In May of 1976, I was called to serve the Baptist church in a small coal mining village outside Evansville, Indiana. In July, Paula and I married and moved into their parsonage. On a good Sunday, we had sixty in attendance. Those good people got us started. They ministered to us as we served them. Through these intervening decades, it has been my blessing to serve congregations as a pastoral minister alongside good people in Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and, since 2011, you fine folks of St. John’s in Charlotte, North Carolina. As you have heard me say through the years, ‘I cannot believe it took 35 years to find my way home.’ I love St. John’s.
Next summer, I will complete my 50th year in pastoral ministry. My career began as a group of politically motivated fundamentalists manipulated Baptist structures to take over Baptist entities including thousands of local churches. Before I had been a pastor for three years, our Baptist landscape shifted. Because I cast my lot with the moderate/progressive branch within our Baptist heritage, it has been my blessing to serve a variety of roles in Baptist, ecumenical, institutional, and interfaith initiatives. It has been my privilege to serve alongside hundreds of Church leaders to offer new pathways of service to future generations. Through every new venture, The Living God who is faithful, has provided me with clarity about the ‘next steps’ I should take to invest myself in God’s mission for the Church. My recent prayer has been, “Lord, what are you calling me to do with my 50th year in pastoral ministry?’ Here is where my thoughts have landed.
First, my ministry in this 50th year will focus on St. John’s more than myself. I will center my attention on preaching, equipping church leaders, encouraging and resourcing church staff, coordinating ministries of worship, education, participation, outreach, leadership development, pastoral care, community mission partnerships, and church administration while offering five decades of pastoral wisdom to church leaders as we pursue priorities emerging from our CONVERGE conversations. Throughout my adult life, I have based my calling on verses found in Ephesians 4 regarding the purpose of a pastor-teacher: “…to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” Through this next year, I will continue to pursue this calling. I’ve known ministers who have rusted out, acted out, worn out, burned out, etc. It is my commitment to finish out my calling as a good and faithful pastoral servant.
Second, my ministry in this 50th year will tend to the waves of change that are inevitable in every living organism – including the life cycle of a person or a church body. The pandemic years of 2020-2022 and last year’s heart attack caused me to reset my rhythm in ministry and set me to thinking about the chapters of life beyond my fiftieth year of ministry. On August 8th, 2025, one year from today, I will observe my 70th birthday. I am currently discussing with church leaders how we use this year to prepare the church for the essential transitions that are in our church’s future. If we practice the character of Christ and prayerfully follow the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, we will produce a very healthy pastoral transition year for St. John’s.
Therefore, I am using my annual two-weeks of study leave this week and next week to prepare for the future of St. John’s and for my 50th year of pastoral ministry. After we ordain new deacons and commission church leaders for this next church year on Sunday, September 8th, we will use September and October to focus on our church’s vision for the future. In November we will commit our financial resources to accomplish this vision. In December, we will journey through Advent to a celebration of God’s Gift on Christmas Eve. During January, I will offer a series of sermons on significant spiritual transitions during life’s journey. After Youth Sunday in early February, I will offer four sermons on what a half-century of pastoral ministry has taught me about God and the Church. In March and April, we will explore spiritual renewal during Lent preparing for a resurrection celebration on Easter Sunday, April 20 with Bright Sunday on April 27. We will use May to focus on our complimentary futures as we prepare for a meaningful transitional summer and an exciting future for our church. To God be the glory! Great things God is doing!
