However You Pronounce It

During my Seminary student years, I was a very young Pastor of a very small rural church in deep East Texas. Even though I was the “Pastor” there was a “Head Deacon” who was the real leader of the church. He also taught the Adult Sunday School class, in which I sat each Sunday prior to the worship service. One Sunday, he taught the lesson out of the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, but gave the prophet a deep East Texas pronunciation of running the first two syllables together and hitting the third syllable hard, Haba-KUK, rather than the traditional second syllable emphasis (and heretofore correct Ha-BA-kuk). I did not correct him. I would have been fired on the spot for correcting the head deacon, Adult Sunday school teacher, and resident theologian. Although I was proud of my Seminary training, to them I was only a student want-a-be preacher, serving for a few months as their pastor (student-pastoral tenures are often short in rural, deep East Texas churches). I did learn a valuable lesson from Habakkuk that Sunday. “Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him” (Hab. 2:4). Better to leave some things alone, than to proudly display one’s knowledge.

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Jewish High Holidays are quickly approaching offering lots of opportunities for missionaries to celebrate these events with Jewish friends.
• Pray for Martha as she heads back to Germany to resume her ministry there.
• Churches throughout Ukraine will celebrate “Zhatva” (thanksgiving for the harvest) on Sundays in September and October. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will bless missionary work related to this holiday.
• Pray for new possibilities on Vancouver Island, where a very small percent of people know the Lord and only a few Evangelical churches exist.
• Pray for Jim and Charlotte from Brazil as they begin work among the Calon (Gypsies) in the town of Jacutinga.