As I mentioned in an earlier post, this week I marked fifteen years of ordained pastoral ministry. Without a doubt one of the great joys of a pastor’s calling is to have my life connected with the people of God through local churches. The connections He has blessed me with have evidence of great grace.
Sunny Hill Baptist Church in rural southeast Louisiana was the first place to ever call me “pastor”. To say my wife and I were green at this point would be one of history’s great understatements. I was a twenty three-year seminary student , who had only preached five times before in my life. I think my wife, Susan summed it up quite bluntly, but honestly when she said, “we got far more out of that relationship than that poor church did.” But I am more than grateful for the grace they showed (and all they preaching advice they gave me!)
Upon graduation, Immanuel Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale was the first place I had the privilege of serving as a full time pastor. I did my first funerals here and once had Alice Cooper’s wife visit my Sunday School class (yes, that Alice Cooper). Here I learned what my greatest passions and convictions were. And I learned I still had much more to learn!
Looking back, our years at Chapel West seem to be our most difficult days in ministry. The planting of a church in a very large, brand new, mostly unchurched community was exciting. But it was also hard. Very hard. It seemed we never had a moment's rest and always lived waiting for the “breakthrough” we were certain would come. Looking back, I wonder if church planting may not have been the best fit for my gifts. However, while the plant did not survive our leaving, there is a beautiful company of believers who were eternally changed through the ministry of this church. In many ways, more so than any other place I have served. God’s call must be trusted.
I thought it was a waste of time to talk to the search committee from Immanuel Baptist Church of Panama City, FL. I doubted that this hundred year old traditional church in the Florida panhandle would really be interested in a struggling, nontraditional, church planter from South Florida. Then God knit us together….almost in an instant. Over time I prayed we would never have to move. While it was not always easy, it was almost always a blessing. No place has been more difficult to leave.
Today, it is my privilege to serve as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Eunice, LA. We are just a year into this ministry, but it gets richer by the day. We have seen God do some wonderful things in these months. But I most look forward to being here long enough to simply be part of the landscape of this church and community. And to celebrate a few more milestones along the way.
Sunny Hill Baptist Church in rural southeast Louisiana was the first place to ever call me “pastor”. To say my wife and I were green at this point would be one of history’s great understatements. I was a twenty three-year seminary student , who had only preached five times before in my life. I think my wife, Susan summed it up quite bluntly, but honestly when she said, “we got far more out of that relationship than that poor church did.” But I am more than grateful for the grace they showed (and all they preaching advice they gave me!)
Upon graduation, Immanuel Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale was the first place I had the privilege of serving as a full time pastor. I did my first funerals here and once had Alice Cooper’s wife visit my Sunday School class (yes, that Alice Cooper). Here I learned what my greatest passions and convictions were. And I learned I still had much more to learn!
Looking back, our years at Chapel West seem to be our most difficult days in ministry. The planting of a church in a very large, brand new, mostly unchurched community was exciting. But it was also hard. Very hard. It seemed we never had a moment's rest and always lived waiting for the “breakthrough” we were certain would come. Looking back, I wonder if church planting may not have been the best fit for my gifts. However, while the plant did not survive our leaving, there is a beautiful company of believers who were eternally changed through the ministry of this church. In many ways, more so than any other place I have served. God’s call must be trusted.
I thought it was a waste of time to talk to the search committee from Immanuel Baptist Church of Panama City, FL. I doubted that this hundred year old traditional church in the Florida panhandle would really be interested in a struggling, nontraditional, church planter from South Florida. Then God knit us together….almost in an instant. Over time I prayed we would never have to move. While it was not always easy, it was almost always a blessing. No place has been more difficult to leave.
Today, it is my privilege to serve as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Eunice, LA. We are just a year into this ministry, but it gets richer by the day. We have seen God do some wonderful things in these months. But I most look forward to being here long enough to simply be part of the landscape of this church and community. And to celebrate a few more milestones along the way.
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