July 2024 news-letter article

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I write to you on Monday, June 24, and I am thoroughly de-railing my plan for this monthly article.  I was going to write an article with some take-away thoughts from the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention two weeks ago.  That shall wait another month, because I simply must pause and write a note of thanks to you for your kindness to me and my family.

I will not list any names here, for fear of leaving out anyone whose name should be listed, but from the one who conceived the scheme, to the Deacons who gave a “green light”, to the kitchen/social committee, to all those who prepared food in their homes, to all those who put the Fellowship Hall back together and carried out the garbage, to everyone who bank-rolled a gift certificate, to those who wrote a personal card to me, to those who kept me in the dark about inviting my family members and personal friends: thank you, a thousand times, thank you!  More importantly, to those (some of whom are in the physical presence of Jesus now) who have loved and encouraged and supported and graciously rebuked and biblically challenged and prayed for me over the past fifteen years: I thank God for your ministry to me and your Good News partnership!

While I was glad-handing and hugging folks in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, some of you didn’t realize my whole story over the past decade and a half.  I want to take a few moments in this article to high-light a few of the reasons why I have been so reflective, grateful, and frankly, over-whelmed by emotion the past few days.

On Sunday, May 10, 2009, I graduated from the greatest university in the history of the world.  After spending a week with friends at the coast, I returned home to Greensboro the following weekend.  Monday, May 18, I drove to Walnut Cove and met Randy Wood in the parking lot outside the Office.  He brought me into the building and introduced me to Kristal Vance (our then Secretary).  Since we were without a pastor at that time, they invited me to put my stuff in the Pastors’ Study.  I was charged to serve as the interim Youth Director; I already had plans to move to Raleigh in August and begin seminary.  Since we didn’t have a pastor, I was given the opportunity to preach a few times, I was asked to visit the hospital, and even participate in a few funerals.  After several outings, a beach retreat, and trying to figure out how to teach the bible, I had fallen in love with your middle and high school students.  Miraculously, some of them, and even a few of their parents, had grown to like and trust me.

In August, Tanya Smith, Diane Oakley, Sherry Shelton, and whoever else was on that committee that hired me [it’s their fault!] asked me to remain on staff part-time through the school year in a more permanent capacity.  Just thankful for the opportunity, I was quick to agree.  By the spring of 2010, I had the awesome privilege of walking with Anita B. Mabe through her cancer journey, right up until she met Jesus face-to-face.  That process had thoroughly cemented my affection for this church.  At the same time, to say our church family was going through a difficult time is a bit of an under-statement.  What I describe as a three-way split through our church deeply grieved me, and I believe it grieved God.  The church, Daniel Jarvis (our then Minister of Music), and I were in a bit of a Mexican stand-off.  He and I both had resignation letters written, but God made very clear to me during that season that “I have put you here to serve, and I haven’t moved you anywhere else yet.”  We all experienced an abundance of God’s grace during that season, and He did what only He could do: bring peace, healing, forgiveness, and love.  To have a front-pew seat to that work of God still blows my mind today.

Many of you know this story, but some may not.  From the fall of 2010 into 2011, I got pretty sick.  I was having gastro-intestinal issues that doctors struggled to figure out; I lost about 60 pounds over about eight months.  Other than the hair-loss and the dental issues, it was the best I’ve ever looked!  Because there were no stones, it took what felt like forever to diagnose that I had gall bladder problems.  Finally, in June 2011, it was surgically removed.  The stresses of church issues, graduate school, and medical stuff, had taken its toll upon me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Now, only by looking in the rear-view, I am flooded with emotion because I can see the hand of God where I couldn’t see it in real time.  He is more faithful to us than we might give Him credit for in the moment.
 
By 2012, y’all saw fit to ordain me as a pastor/elder/overseer.  By the end of 2012, I was finally able to land the plane of seminary.  By the spring of 2013, for whatever reason, you elected to bring me on full-time as your Associate Pastor.  In the fall of 2015, our dear friend Daniel Jarvis moved to Wake County to teach at a new school, forcing him to give up service within our church.  At that point, I took off my student ministry “hat”, exchanging it for music.

Another story that many of you may not know, in 2016, a dear friend to Pastor Jim and me, who serves a larger church elsewhere in the state tried to actively poach me onto his staff.  I struggled mightily with this decision, because I refused to choose anyone over Pastor Jim.  He, in a way that only he can do, sat me down and said ‘hello!  This is God’s church; not yours; not mine.  You go where He calls you to be, and He will take care of His church!’  As I continued to wrestle with such a decision, another friend of ours spoke wisdom into the situation: “maybe, God isn’t calling you to go anywhere; maybe, He’s checking to see if you’re willing to say “yes” when He does call you to go elsewhere.”  Yet again, God was gracious.  He finally settled my heart with that peace, surpassing all understanding, knowing that I was where He wanted me to be.  Again in the beginning of 2017, I struggled hard whether to remain here or take an opportunity to participate in international missions by moving to Hungary.  Very few of you will ever know how close I came to leaving the country at that point, but God engineered circumstances, closed a door, and reminded me the value of faithfulness.
 
By 2018, Pastor Jim and I were talking very seriously about a transition plan.  He was looking pretty hard at 2020 as a retirement date.  I need not remind any of us why that date came and went, delaying our plans (haha, the schemes of man…).  Mark me: if God calls me away tomorrow, I’ll be kicking and screaming to be sure, but I very much hope that I’ll have the faith to answer “yes Sir”.  However, if God sees fit to leave me here, then right here is where I shall remain.  I told someone Sunday afternoon: “here’s to fifteen more!”

I am profoundly thankful to Daniel Jarvis, my brother-in-arms during that two-year period where “the Colonel” was away.  Words can’t express how grateful I am to Pastor Jim for his leadership of our church, and me personally.  I have been keenly aware in recent days of fellow parts of our staff, folks who have served on committees, tent mates on mission trips, kids who have yielded their lives to the lordship of Jesus, card writers, and people who have called me just to give a word of encouragement.  You, saints of God, have been a tremendous blessing to me.  I’ll never be able to properly thank you.  First Baptist Church (many of whom are now in heaven) has been God’s greatest gift to me in the last fifteen years.  We’ve ridden the roller coaster together, but I look forward to what He will do in our midst in the days ahead.  All my life, He has been faithful.  All my life, He has been so, so good…

Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
--A.J.