Hello There,

I am probably riding back from Iowa as you receive this. My appreciation to 
Randall and Jeanine McKnight for tending to THOUGHTS for today. I will begin 
and they will "wrap-up". 

Horatio G, Spafford was a wealthy Chicago developer who was a devout believer 
and strong supporter of evangelist Dwight L. Moody.

A tragedy at sea claimed the lives of his four daughters. In the aftermath, 
he wrote for all time his testimony in the words IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

WHEN PEACE, LIKE A RIVER ATTENDETH MY WAY,
WHEN SORROWS LIKE SEA BILLOWS ROLL
WHATEVER MY LOT, THOU HAST TAUGHT ME TO SAY,
IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

CHORUS: IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL, IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY 
SOUL.

THOUGH SATAN SHOULD BUFFET, THO' TRIALS SHOULD COME,
LET THIS BLEST ASSURANCE CONTROL,
THAT CHRIST HAS REGARDED MY HELPLESS ESTATE,
AND HATH SHED HIS OWN BLOOD FOR MY SOUL.

MY SIN OH, THE BLISS OF THIS GLORIOUS THO'T:
MY SIN NOT IN PART, BUT THE WHOLE,
IS NAIL'D TO THE CROSS AND I BEAR IT NO MORE,
PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, O MY SOUL!

AND, LORD, HASTE THE DAY WHEN THE FAITH SHALL BE SIGHT, 
THE CLOUDS BE ROLL'D BACK AS A SCROLL,
THE TRUMP SHALL RESOUND AND THE LORD SHALL DESCEND,
"EVEN SO," IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have 
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have 
overcome the world." John 16:33

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED-I am going to write a piece for today. After I sound 
off for a while, I then will ask Randall and Jeanine McKnight to come to all 
of our rescues by opening this file for comment and current matters. 
Remember Phil and myself as we journey back from my fiftieth class reunion.

"Preach the word; be instant in season,out of season; 
reprove, 
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 2 
Timothy 4:2

Milo Herrick had sung sacred concerts for my pastorates for years. This one 
was different- Milo had asked to speak a few words just prior to his "love" 
offering.

"Folks, just remember, I get paid for doing what I would pay to do".

That's not a thing you should say, I thought. Maybe that was why the 
offering was only nine hundred dollars. (The next morning, a man brought 
another 100 dollars by the church and gave it shakily confessing that God had 
dealt with him in the night.

What Milo really said was, "Singing is my passion."

Especially from those who "stumble" onto my website, I get the 
question--"Where are you coming from?" To them and to you all, "Preaching is 
my passion".

Circumstances have altered conditions to the extent that for me to even 
consider pulpit ministry is foolhardy. Since I began these weekly writings 
about two years ago, I have vented my passion on you who read.

Family influence is indisputably significant in such matters. They never 
told me, but I think my parents told God that He could have me. I am not 
drawn to present ideas, but I was raised by an angel in a housedress and a 
man who was a student of the Bible. Our home had an evangelist or a 
missionary either coming or going much of the time.

I had an "Uncle Charlie" for real. My mother's brother, the late Rev. Charles 
Piper, left lots of good memories--always. Happy, generous, loved people and 
his calling. Not only did he not complain about the ministry, he would stop 
any who did. I ask you-Did I have positive "role models?". 

When Jeanene came into my life fifty years ago or so, she came with a family 
church background of parents saved in a sweeping revival and active in the 
local church. No conflict here. She even had some relatives in full time 
service as pastors and missionaries. No conflicts here.

At this rate of telling, we will be here much too long.Soooooo.

Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians1:18 of how some would judge preaching as 
"foolishness". I have heard some speaking efforts that fit in this category, 
From the outset, I vowed to avoid the "cute" and contrived. I would study 
well and strive to always make good, prayerful preparation. God often 
reminded me of those vows and helped me.

I have been a reader for most of my life. They let me begin school at age 
four because I would run away each day and go with my brother, Jack. How 
could they do that? Maybe the fact that my Dad was the president of the 
school board helped noone to notice.

Not only read, but recall and classify what I was reading. A thousand pages 
of reading per week is not a daunting figure to me. I would suggest that a 
weak reader and speller would find the ministry a burden and himself a burden 
instead of a blessing to hearers.

I need to get "down to some brass tacks". Conclusive matters do matter. I 
have generally followed a "cycle of preaching". Long before I learned about 
a lectionary, I kept close watch to see that I was exposing my hearers to as 
much truth as I could. i.e. If I had not reminded them of the deity of Jesus 
for a while----------.

A weekly process is important, particularly for pastors (the only role I ever 
filled). I am not a spontaneous person, my family knows that and reminds me. 
God knows that I am "instant" if I have good "lead-in" time. I liked it 
best if the vacuum that existed on Sunday night was filled with adequate 
direction for the three times I would face my cong-regation the coming week. 
If it was filled by 10 P.M. on Sunday, I was happy. God knew that a happy 
servant is a better servant.

Monday-read, Tuesday-read and rough, Wednesday- read and refine (I served 
from 1964-1968 in a situation where if I gave Sunday topics to the newspaper 
by 6 P.M. they ran them on Saturday--I never missed), Thursday-read and 
relax, Friday-read and preach to office mirrors, Saturday- allow the Lord to 
"sweeten up"any parts of the sermon that were too harsh, Sunday- preach it 
like you wished you could just once before you die. 

Now, remember your pastor may also have more than one service a week. He has 
office work, counselling, teach outside classes, marry, bury and be Mr. help 
everybody do everything because he has time-you know, he only works one hour 
a week.

I liked to preach a series of sermons. This was an attractive motif for my 
personality. One memorable effort was to start at Genesis and reach to 
Revelation. (I have heard some amateur efforts that made that stretch in a 
single sermon.) This was to be 132 sermons (two from each of the 66 books). 
All was well until I came to Christmas and 2 Kings. I had long before made a 
discovery-the great themes of grace and redemption flow as a great river very 
near the surface of all scripture. Dig a little and they appear!! The 
account in chapter seven of 2 Kings can be made like a layover of Luke 2 and 
you have, "This is Just Like Christmas" . Substitute shepherds for lepers and 
see the three points of similarity? 1. As a whole, the outlook was pretty 
bleak. 2. When they got to the scene, the needed miracle was done already. 
3. What they saw was worth telling. 

After filling pastorates for 38 years, I retired October 1,1994. Whenever 
asked why I quit, I would flippantly answer, 'I'll never get it right".

That may well be an honest appraisal. I will state this. That I never spoke 
without prayerful preparation. That I never stated another's experiences as 
if they were my own. I refused to preach a theory just because it was 
popular. I never stooped to the leverage of the "bully pulpit". I got paid 
for what I loved to do. "Preach the word".

PRETTY BABY-A few weeks ago, I was sharing with a reader whose writings and 
viewpoints I value highly. I asked, "What is your opinion of THOUGHTS?-all 
parents think their baby is pretty--even if" In a few days this message 
came, "You have a pretty baby". Now there are two of us equally deluded. No 
further voting-polls are closed.

His.
Ron Krantz