Yesterday in church I mentioned our friend, Aaron Brown who is the pastor of St. Paul's UMC in Joplin. Several have asked if his family was hurt in the tornado. Aaron and his family are fine and their home was not hit by the tornado. I am sure that he has worked non-stop since the storm hit. I know he has been awake late into the night helping people. The load on a pastor can be heavy at times, but the load on the pastors in Joplin right now has to be incredible. But Aaron is up to the task. He is one of the finest men that I know.
If you watched the Joplin Tornado Memorial service yesterday, there were three talks. They were given by President Obama, Governor Nixon and Aaron Brown. Not a surprise to me at all. His words were touching and perfect. Not a surprise. If you have not heard his message, it is well worth the time. You can view it at:: http://www.koamtv.com/category/164379/video?clipId=5899140&flvUri=&partnerclipid=&topVideoCatNo=212327&c=&autoStart=true&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
5 comments:
That was a very powerful, emotional message! I am so happy I got to hear it!
Thank you so much for posting the link to Pastor Brown's message--it was absolutely amazing. I believe he said exactly the right thing to the people of Joplin--and the rest of us. He does seem like an incredible person.
Jeff, there's one other pastor who "gave a speech" yesterday, whom we do not want to overlook. On behalf of myself and others, you did a great job of ministering to your congregation, and the impact this kind of catastrophe has on the psyche of people. I thought the whole morning ministered to your congregation. A song Joy played (We Will Understand it Better By and By) and the beautiful song Cliff Dancy sang, "Joy Comes in the Morning" drew worshipers in to the hope we have in Christ. Your choice of words to explain "why" and your confidence that all in our congregation who are wanting to go and help in Joplin, will get a chance, in the long run of this. God bless you Jeff, for the drain all this puts on a pastor, and thanks to others who helped plan such an appropriate day of worship.
God bless.
Jeff, a thought came to mind this morning, at the dawn of this Memorial Day. We are all kind of still in shock at what happened in Joplin, so quickly. Then I thought of all our veterans who had to endure catastrope, destruction, deaths, rubble, and all that goes with it, for days, weeks, months, years on end, while serving in far away lands and not having their family members to embrace when it was so hard. God bless all our veterans today. Let us not forget the price they paid.
After having Aaron for our pastor for years in Joplin (and you're right, he is one of the finest men you could ever know), we wanted to find another minister like him and we found him in you. Thanks.
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