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I run late to most of my appointments.
Phone calls smash into scheduled video calls, and then I hop off only to drive across town for a meeting with another potential donor or key stakeholder.
It comes with the work of running an emergency shelter, housing and a food pantry. Always be closing. ... "A.B.C." an old acronym from my sales days.
Unfortunately, though, all too often I let the clock dictate my attention to faithfulness. I make the work about the work, and not about the neighbors we serve. I know I'm not the only person to do so, but the feeling can still be convicting, nonetheless.
The other day, I was hustling out of our shelter, already having run over time in the previous meeting, and now I was perilously close to being late for the next meeting which I had to drive to.
Just as I was approaching my truck at the end of the parking lot, a community member who frequents our day center started walking toward me from the bus stop that is situated at the same end.
I am ashamed to admit my first thought was, "Oh no, he's going to make me late."
"Pastor D," he said, "You got a minute?"
In less than a pastoral moment, I answered shortly, "Well, I'm supposed to be on my way to a meeting, but yeah. What's up?"
"I was wondering if you would pray for me. I'm really serious about battling my addiction," he said with sincere, watery eyes, "and I know it would help if you prayed over me."
Oof. ... Shame, shame, shame, Pastor Brooks and your haste.
After setting my backpack and things in my passenger side seat, I turned and with the little humility I could muster after being so selfish, I asked specifically what kind of prayer he was looking for. ... Strength, he said, and courage.
And so I prayed with him. We prayed; and we talked; and I asked if he had access to enough water in the blazing heat. I parted with asking him to please check in with me at the center to keep me updated.
I then thanked him for allowing me to share that moment with him.
I got in the truck, and I needed a moment to compose myself. Lord have mercy. … How many times a day do I forgo an opportunity to be a pastor because of this world's competing demands to be a CEO? ... More than I want to know, I know that.
Friends, the demands of this world are real. Bills need to be paid. After all, emergency shelters don't pay for themselves. And the people who depend upon us are real too.
But here's a prayer for all of us that, ultimately, we realize that what we're really called to do is to attend to each other. Person to person. Because that's where we'll meet Jesus.
The rest of this world's demands are immaterial. Amen.
Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.