Do you realize this would have been my last Sunday as Sr. Pastor of Sycamore if not for the coronavirus?!
It is a privilege to continue through the month of June to try to help carry us through these challenging times, and I pray that God will bless as we emerge from the shutdown with faith and renewed energy to follow him.
I have been thinking each day this week, “This would have been my last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.” This reflection has made me all the more appreciative of the privilege of serving Christ as your pastor. The coronavirus and extension of a month has reminded me that we all serve at the pleasure of Christ in circumstances beyond our control, and our pleasure is in pleasing Him. Rather than fading out, we have had to engage in starting things anew in worship and ministry. It feels like church planting all over again!
I pray as we begin to gather together:
– that we will not have grown cold or complacent in our faith. I have heard it takes 6 weeks to develop a new habit. This is my 12th coronavirus newsletter. Can you believe that this has been going on for three months? Have we developed the habit of not coming to church to participate in the means that God has given us to grow in our faith with each other? Remember, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…” Hebrews 10:25.
– that we will not let this virus divide us. There are so many different opinions on how we should handle this. Let this be a test of our love for one another, and let our love for one another be stronger than any disagreement on distancing, masks, outside/inside, etc. Remember, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
– that we remember those who cannot or should not come even to an outside service. We will continue to provide worship online, recording on Friday so as not to be subject to internet failure, and we have obtained an FM receiver for those who would remain in their cars on Sunday morning. But beyond that, continue to check on one another and pray for each other. We have health issues in our congregation beyond the virus that are quite serious, and we have those who have experienced bereavement. When we can’t gather easily, we have to go the extra mile to care for one another. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
– that we will not enter this time of pastoral transition limping in faith, but reinvigorated in the one who alone has the words of eternal life. Remember, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
– that God will bless and use the next pastor who comes in during such unusual circumstances to lead Sycamore with fresh energy and vitality. Remember, “God gives the growth” (from 1 Corinthians 3:6).
The plan now is for me to preach through June, my last Sunday as your Sr. Pastor, June 28, then I will step back. Sycamore will enter Missions Month in July with some special guests. Hopefully the next pastor will be in place before long. Marty is ready and willing to carry you through the transition. I am invited back on September 20 to preach my last sermon in the morning and in the evening everybody will celebrate – wait a minute – maybe I should reword that! The day will likely overlap with the next pastor in place. The change in schedule due to the virus then becomes a great opportunity for me to express personally my support for the next pastor. In any case, this is God’s timing and his leading, and I have been encouraged and blessed to see how, even in these difficult times, God is blessing!