From a distance
Paul writes to the Church in Corinth “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of
God that has been given you in Christ Jesus.” As this
is the last time I am to address you as your pastor from the pulpit, I want to share some memories for which I am thankful
and offer some encouragement for the days that lie ahead. What have been the highlights for my self as I have ministered in
your midst?
First and foremost you
have granted to me a platform from which to do the greatest thing in the world, to witness to the love and grace of Jesus
Christ. Leading in worship, sharing in song, basking in the music of the Noak Organ and its skillful players, enjoying the
sweet sounds of the choir, joining with you in prayer, in sacraments of baptism and communion, in times of joyful marriage
and heart wrenching farewells… and applying myself to the preaching of words that I believe God laid on my heart to
share… such has been my greatest joy.
To be honest I have always
had this love/hate relationship with the task of preaching. It’s a scary thing to pass on God’s Word. If there
are preachers out there who feel they are up to the task, then they should get another job. Because it’s not a job.
It’s something you do because if you don’t do it, it burns you up until you do do it! As Paul writes later in
1 Corinthians 9:16; “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
I thank you for the opportunity
of offering Sunday by Sunday my stumbling words in their sometimes unfamiliar accent and for yourselves accepting them for
what they were. Not always precise. Not always what you wanted or felt you needed
to hear. But nevertheless you were here and you lifted me up in your prayers and you took the time to listen. That has meant
a lot.
I encourage you as there
will be new voices coming from this pulpit, don’t sit in judgment, sit in discernment. Accept what is offered as a Word
of God and allow it to become a part of your spiritual journey. Never judge the book by its cover. Always look beyond the
packaging and enjoy the content!
I want to thank you for
the opportunities that were given me to teach as well as to preach. On Wednesday nights. Working through whole books of the
Bible. Even wrestling with the likes of Pauline theology in Romans and Melchizedek in Hebrews. Through Sunday School. Through
Training events and elder and membership classes. At retreats. With youth and the not so youthful. Through the ‘40 days
of Purpose’. I’ve learnt such a lot and just hope some of it rubbed off on some of you!
I want to thank you for
the privilege of allowing me to be a prayerful presence during difficult times in peoples lives. I’ve a folder full
of thank you cards that I keep, not to boost my ego, but so as during those times when I feel useless, incapable and ill-equipped
I can look back and see that God used me in spite of who I am and how I often felt. That’s grace at work right there.
I encourage you to carry
on being there for each other, even when your own heart is hurting and you have more questions than answers, and the only
prayer you can muster is the one little word that cries “Help!” Just be there for each other. It makes a difference.
I want to thank you for
the opportunity you gave me of working with my wife Yvonne during the time she served as Church Secretary. We’ve always
been in it together, but it was the first time we’d ever been able to actually work together, something we’d never
really seen as a possibility. You allowed it be so and we thank you for that awesome and God given opportunity.
I want to thank those
of you who opened doorways of opportunity to minister in the community. Dedications. Memorials. Commissionings. Community
events. Celebrations. Carpenters Corners. Teaching at Mountain State University. Serving within different community organizations and on various committees.
Again it has just been a privilege to extend the ministry of this church through being a public prayerful presence.
I encourage you to remember
that Beckley Presbyterian Church has historically been about a lot more than what happens within its walls and serving only
the needs of those on its membership lists. I encourage you to keep that community focus alive, both through the programs
you host and the outreach you commit yourselves to. Lose that and you will lose your reason for existing. Lose that and you
will lose your mission and miss your calling.
I want to thank you for
the opportunity you gave me to work with your youth, both here in this local church and within the wider Presbytery of West
Virginia. I recall with just a little dose of pride, the Sunday that our youth presented the musical story of Ruth. I received
so much from our youth and their leaders as we headed out on Mission trips to Charlotte and Chicago. I so enjoyed
getting to know them at events such as Festival of Faith and annual retreats for those of elementary age, Middle school age
and High School age. I was blessed by working alongside a few of them on our Presbyteries Youth Council.
And Bluestone. Those of
you who have been a part of our last two church-wide retreats, those who have seen the joy in their children’s eyes
as they have spent time at summer camp, those who have witnessed their teenagers becoming counselors and leaders… I
cannot lift up high enough the ministry that takes place on that big old mountain up above Hinton.
And to those of you who
complain about the winding road, and the uncomfortable cabins and the fact that you can’t even get cell phone reception,
well I just hope that one day you get over yourselves and allow the grace of God to embrace you with the simple joy of a place
that feels very close to heaven to so many of our youth and young adults and families.
I thank you as a church for allowing me to part of the Bluestone family and encourage you to continue lifting high
its ministry.
I want to say a big thank
you to those whom I have worked alongside in staff positions, to those who stepped up to the plate when called to serve as
elders and officers, to those who have led and served and brought great skills of leadership on committees and within ministry
groups and organizations, for the silent witness of hard workers and often unappreciated grafters, those who have just got
on and done things they knew needed doing. I’m not going to single out any one of you by name, not because you’re
not worthy or because I haven’t appreciated what you have done, but because it’s not about us, it’s about
what God has done through us. As I said on the day I announced God had called
me to new pastures, “There is a God.” “And it isn’t me.”
Although none of them are probably here and the
only way they’ll get to hear it is if you pass the message on or they catch it on the radio, I want to thank the fellow
ministers and pastors whom I have had the privilege of working alongside through the Beckley Ministerial Association, the
Pastors’ Prayer Summit and the Christian Resource Center. As I have worked with them they have been a reminder that
we are all fellow laborers in the gospel, all part of something so much larger than our church, our denomination, or even
our community.
I’d like to thank you for the opportunities
you granted for me to be a part of the life of the wider church, the Presbytery, the Synod and even this past year the General
Assembly. I have always taken seriously the promise I made at ordination that I would seek to be a servant in the wider church
as well as the local church. You graced me with the privilege of doing things beyond this church’s walls to which I
felt called.
Most of all I want to thank you for your prayers,
for all your encouraging words, for the times you have been patient when I seemed slow to respond and the times you have been
forgiving when I have demonstrated the fact that, like all of us, I am a sinner, saved by faith through grace alone.
We heard in our bible reading, “God is faithful; by Him you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” And the
encouragement that Paul goes on to offer, words we all need to take to heart, are these:
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind
and the same purpose.”
Remember that it is God who has called you into
service as a member of Beckley Presbyterian Church. Remember the needs of your brothers and sisters in Christ who also have
felt that call. Recall those gifts and graces that God has given you with which to serve. Continue to lift each other up in
prayer and commit yourselves to the ongoing ministry of Christ that takes place in this location.
As you go through the process of seeking a new
coach for the team, be patient, be kind, be joyful and above all things love one another. These times of transition can be
wonderful times of fellowship, times when prayer can be revitalized and hopes refined. Times of change are usually times of
challenge. But over the last 4 and half years I have come to understand that this is a fine church and you are a group of
people capable of doing marvelous works for the Kingdom of God.
Keep Christ as your focus. Allow the Holy Spirit
to be your guide. I thank you again for the privilege of allowing me to be a part of your journey… and all in the name
of the Lord Our God, to whose name be all honor, praise, power and glory, AMEN!!
