As the first of two services to practice lament, this week’s chapel began without music from our worship team. As Pastor Sharon Brown shared, while worship is always right, sometimes songs of praise grate against what our souls feel. Instead, Pastor Brown read Psalm 130 and invited us to sit with it in prayer and silence.
After that time, Dr. Walter Gibson closed our prayers and explored the need for silence, using Jesus’ example in Mark 6:7-32. He thoughtfully demonstrated that lack of time spent in silence can lure us away from recognizing the need for and the practice of lament.
“Now hear me well: ministry is about doing. But if you don’t take the time to stop doing long enough to be able to hear from God, to be in silence, to clear your mind, then you will not be able to engage in ministry in a fruitful kind of way.”
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rev. Dr. Walter R. Gibson, Jr., currently serves as pastor of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Lansing, Mich. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Southern Methodist University, Dr. Gibson began his theological training at the College of Biblical Studies (Houston, TX), and Houston Graduate School of Theology where he earned his master’s degree (2001), and Doctor of Ministry (2014). He is the author of the inspirational book “No More Business As Usual.” He is married to the love of his life, Tarsha Gibson, and they have two dynamic sons, Cameron and Christian.
