Our congregation hosted the annual senior minister’s conference last week. About 45 Disciples of Christ clergy from across the US met at the Hotel Intercontinental and in our building for three days of presentations by guest speakers and dialogues among the clergy, all of them interesting and inspiring. On the last day of the conference there is typically a wrap up session that becomes tense. I’m not sure why but several of us have come to dread that closing session where grievances are sometimes aired in ways that ruffle feathers. But this year, something unique unfolded.

After the final lecture, but before that dreaded closing session, a young pastor from Indianapolis arose from her seat in the rooftop ballroom of the hotel and began to sing a cappella, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…“ Everyone in the room joined in and it sounded like 200, not 45. Clergy like to sing and they sang with gusto. The chorus of pastors uplifted me in a way I didn’t know a simple child’s song could. Mostly because they sang it like it was true. Even pastors need to be reminded of the basics.

And as we sang the room softened. And I wondered how many times Jesus Loves Me had been sung, if ever, in the rooftop ballroom. In between the verses of the song, she spoke verbal prayers on behalf of the clergy and the churches we serve. And we sang verses of Jesus Loves Me that I didn’t know. And when the song was over, a hush settled over the room, and the leader of the conference said, “There is nothing left to say, meeting adjourned.” We didn’t really need that tense business session anyway, I guess.

There is a story about a famous German/Swiss theologian who was speaking at University of Chicago in 1962. His name was Karl Barth and he wrote many volumes of theology. One of the students during the Q and A asked him if he could summarize this theology in a single sentence. And he said, “ In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee, Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.”

Whatever tense moments are yours this week, whatever challenges, doubts, or worries you are facing, perhaps there is no better reminder that you are God’s beloved. Even if you don’t want to sing. Just hum it…

Grace and Peace,
Carla
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