During the California Gold Rush in 1849 300,000 men sought
their fortune with pick axe and shovel in hand and made the arduous trip to the
gold country. After a few years the vast majority left the mines disappointed
with little to show for their efforts, but a few hit it big with one nugget
weighing in at 160 lbs. that’s worth $4,352,000 today. Not bad for a day’s
work. Mining was grueling hard labor loading the sluice box with tons of dirt
and gravel, panning by hand or chipping away underground. If you watch the TV
series Gold Rush that after months of hard work using heavy equipment the
miners hold a jar of only 75-90 ounces of gold. The miners in 1849 and even
today still have the hope and promise of gold that fuels their passion to
continue.
I recently attended a small church pastor’s conference with
this theme, Sitting on a Gold Mine by the Northwest Ministry Network. The
analogy of pastoring a small church (under 125) with gold mining was very
insightful and encouraging. Here were a few helpful nuggets I took away from
this conference.
Gold is rare and
valuable and so are the souls we are called to serve. Each person in your
church and in your community is gold: the child in the nursery, the single
mother, the supportive Deacon, the alcoholic who staggers by your church Sunday
morning, and the hundreds who drive by your church each day are a rare and
highly valued treasure to God.
God has called you,
given you a claim, and equipped you to mine His gold. We understand the
high calling of ministry, but do we always appreciate the stake he has given
us? When mining becomes drudgery, when there are only a few ounces of gold in
the jar, and we long for the big nuggets but only see small flakes we can
become disappointed in our claim. Thousands of American ministers walk away
from their claim each month. Some seek better yielding claims others give up
mining completely.
Keep mining till God
says, “Well done, you have completed your job”. Keep at it, try new methods that might
help you, be open to new opportunities to mine in your community like service
to foster families, senior groups, coaching little league soccer, etc. If God
says “there is gold in them thar hills”, then you can count on it being there.
Remember that 99% of
mining is an ounce at a time. Modern miners run tons of dirt to produce a
few ounces of gold, that’s a lot of work, time and energy and when we hear of
someone digging up a big nugget or finding a gold vein in a tunnel and striking
it big we can become envious and discouraged. The majority of successful miners
keep on adding one ounce at a time to their jar.
I think of you, my fellow Shepherds, miners and friends and
you have been given a claim with a highly valuable treasure within. Some of
your claims have nuggets hidden in the creek beds, others have to dig deep
underground, and others have to work tons of dirt just for a few ounces. When I
hear of your mining stories, I am proud of you in your faithfulness, your
creativity, your patience, your perseverance, your passion and your hard work
in ministry. Keep digging.
Campfire Question: Where have you discovered gold in your claim?
