischief-making.
Those of us who have had the honor of being partners in ministry with Ken know that he has the wisdom of Solomon. We have all come to him with our broken pieces, broken plans, and sometimes even our broken hearts. He seemed to intuitively know when to be still, when to speak, and what exactly, to say. Even now, when I am faced with an important decision, I wonder what Ken would think.
I get to stand here uniquely as one of Ken's past students, his mentee, his former colleague, and the proud parent of one of his former students. Through all of these roles, Ken has been a father figure to me. Even more so, he has been, and will always be, one of my dearest friends.
I can never adequately demonstrate the love and admiration that my heart contains for Ken Weinlaeder. And I know that I am just one of many, right? If he has touched your life with the love of Christ, please stand now.
You see that, Mr. Weinlaeder? We are the harvest of your ministry work. Thank you for showing us Jesus!
I am honored to have this opportunity to speak today. Mr. Weinlaeder has had such a profound impact on my life that I wonder how I can justly speak of him in just a few minutes.
Mr. Weinlaeder was my 7-8th grade teacher at Immanuel Lutheran School in Plainview and that's when I first got to know him. It was then that he began to ingrain "Ken-isms" into my vocabulary. Those who have had Mr. Weinlaeder as a teacher know of what I am speaking. The most memorable Ken-ism for many of us had to do with the fair. One of us would whine, "That's not fair!" to which Mr. Weinlaeder would invariably respond, "The fair's in August."
He had this amazing ability as a teacher to help even the most thick-headed of us learn difficult things, like math, diagraming sentences, or not to chew gum in class. We learned alliteration in the form of 25 sentences if we needed a rebuke.
Those of us in his first class at Immanuel were groomed to play ping pong in the Olympics, and I'm convinced that if we were all to get together today, we could still race around that table playing Around the World; but it may not be pretty.
You see, Mr. Weinlaeder was a challenging teacher. He could be downright scary! But he played and had so much fun with us telling funny stories and jokes and torturing us with his puns. We worked hard and laughed a lot.
The only thing that seemed to knock Mr. Weinlaeder off balance was pre-schoolers. Once when some in our class had to hang out with the pre-schoolers because their teacher, Mrs. Mussell, became sick, we had a rambunctious kid who called Mr. Weinlaeder, "Zero Nose." We were all at a loss as to what to do with a little person who was undaunted by his authority!
Mr. Weinlaeder shone the light of Christ in such a way that he made us seekers of that light. There were quite a few of us who chose a life of service to Christ. In some way, God used Mr. Weinlaeder to inspire us to go in that direction.
I remember how in college I needed a place to student teach and Ken advocated for me to be able to do that student teaching at RCLS. I cannot even express to you all how it touched me to have someone show confidence in my heart and ability like he did. He ultimately made it possible for me to graduate college and teach a number of years in Lutheran schools.
I got to ride back and forth from Plainview to RCLS with Ken. On one of the earliest days, he had to look at me and say, "You know, you can call me Ken." So, I did; but I think I blushed every time I said his first name for a month because it seemed so strange!
I remember one day on our trip, I was talking to him about my concern about what heaven would be like. Ken told me, "Heaven will either be all that you hope for, or it will be even better." I will never forget those words and how I've shared them with countless students.
Eventually I got to be on staff at RCLS with Ken. Doing ministry side-by-side with Ken was one of the greatest privileges I've ever had. This is a man whose heart and vision is for the Lord--100%. His enthusiasm for the Gospel is contagious. He brings so much joy to life's journey with all of his mischief-making.
Those of us who have had the honor of being partners in ministry with Ken know that he has the wisdom of Solomon. We have all come to him with our broken pieces, broken plans, and sometimes even our broken hearts. He seemed to intuitively know when to be still, when to speak, and what exactly, to say. Even now, when I am faced with an important decision, I wonder what Ken would think.
I get to stand here uniquely as one of Ken's past students, his mentee, his former colleague, and the proud parent of one of his former students. Through all of these roles, Ken has been a father figure to me. Even more so, he has been, and will always be, one of my dearest friends.
I can never adequately demonstrate the love and admiration that my heart contains for Ken Weinlaeder. And I know that I am just one of many, right? If he has touched your life with the love of Christ, please stand now.
You see that, Mr. Weinlaeder? We are the harvest of your ministry work. Thank you for showing us Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
