WORD FROM PASTOR by Preston Davis
Before I came to High Point I remember asking an old college chaplain who was nearing retirement what he really did all day. He said, “my job is to have a ministry of presence.” A ministry of presence? The snarky questions followed. “Can I too be paid for being present to people?” Four years now as Minister to High Point University, and I get what he was talking about. Ask the questions: What really makes a difference? What provides confidence in life when things are shaky? What do you lean on when all the world is limp? The more I grow as a pastor and person, the less I am convinced that words can do what a body can. You can always give someone advice and send them through the valley of the shadow armed solely with their teeth and a head full clichés: “Pick yourself up.” “You’ll get it over it.” “Time will heal you.” I’m not sure how far those will carry us. In fact, don’t these phrases only add to the shadows rather than banish them? We need less ghosts. Not more. It’s why we ache for presence to fill the void. Presence scatters the shadows, silences the ghosts. A hand to hold stills the shakes. It steadies the limp. As the Psalmist knows, yes, there is a valley of the shadow of death, but “thou art with me,” and that leads to “my cup runeth over.” It’s why Christian communities through the ages have eaten bread and wine to remember God giving God’s body in solidarity with us haunted people. What a beautiful reminder that we don’t limp alone. God knows what we need: a companion. Presence. This first edition of Infinite Space brims with student reflections on the theme of presence (and sometimes the lack of it). These poems, essays, photos, and paintings are haunting with their tragedy and struggle, and yet they abound even more with mercy and redemption. Take a look inside. Yes, ghosts and shadows are nearby on the pages to come, such as in Rachel Callaway’s “The Chair,” but they are overwhelmed by the deeper journey we call God’s grace. These stories stir the heart to live and move in a different way, as in Sarah Colbert’s writing. They cause us to take a second look, like in Clarice Sigsworth’s poems, to see that there was more there than we first thought. And you may just look into the face of the Holy Spirit in Kalen Smith’s paintings, which she created during the weekly chapel services. How cool is that?! They are all proof that we can have a different kind of presence in the world. And that’s the point. May your presence in this world be a ministry.