Honoring Brother Harold Griffin

This past Sunday, we gave Harold a plaque to honor him for 76 years in the ministry. He is 91 years old. It's amazing that so many people drop out of the ministry so quickly. According to the Schaeffer Institute, 80% of seminary and Bible college graduates leave the ministry in the first 5 years of their ministry. According to the Hartford Institute, in the 5 years prior to the year 2000, 75% of churches experienced some degree of conflict, and in the 2 years prior to the year 2005, 57% of churches experienced conflict. Men like Harold deserve to be honored for their endurance. I've heard it said that the pastor is like a cork in a bottle, and when the bottle is shaken in a time of conflict, the pressure is on the pastor to leave. In these days there seems to be more pressure than ever in most churches. I'm thankful that we have not yet had any conflict in our little mission church. (Click on the photo for a closer view.)