Decisions are not always
easy to make. For me, the decision to step down as pastor of Hopeful
Baptist Church has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever
made.
It is not that I am
not excited about the possibility of retirement from the active
pastorate (I’ve been preaching for forty years), or that I am
not anxious to finish our home and get moved in. What makes this
decision difficult is that this church has become my home, and you
have become my family. It is as I said in my resignation letter:
“For
nineteen years, God’s purpose for my life has been here at
Hopeful Baptist Church. After being called as your pastor, Cathie
and I have spent those years ministering and being ministered to. At
Hopeful we have experienced the acceptance, oneness and fellowship
Jesus talked about as being the true sign of Christian Faith. This
is truly a unique church, one that embodies the Life and Spirit of
Jesus Christ more than any church I have ever known or pastored, and
I can assure you this morning that I love this church with all of my
being.”
It is our
love for Hopeful and the relationship we feel with each of you that
has made this decision difficult. Cathie and I know we will never
find another church like Hopeful. Leaving here means leaving the
best of church, fellowship and friendships behind. But effective
August 31, 2011 that will be the case. You will move on to better
and bigger things under new leadership; we will struggle trying to
replace what we leave behind.
Of
course, our relationship with Hopeful will not end completely. The
person who said, “Out of sight out of mind,” was not
thinking of this church. You will be in our prayers every day. We
will continue to stay in contact with church members—you all
have an open invitation to visit and stay with us whenever you have
an opportunity. We will have opportunities to visit and worship with
you. And we hope to come back for special occasions.
The last
nineteen years of ministry at Hopeful Baptist Church have been the
best years of our lives. And, as I said in my resignation
letter, although
“God
is reminding me that I am getting older, and that my age is
affecting what I can do, and what I can no longer do as well or with
as much enthusiasm as I once did… Therefore, with the deepest
emotional feelings, I am making the decision to step down as your
pastor.”
Pray for
us over the next three months. Someone has jokingly called us,
“short-timers.” Someone else joked that I was now a
“lame-duck pastor.” I don’t know what the proper
classification is. My ministry is winding down. I will no longer be
offering new ideas and incentives for ministry or be making plans
with church committees; and even though I will miss the fellowship
of those meetings, my feeling of belonging and being a part is just
as strong as ever.
Cathie
and I have not just considered ourselves as Hopeful’s pastor
and wife; we have felt a part of this church and community for
nineteen years. Such a relationship is not easy to walk away from.
But the decision has been made to leave, and we know it is the right
thing to do. Nevertheless, this will always be our home, and we will
miss it.
GOALS ACCOMPLISHED
When I
first spoke to the Hopeful Baptist Church Pastor Search Committee
in the summer of 1992, I was told the church was looking for a
pastor who would help better organize the church, and one who would
lead the church through a building program, which the church had
already voted to get started. In addition, when I came in January
1993, l learned the church had gone through a difficult time. After
being candidly briefed on the situation by those who had been
involved, and not knowing that I would be here for nineteen years,
I decided on some ministry goals that I wanted to accomplish. As I
look back, I can see that with the willingness, encouragement and
help of Hopeful members and the church’s leadership, each one
of these goals has been accomplished. It gives me a sense of
satisfaction.
-
My first goal was to establish a good spirit and working
relationship between the pastor and the deacons, one that would be obvious to church members, and
through which the church could gain a sense of stability.
- I wanted to see the church successfully through its building program. I have to
admit, I was glad when the proposed new building was voted down. I felt it was too
much, and that it would have burdened the church down with years and years of debt. I
think we have all been pleased with what we ended up with. It was an easy
transition, a happy time,and a debt-free building we have all enjoyed over the years.
- I was taught that
even the best church organization accomplishes very little without
a total reliance upon the Holy Spirit and a commitment to adhere strictly
to the organization, which provides a safety net to solve future disagreements. If it is
written, it is written! That is not always easy. We are all creatures of habit,
and we all tend to want to accomplish things the quickest way even though it might not be the
way proposed by the organizational structure. My goal was to provide the best organization
Hopeful has ever had, and to stick to it. I believe this has been achieved, and
is now well established through the Organizational
Flow Chart, Job Descriptions and Policies and Procedures found in the church Operations Manual.
- Very early I set out to establish guidelines and goals for the church to maintain
the highest standards for godliness and growth. This effort has culminated in
the Administrative Guidelines that are included in the church Operations Manual.
- Another goal was to lead the church into relationships that would maintain the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This sometimes requires licking our
wounds after not getting our way and moving on. It is what makes Hopeful unique.
- My final goal was for Hopeful to be involved in the most engaging and effective ministries
of all time. Although not all yet accomplished, this has been laid out in the Hopeful
Ministry Strategy 2010 and Beyond notebook.
Thanks to you
and your help, I will leave with these goals accomplished!