Glad you’re here. We’d love to have you join us.
Bits & Pieces is a collections of articles by Gerrit Gustafson. The various subjects covered are all about learning God’s ways in life, through relationships, and in work and worship.
The name, Bits & Pieces, refers to how we learn in fragments, little by little. One insight fits together with others like the pieces of a puzzle. We all “know in part” as we wait for “when the perfect comes” (1 Cor. 13:9-10).
Gerrit’s perspective has resulted from his successes and failures as pastor, music publisher, teacher, businessman, husband and father. He and his wife, Himmie, have five adult children and live in the Nashville area..
*****************************************************
What is Your Ministry?
There is a general misunderstanding about Christian ministry. It is that it only belongs to the professional Christians - the “clergy.” We’re divided up like this: there are the ministers, and then the rest of us. (And the “rest of us” pay the bills.)
The truth is that if you’re a follower of Christ, you are called to the ministry.
The Wind and the Rock
People are wired differently - have you noticed?
For instance, I am more of a songwriter than an accountant. I am fascinated by accountants. How could they possibly enjoy doing what they do? I’m sure they wish they could be normal like me… (I hope you know I’m kidding!)
God delights in irony and contrasts…
The Table, the Pulpit and the Throne
"Are we in the earthquake throes of a new Reformation?"
Jack Hayford asked that question years ago in his 1987 book, Worship His Majesty.
Then he boldly proposed that, like Martin Luther nailing the Ninety-five Theses to the Wittenburg door, we drive a nail in the altar, or the pulpit, or the communion table, or whatever to announce again the preeminence of God's Word and His Spirit over our own traditions.
Lectio Divina
“In Christianity, lectio divina (Latin for “divine reading”) is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word. It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the Living Word.”
A Place in the Wilderness
If you ever find yourself in a “wilderness time,” you’ll be among a great company of others who’ve been there before you. Moses, Jesus and Paul, for instance. Even Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness before they finally entered their inheritance.
A modern example of wilderness experience is Mother Teresa.
On Being a Good Butler
You have received an invitation to dine with a distinguished community leader. On the appointed day, you anxiously arrive at the massive entrance to his palatial estate, ring the bell and wait. Immediately you are greeted by a gracious butler who takes your coat, puts you at ease with just the right words of how glad the host is that you have come…
Have you been to Peniel?
Recently I read the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel at Peniel. I think the story beautifully illustrates the very important heart disposition of total surrender, which leads to new identity.
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs
All of us have personal preferences. Some prefer blue over green. Some prefer a trip to the beach over a trip to the mountains. Some favor grits over hash browns, country music over rock, and almost everyone favors the home team over the visitors.
But whereas we smile at some of our preferences, our religious preferences are usually quite a different matter.
Ontic Density
It’s my hope that the words that follow will somehow pry us loose from a flat view of God and this world in which we live, and stir a hunger for those realms of God’s reality that we seldom visit. I would hope also that these words would move us away from a smug, ho-hum attitude toward the presence of God in gathered worship and enliven an anticipation for encountering heaven itself as we gather in God’s name.