The Pastor's Perspective

     Some of you may or may not know this, but I have a guilty pleasure. I like to watch those video's when the take an old rusty, beat up item and restore it back to its former glory. I love watching an item that would other wise be thrown out in the trash get a make over. There is something about seeing the before and after shots that intrigues me for some reason.      Now I am not very skilled at fixing things. In fact for the most part I am all thumbs when it comes to working with tools (something I am trying to get better at). So for me when I watch those video's I am amazed at the skill and work that it takes to restore items that I probably would overlook or throw away.      Now there is something else that I must confess. I don't normally watch the videos all the way through. That's right I love the video's, I watch them regularly, but I rarely if ever watch the video all the way through. For me I want to jump to the part of the video...

There was a shepherd who had a large flock and a big problem. A wolf had been taking his sheep one sheep at a time. The shepherd done all he could do to rid himself of this problem but nothing worked. Each week he saw more and more sheep taken from his flock and each week he felt more and more helpless.  Until one day the shepherd had enough and struck out on his own to deal with this wolf once and for all. He tracked this wolf for miles and every now and then he would get close enough to get a shot off  but he would never hit its mark.  He stayed the night in the woods, and the wolf circled his camp time and time again but the shepherd was unable to get a clear shot. Morning came and he sought to continue to track down this wolf.  As he was tracking the wolf, a great blizzard had started to come in and the shepherd realized he needed to turn back to make sure his sheep would be safe.   As he headed back the wolf began to emerge from time to time and the sh...

When I moved to Ashmore IL a little under 10 years ago to answer the call to pastor Ashmore Baptist church a lot of things have changed. For instance Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital in Charleston IL has expanded and grow exponentially. I have seen businesses come and go. Pastors of other churches have come and gone. But one thing that has not changed was the eyesore across the street from the church. What is interesting is at one time this house was a very nice house in Ashmore. You can tell that this house at one time was beautifully constructed and well made. It was a house that at one time sheltered families, where children would run and play in the yard. It was a home where memories were made, and families were raised. However over time, as it changed from owner to owner. The house slowly became neglected. Needed repairs were not made and the small problems started to grow into bigger problems. So a once beautifully made house that housed families, and rasied children and m...