The end of an era, the beginning of a new adventure...

Today was my last service preaching at the First Baptist Church of Palo.  It was my first pastorate as a senior pastor and ended up lasting five years.  Today's service was bittersweet as some tears were shed and hugs shared.  I was glad to have the opportunity to share in Communion one last time with my congregation and hear one last story in the middle of the service from Wilma.  I know that in the future we will both be praying for each other.  Help me pray that the church at Palo finds a new pastor whose passion, knowledge, and wisdom (all good things from above) are what the flock there needs to continue in their worship of God.  Help them pray, along with many who already are, that I will be up to the task of my new ministry in Franklin, PA.  It is a new chapter in my ministry and my marriage, one that, Lord willing, will continue to glorify his name through the work that he is able to do through me.  That may seem a bit much to some, but it is actually something that I've prayed for many years, "Lord, make your name great through me".  It's the kind of thing a man can pray when he doesn't really know where the Lord is leading him but he's willing to live with the uncertainty if meaningful ministry results in the end.  When I accepted the call to Franklin, it felt like that prayer had received a new answer.  For the past five years the place where I have ministered has been the beautiful stone church in Palo (and an alternative education building in Portland), in two days Nicole and I will leave for PA.  It will be a new adventure, but one that begins with equal parts excitement and sadness.  We'll miss you guys, God bless you for giving me a chance to minister to you.