Sometimes ministry is overwhelming. I am not just talking about pastoral ministry here, but about the ministry that all Christians do.

Let me give you an example.

A group of us just got back from a trip to Ocean Springs, Miss. It is near Biloxi and is part of the area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Let's just say pictures in magazines, books and TV do not begin to do the devastation justice. Whole towns have been wiped off the face of the earth. Over 130,000 people are living down there without jobs, because their businesses and places of employment have been destroyed.

The list goes on and on as far as the problems that continue for the people down in Mississippi.

I will remember, for as long as I live, one of the first scenes I saw as we arrived. Our group stayed in an old textile mill that had been renovated and fixed up to house volunteers and to act as a distribution center for food and other supplies. This will be in place for the next eight years.

Anyway, as we were entering the facility the cars were lined up four deep to pick up supplies. In the front was an old, beat up station wagon with a mother and her four kids. The kids were dirty, the youngest was crying, the mother stepped out of the car, picked up her groceries and simply smiled and said thank you.

This was no big deal, I thought, this happens every day even in Warrenton. Later I came to find out that, for the last nine months, that mother and her four children had been living in a tent in the local campground, because her home had been destroyed, she had lost her job and had nowhere to go.

That was it for me. I broke down and went away to my nice, cozy, air conditioned room and wept for a while.

Sometimes the sheer pain and suffering in this world is more than we can bear. We feel the weight of all that can happen to us in an instant. That first night we went down to the beach and saw what the storm had really done.

There is a bridge that connects Biloxi and Ocean Springs, or at least it used to. This bridge made of millions of pounds of concrete, steel and iron was simply picked up and broken to pieces by the force of nature. Houses that had been standing in the same place since the early 1800's were blown away in an instant.

It is in the midst of all this devastation and hopelessness that we can't help but turn to God. Christus Victor Lutheran Church operated the place in which we stayed. Christus Victor is now known as the place to go for help, along with all of the other churches in the area.

As we walked along the beach we encountered one church group after another. On our way back, we stopped in Memphis and just happened to meet up with two groups who had been working down in the same area.

My point is that it is the churches, not the government or special secular assistance, that is providing the bulk of the help for those who are struggling just to live. It is God who is providing the help through people like you and me. It is God who is doing the work in us so that we can, in turn, go and do the work where it needs to be done.

As I said in the beginning, ministry can be overwhelming at times, but only when you think of it as your ministry and not God's ministry. I am only one person. God is infinite.

My group was only able to minimally help one family. God is able to help all people forever. If we think that it is by our power or might that things will get done, then we are just plain stupid. It is only by God's will and power. As the Scriptures say, "Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord."

My friends, if you think that you aren't making a difference, think again. If you speak words of love to someone, if you help someone who needs help, if you act as a Christian should, then you are making a difference.

Everyone knows the story of the boy on the shore with the starfish. The boy saw all these starfish on the beach and wanted to save them, so he started to pick them up and throw them back into the sea. An adult came along and chastised him. "What are you doing?" He asked. "You realize that there are millions of starfish on this beach. You can't possibly make a difference here. Picking up another starfish and tossing it into the sea, the boy replied, "I made a difference to that one."

As I sit here at my desk writing this article, I know I am only one man. But my hope and joy is that I can make a difference one person at a time.

St. Paul put it best when he said, "I have become all things to all me so that, by all possible means, I might save some." Our group made a difference to one family down in Mississippi. You can make difference with your children, with your spouse, with your neighbors and with everyone else you know.

God go with you and give you strength as God makes a difference through you.

Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't have to go to church to worship God, I can do that anywhere"? I must say that I have heard that more times than I have ever wanted. I usually hear it when confronting someone about his or her worship attendance. The conversation goes something like this.

Me: I have noticed that you haven't been in church a whole lot lately.

Other person: Yeah, I have just been awful busy with a lot of stuff lately.

Me: And that stuff happens on Saturday evening between 5 and 6 p.m. or Sunday morning between 8 and 11:30 a.m.?

Other person: Well, not always, but I am always so tired by the end of the week that Saturday and Sunday is the only time I have for myself or just to sleep in.

Me: So you're sleeping and doing something else on Sunday morning instead of coming to church to spend time with God.

Other person: Well, I do go to church sometimes, and I always pray, every day. Besides you don't have to be in church to worship God. You can worship him wherever you are.

Me: "That's right you can worship God wherever you want and wherever you are, and you should, but do you?"

After this the answers and responses vary. Some might hem or haw their way around it. Others might just admit their guilt, which is best, because then we can get to the good stuff of repentance and forgiveness. Still others will get defensive and angry and even just plain leave.

Don't get me wrong, I know it is hard to make it to church sometimes. I have had other jobs which required me to work on Sundays, but that's why I was able to go Wednesday night. I have been awful tired after working an 18-hour shift on several occasions. Yet, I have felt worse if I skipped church than if I would have just gone and been fed and lifted up by the Holy Spirit through the word and Sacraments.

Many people just have an aversion to church. Some have this aversion because of a former experience they had with a church member or pastor where they attended once upon a time.

Someone said or did something bad to them or made them feel bad. I especially hear this all the time from people who are angry with the Roman Catholic Church because of the priest abuse scandal. There are also those stories of mean people who got angry with someone for sitting in their pew or parking in their parking spot.

Others have an aversion to church because they just don't feel like they belong due to some past life or something in their life right now that is really bothering them. Maybe they just feel so guilty about something that they just can't let it go. Or maybe they see the rest of the people in church and feel like they just don't measure up.

Still others have an aversion to church because they don't like the people in the church. They see them act one way in a church setting and another way around town. The reason that these people use for their lack of church attendance is that people who attend church are hypocrites.

For these three reasons, I have a quote from a wise and learned man who once said, "The problem with the church is that it is full of sinners." Isn't that the truth? I have often said that I am the chief sinner of this place (Paul, the Apostle and missionary, said that once too by the way.)

The reason we come to church is not that we are perfect, but so we can be made perfect through the word of God and through the sacraments. We come to hear the precious saving words of the Holy Gospel, which is like precious ointment for the soul. We come to receive God's mercy and grace through the words of forgiveness.

Everyone at church is in the same boat. They are all sinners in need of forgiveness, and church is the very best place to get it.

One more reason for not attending church is that the church always asks for money. To that I say, if we don't pay the electric, water and mortgage bills then there won't be a church to attend. Where do you think the church gets its money? Does God let it rain down from heaven like manna? No, it comes from its members.

If we are to "make disciples of all nations," as God commands us, it takes time, talents and money. God has given us money to use as he pleases, not as we please.

The money used to support the work of the church in evangelism, missions, ministry to the sick, to the lost, to the dying, to the young, to the old, to everyone comes from the members of the church. I say, if you are not willing to give to the work of the church with your time, talents and treasures, don't be a member.

Getting back to the point, sure you can worship whenever, wherever and however you want. But do you? Do you worship God when you are lying in bed on Sunday morning sleeping off the hangover you have from the night before? Do you worship God when you are on the third hole, par four, and you just slapped your third tee shot into the water? Do you worship God at Denny's eating your stack of pancakes? Do you worship God as you are sighting in that turkey or deer?

I would probably guess that the answer, if you were to answer truthfully, is no.

My friends, we need corporate worship. We need the fellowship of believers however sinful they may be. We need to hear God's word read, preached and sung. We need to be able to say with fellow believers that we believe in one God, father, son, and Holy Spirit. We need to study God's word so that you may grow in its truth and peace. We need to fulfill Jesus' last command to make disciples of the whole world. We need the Sabbath. As Jesus once said, "The Sabbath was made for man."

I usually get on this worship kick at this time of year because attendance seems to go down drastically. People go on vacation, and I hope they go to church somewhere else while on vacation. I dread though that the truth might not be so optimistic.

I encourage you all to get to church on a regular basis this summer. You are never too busy that you can't take an hour or two on Saturday night or Sunday morning to worship. On the contrary, as Martin Luther once said, "I'm too busy not to worship and pray."

The fact is that the more you have going on in your life the more you need Jesus in your life. Quit making excuses and go to church.