Rogers Update 6/20/2019
June 20, 2019
Dear Friends,
Disappointment – No body likes it. It comes when you expect something to happen that you are looking forward to experiencing, and it doesn’t happen for one reason or another. Disappointment can also come from people when you expect something from them, and they fail your expectations. Our world is primed for disappointment, but we are not of this world. Today, I am writing you about a “disappointment” in my life. While in Alaska I began to feel pain in my back and left leg. Upon returning to Indiana, the pain continued to get worse. It centered in my lower back, and there have been times I needed a cane just to walk. It felt very much like my shingles was returning. Now, it seems there may be more to it than that. I have been doing therapy and seeing a chiropractor. Both seem to help. I am hoping I will not have to have some form of surgery. (I have had five spinal surgeries on my back and neck. One of the surgeons told me that the spinal column in my neck has aged faster than the rest of my body. He told me my condition is rare. He also asked permission to use my x-rays & MRIs in training other surgeons. Not exactly the most exciting way to be famous!)
After much prayer I concluded that I needed to cancel my trip to Utah in July. That was a difficult decision because these trips are built around helping churches, and at the core of helping churches is the special privilege of helping people. I am grateful that God has worked out the details, and the Utah churches are finding other solutions.
I remember a couple of years back having to cancel the last part of a trip in Utah due to a bad case of the aforementioned shingles. I also remember in 2003 canceling a trip to Russia because I was hospitalized for five weeks with pancreatitis. There haven’t been many of these type of situations where I canceled scheduled ministry, but I do feel disappointment when they happen.
When I was a teenager, I had an uncle (a preacher) tell me, “There are two ways to know you are getting old. First, blowing out the candles on your birthday cake may start a fire, and secondly, talking about the parts of your body that hurt!” To add to the challenges of my back and leg, my pancreas decided to call attention to itself this weekend. Probably most of us think of Job when we have multiple “difficulties” come our way. God most certainly knew what He was doing (no surprise) when He put a book in the Bible answering questions dealing with our attitude and willingness to trust Him.
There are always challenges in health and family for all of us. Ministry, especially counseling, can certainly become overwhelming if we take over God’s job of solving issues in people’s lives. Let’s face it, our emotions are powerful and are very revealing. Where depression is worry about the past, anxiety is worry about the future. Disappointment clarifies where my hope is. To dwell on disappointment is to forget that God is in control. My emotions may not agree that God is in control, but the character of God in the Bible proclaims it. It really does come down to me making the decision that God truly knows what He is doing. Therefore, if I understand that God is who He says He is, I don’t have to live in disappointment. Thank God for His patience!
I think back to that painful time of shingles. My wife had to fly out to Utah and drive me home. I was miserable, but the opportunity to be with Beabea was special. We were able to talk and be together. Traveling in ministry without my wife as much as I do made our time with each other in the vehicle together very precious. When I was hospitalized with pancreatitis for five weeks, I had opportunities to speak to patients, nurses, and doctors about Christ. Stuck in a hospital bed with pancreatic pain and medical tubes attached in multiple places on my body, I found that talking about the peace of God took on new meaning to those that were listening. It does seem like God knows what He is doing, doesn’t it?! That means canceling this trip was no mistake even if I don’t understand it!
The remainder of this summer and fall I will be in Indiana. Even with my leg and hip issue, I should be able to do ministry the rest of this year. I am curious how these pieces are going to fit together. Again, pray that surgery will not be necessary! (…unless God thinks it is!)
As I write, Beabea is in Tennessee visiting our daughter, Christy, and her family. Michael and Christy just moved to Tennessee, and Beabea is helping them get settle in. Of course she has to spend time with our grandchildren! As of June 18th, Beabea and I have been married for 42 years! …and she still loves me!!
Finally, this fall BEM is endorsing an event known as the Men’s Small Church Leadership Summit scheduled for November 14-15, 2019 at the Oakbrook Retreat grounds near Russiaville, IN. This event is an outgrowth of the Small Church Conference that BEM did in November of last year. Since BEM plans to do their Small Church Conference every other year, some of the local pastors wanted to do something in the years that the conference is not being done. I have been working with them, and I believe this will be a special time of encouragement for any that attend. I will be sending out more information in the near future, but I encourage you to put this Summit on your calendar!
Trusting God even though I don’t always understand His thinking. (Isaiah 55:8 – 9)
John (and Beabea) Rogers
jtrbem@gmail.com
7265 West 320 South
Russiaville, IN 46979
Home: (765) 889-3264
Cell: (765) 753-0056
Commissioning Church: Shepherd Road Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1054, Mulberry, FL 33860
Barnabas Enrichment Ministries
P.O. Box 229
Elkhart, IN 46515-0229
(765) 667-2532
www.barnabasenrichmentministries.org
Please send all financial gifts to Barnabas Enrichment Ministries with a note designating the gift for the ministry of John & Beabea Rogers.
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