It wasn't exactly what I expected to hear as I stepped up into the sound booth Sunday night as Alvin, my church's lead pastor, sat in front of the computer, pulling up the verses he would be preaching from so I could throw them up on the screen as he did.
He wasn't even supposed to be preaching.
This was Revival Week (if I had been more with it, I would have been posting pictures all week with hashtags like #nlbcphx and #revival2014), and Rich, our former pastor, had come barreling out of the gates that morning with an incredible message straight out of one of my favorite chapters in the bible.
Ecclesiates 3, in case you were wondering.
Everyone was excited for what was to come.
But those five little words made everything clear for me.
Rose passed away this evening.
Rose - Rich's wife.
Phenomenal, amazing woman who loved the Lord, and could pull out a good zinger when she felt like it.
As I was preparing to leave for The World Race, her health was declining.
In the fall of 2009, just a few months before I left, Rich stepped down from ministry to take care of her.
In the last six years, she'd had three heart attacks and open heart surgery.
The woman was not doing well.
Monday night, Rich would tell us that he was almost ready to step out the door to preach Sunday night when the Lord told him to go check on her.
But this was Sunday night, and I had just a few minutes to digest what Alvin was telling me before everyone else knew.
Before the speculation started - about Rose, the fate of the revival, the fate of the galaxy.
Well, maybe not the fate of the galaxy (we kind of already known that).
How did it happen?
Is Rich going to be here the rest of the week?
Seeing as all of this had happened within the hour before service was scheduled to start, there were no answers.
I couldn't tell you what songs the worship team played that night (or any night, to be honest), in part because of the shock.
Also, though, because the kids' choir came in every service and killed it performing the song "Where I Belong."
Where I Belong Chorus - New Life Baptist Church Children's Choir - Phoenix, AZ from Catherine Pollock on Vimeo.
Did you watch that?
If not, then do it, because (as I told you) they killed it.
Sorry - that was a little bit of a rabbit trail.
Only a little bit, though, because that song set the tone for the entire week, as Rich impressed on the ever-growing crowd Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.
All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong
There are, quite honestly, a million different ways I could bring this post to a close.
There were also a million different ways I intended to start it (as I have been trying to figure out since Sunday night).
What I know... what I walked away from this year's Revival understanding, though, doesn't have a lot to do with what Rich (and Alvin) preached on.
It brought me back to that one thing (out of many) I learned when I was lying sick in a hospital bed in Ireland three and a half years ago.
Sharing the love of God is the most important thing there ever was, is, or will be.
Wherever you need to be to share that love, God will put you there -
Hospital beds instead of hotel conference rooms.
Broken down buses instead of well functioning cars.
Pulpits instead of living room couches.
It's not going to be easy, safe, or comfortable, but the God who put you there didn't set you up to fail.
He didn't ask you to do it on your own strength (because you'll fall flat on your face).
He just needed you to obey.
What I can tell you, from my own personal experience, is that the thing it's going to be is worth it.
He wasn't even supposed to be preaching.
This was Revival Week (if I had been more with it, I would have been posting pictures all week with hashtags like #nlbcphx and #revival2014), and Rich, our former pastor, had come barreling out of the gates that morning with an incredible message straight out of one of my favorite chapters in the bible.
Ecclesiates 3, in case you were wondering.
Everyone was excited for what was to come.
But those five little words made everything clear for me.
Rose passed away this evening.
Rose - Rich's wife.
Phenomenal, amazing woman who loved the Lord, and could pull out a good zinger when she felt like it.
As I was preparing to leave for The World Race, her health was declining.
In the fall of 2009, just a few months before I left, Rich stepped down from ministry to take care of her.
In the last six years, she'd had three heart attacks and open heart surgery.
The woman was not doing well.
Monday night, Rich would tell us that he was almost ready to step out the door to preach Sunday night when the Lord told him to go check on her.
But this was Sunday night, and I had just a few minutes to digest what Alvin was telling me before everyone else knew.
Before the speculation started - about Rose, the fate of the revival, the fate of the galaxy.
Well, maybe not the fate of the galaxy (we kind of already known that).
How did it happen?
Is Rich going to be here the rest of the week?
Seeing as all of this had happened within the hour before service was scheduled to start, there were no answers.
I couldn't tell you what songs the worship team played that night (or any night, to be honest), in part because of the shock.
Also, though, because the kids' choir came in every service and killed it performing the song "Where I Belong."
Where I Belong Chorus - New Life Baptist Church Children's Choir - Phoenix, AZ from Catherine Pollock on Vimeo.
Did you watch that?
If not, then do it, because (as I told you) they killed it.
Sorry - that was a little bit of a rabbit trail.
Only a little bit, though, because that song set the tone for the entire week, as Rich impressed on the ever-growing crowd Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.
All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong
There are, quite honestly, a million different ways I could bring this post to a close.
There were also a million different ways I intended to start it (as I have been trying to figure out since Sunday night).
What I know... what I walked away from this year's Revival understanding, though, doesn't have a lot to do with what Rich (and Alvin) preached on.
It brought me back to that one thing (out of many) I learned when I was lying sick in a hospital bed in Ireland three and a half years ago.
Sharing the love of God is the most important thing there ever was, is, or will be.
Wherever you need to be to share that love, God will put you there -
Hospital beds instead of hotel conference rooms.
Broken down buses instead of well functioning cars.
Pulpits instead of living room couches.
It's not going to be easy, safe, or comfortable, but the God who put you there didn't set you up to fail.
He didn't ask you to do it on your own strength (because you'll fall flat on your face).
He just needed you to obey.
What I can tell you, from my own personal experience, is that the thing it's going to be is worth it.
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