From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Firm Foundation “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise person who built their house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish person who built their house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell- and great was its fall!” Matthew 7:24-27 As many of you know, I grew up fishing with my family. On way too many occasions, I have encountered storms while out in a boat. It sort of goes with the territory. One storm, in particular, I will never forget. We were night fishing for crappie, and we were catching them like crazy. Off in the distance, we began to see flashes of lightning. It grew closer and closer. However, we were still catching fish, so we stayed. It was still calm where we were and everything seemed okay at the time...until it wasn’t. And when the storm hit, it hit hard and fast. We pulled up anchor just as five foot swells began. The boat motor cranked over just before we were blown into a cliff by the raging wind. We had a long way to go back to the vehicle and most of that way required us to be on the open water. Dad told us all to lay down in the bottom of the boat. We were terrified. I remember the gigantic waves and the horrific sound of the boat going over the waves and soaring so high that the motor came out of the water whirling as we zoomed through the air, only to then collide with the next wave. Dad got us under a bridge where we tied up and rode the storm out for the next hour, thankful that we survived. I’ll never forget that unmoored, wave-tossed, tempest of a pickle we were in that night. I share this story because it has been on my mind. With news coming in the last few weeks about the postponement of the General Conference gathering of the United Methodist Church and the announcement of the launch of the Global Methodist Church (GMC), I have witnessed many who have felt “unmoored” in the church. Our denomination continues to make national and local news as these things have unfolded. These are tempest-laden times to be certain. However, I want to share a few things that I believe are helpful. First, some things shared with me from a gathering with the Bishop and the clergy of the Northwest District: Continued on Next Page Wesley UMC Newsletter April 2022
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