I know. It's frustrating. "When are you speaking to us Pastor Tello?" I get that question a lot. And while I would love to have a ready answer for those that ask, I can only say . . . soon. You see, this year started with major opportunities for those in the ministry in our valley. Many of the faces that you have been blessed to see and voices and thoughts you have been privileged to hear come from the minds of God's future pastors from Walla Walla University.
I have offered and feel like I've partnered with the Theology department of the college to provide space for students to speak in a LIVE context to members what could potentially be their future partitioners of ministry. It is a well-known fact that pastoring is hard. Many love the idea of being a pastor, but few stay long enough to reap its bountiful blessings.
Giving opportunities for students to flex their homiletical skills is crucial and essential for their spiritual development. If we can work together to help these students, we establish a future for the church that will reap benefits. In the meantime, we are blessed to hear the minds and hearts of these students as they nervously share what God has impressed upon their minds.
Have you ever wondered what's in the power of a thought? Someone once said, "Plant a thought, reap an act. Plant an act, reap a habit. Plant a habit, reap a character. And plant a character, reap a destiny." However true this thought may be, one thing stands out . . . there is power in thoughts. Tellogram started with a simple idea . . . "What if a thought did change lives?" The more I pondered that question, the more I realized it's truism.
Thoughts really do change people's lives. Some thoughts change for the better, while others . . . well . . . for the worst. All in all, we are blessed and privileged by God to have the minds that we have. To hear a thought, challenge a thought, be challenged by a thought, and eventually see a thought become a transformative destiny.
This Sabbath, may the thoughts presented from the sacred desk fill your lives with the coals from the altar of God! May you and your family find the longing of your souls in the thoughts shared from the Word of God.
So, until the next time, this is Pastor Tello reminding you that thoughts do change lives.
Pastor Howard Tello