As I See It, FCC Newsletter, September 2013

Change is always difficult due to the great amount of uncertainty involved. During the last few days, my family and I have wondered what the next twelve months would be like during this interim period, and I am quite certain that you have wondered the same.

I would like to help all of us by sharing a few of my expectations for you and some things I believe you can expect from me.

First of all, I expect you to feel free to ask me hard questions of faith and theology. That being said, I expect you to sometimes disagree with my answers. As Congregationalists who uphold the concept of the Priesthood of All Believers, it is our right to sometimes disagree with each other, even with the pastor. Notice that the title of my column is “As I See It” which implies that it may not be “as you see it.”

Secondly, I expect you to try your best to be the embodiment of the redemptive love of Christ in our broken world. As the Spirit leads us, even when we disagree, I expect us to lovingly and graciously work together in mission and ministry with the goal of using our gifts to be the family of faith that God wants us to be.

And finally, I expect you to feel free to call on your interim pastor whenever a need arises. Do not assume I already know. My cell phone will be published on the bulletins and in the newsletter.

And here are a few things you can expect from me. First and foremost, always remember that I am like most preachers, thus always expect me to never turn down anyone who invites me over or out to dinner!

More seriously, although I have been raised and educated as a Baptist, you a expect me to respect the principles and purposes of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I have been very fortunate to serve with some wonderful, inclusive Baptist churches such as First Baptist Church here in Farmville. However, the Baptist churches with which I have served are quite rare in Southern Baptist life. Sadly, the Disciples of Christ statement of identity to “welcome all to the Lord’s table as God has welcomed us” is not a statement that is spoken in many Baptist churches. I have great affinity for this statement as well as all of the core values and principles of the Disciples of Christ, and you can expect me to uphold and share them with others.

Secondly, you can expect me to be there when a need arises. You can expect me to visit the sick and the homebound. You can expect me to be there in the hospital whenever a member has major surgery. You can expect me to visit prospective members and invite them into our fellowship. I am a pastor you can expect to visit and visit often.

You can expect me to work with and alongside the staff, committees, and the board of the church; not over or above them. You can expect me to preach well-researched, Christ-centered, biblical sermons. You can expect me not to have all of the answers to those hard questions of faith and theology. Sometimes my best answer will be: “I don’t know.” You can expect me to respect your interpretation of scripture and your views on certain issues. You can expect me to be human and make mistakes. Finally, you can expect me to rejoice with you and to suffer with you, to laugh with you and cry with you. You can expect me to love you.

I hope this helps us both as we embrace this wonderful change together. My family and I look forward to a loving relationship serving with you here in this community we call home. Oh, there is one more thing, if you are able and are in town, I expect to see you on Sunday mornings!