Good morning you faithful weblog readers and to any one popping in for the first time.  It has been a few days since I have written something, so hang on, I am going to make up for lost time.  Following this entry there will be some updates including the question of the week (which I will actually answer this week) and other items.  Keep an eye on this site and see what I am up to.

This past weekend I was in St. Peter, MN at Gustavus Adolphus College (GAC:  For some reason it is a lot more fun to say "Gac" instead) for the SW MN Synod assembly.  There were about 600+ people there (lay and clergy) discussing and debating the "business" of the church.  It was really intriguing.  The meeting follows strict parliamentary procedures which ensure everyone is treated fairly and has equal opportunity to speak and vote.  There were three microphones set up for people to debate resolutions.  We had 13 resolutions to deal with.  A few of them were slam dunk, no-brainers that had no real debate but others took a little longer to get through.  There was one particular resolution that caught my attention; dealing with immigration and the people who do ministry with them.  I won’t get into specifics here but the long and short of it was do we oppose legislation that would criminalize undocumented workers and the people who do ministry with them?  What caught my attention was the wording of the resolution and I wanted to propose an amendment.  So the night before this resolution was to come to the floor I wrote up my amendment so I could go to a microphone and have the correct wording in front of me.  I even talked to a couple colleagues and got their opinion and they agreed with me.

But part of me was nervous.  Six hundred plus people at a business meeting and I was thinking about speaking.  I had never done that before.  What if I made a mistake?  What if people said, "Eric that is out of order and stupid"?  What if I stumble over my words and look like an idiot?  I shouldn’t be scared about expressing my opinions; I do it all the time here on this site and in church.  But for some reason this synod assembly was different.  Well, time came to start debate on this resolution.  A couple people spoke and I started to doubt and second guess myself.  Then someone came to the microphone and wanted to propose an amendment.  And get this, the amendment he proposed was exactly the same as what I had written up.  It was like he was looking over my shoulder as I wrote this.  He was then given 4 minutes to argue why he was proposing this and his argument was basically the same as mine.  I said to myself "Wow, someone is thinking like me".  Others argued against the amendment, but when it came to the vote, it passed overwhelmingly.  The amendment I almost proposed, people liked.  I was excited and then started to get a little depressed (and of course I started thinking).

I had a chance to speak and I didn’t.  I then thought back to other resolutions.  I had a chance to speak there and I didn’t.  Some of those resolutions passed that I did not want to pass.  What if I had spoken?  Maybe I could have influenced some voters so that the vote would have turned out the way I wanted.  But I didn’t speak.  I waited for someone else to say what I was thinking.  Sure…with the amendment I got lucky, but that is not the norm.  I missed my chance to speak my mind and make a difference.  I missed my chance to work for "good".  I missed my chance, right, privilege and duty to speak.  I blew it and I will never get those moments back again.

When God gives us chances to share our faith with someone, do you jump on that chance or do you wait for someone else to chime in; hoping they will do what you want to do?  Do you sit back thinking to yourself what you want to say but never say it; afraid of what others might think or say?  Do you say to yourself, "Who am I to say something?"  God gives us opportunities everyday to make a difference in the world, but too often we pass those opportunities by.  We think and hope someone else will say something, but they won’t.  When God gives you and me a chance, the chance is for you and me only.  No one else will jump in for you.  No one else will say what YOU need to say.  Only you can say it.  Next time an opportunity comes your way think to yourself "God has placed this opportunity here and no one else will do it.  I MUST ACT."  Don’t miss your chance to make a difference in the world.  You will never get that chance again.  God needs you to change the world.  So don’t wait to act because tomorrow is promised to no one.  Live today and make a difference, someone needs you.  Amen!