“How are you doing?”

Pastor Lange and I get together once a month for a mentor check-in. Usually, it’s breakfast at a Cracker Barrel about halfway between our two locations. After we sit down and order, he always kicks off our meetings with the same question: “How are you doing?”

It’s a common enough question. You might think it would be an easy one to answer. A “fine,” “alright,” or “ok” would suffice. But more often, I have to smile and think for a moment.

In a flash, I’m thinking about the sermon I have to write for this upcoming Sunday, the Bible study that needs to be prepared, the upcoming meetings, the phone call from a member yesterday, the people I need to reach out to, my family, and the rest of the list stretching on forever.

As I snap back into the moment, I pick one of these topics to talk about, whichever comes to mind first or seems most pressing. In between bites of food, we talk. Actually, I do most of the talking. Pastor Lange listens. He asks me questions. Sometimes he offers advice. Other times he simply reflects what he’s hearing from me. The next time I check my watch, an hour, sometimes two, have passed.

All starting from that one, four-word question: “How are you doing?”

It can be such a simple question. But by giving me an opportunity to speak, it becomes much more than that.

In my first two years of ministry, one of the things I’ve noticed is that things are rarely simple. People (myself included) are complicated. Misunderstandings and miscommunications abound. Sometimes the right answers aren’t clear.

But in moments like these, I’m thankful for the clear, simple message of Scripture: Christ crucified and Christ risen…for you. I’m thankful for my mentor, Pastor Lange. Because no matter how I might think I’m doing, managing all the responsibilities of public ministry, home life, and everything else, the reminder and encouragement he gives remains the same:

“Jesus has got you.”

Pastor Jacob Schmidt serves at Faith Lutheran Church in Radcliff, Kentucky