Pastor’s Note
It’s official…almost. Several Sundays ago, when I announced my transition, I was only able to tell you that I hoped to teach. Now I can tell you where—Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. Covenant, the seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America, is where I trained for ministry and where, Lord willing, I will now help to train others. Because the interview process will not be complete until late January, I would be very appreciative of your continued prayers.
This has been an interesting season for my family, especially for Judy and for me. We continue to wrestle with our emotions, realizing more fully every day how difficult it will be to leave a church family we have grown to love deeply and by whom we have been deeply loved. The sense of loss hit me the hardest during my recent trip to Covenant when I enjoyed a delightful meal with faculty and spouses telling funny “preacher” stories. I enjoyed the stories and I enjoyed the people, but as I joined in the storytelling, I did, at the same time, recognize that they were not my Huntsville family. I know in time that I will grow to love them as I love you, but it will take time. In the meantime, I will miss you.
What does the future hold? For me, a time of wrapping up and a time of looking forward. I am enjoying preaching through what I believe to be the most important topics for this congregation, topics I am most passionate about and topics I can’t wait to pass on to you. And I have the privilege of doing so through Sunday, February 1, 2009.
After that, I will, thanks to our Session, be able to prepare my class lectures and take advantage of several opportunities to teach before I actually begin as a full-time professor at Covenant next summer. Early next year, I will teach a week-long course at Covenant on the Puritans; afterwards I will teach a modified version of that same course for Third Millennium (a ministry providing theological education around the world headed by Richard Pratt); and I will return to Kiev, Ukraine to teach a course on major turning points in Church History at a seminary sponsored by Mission to the World (our foreign missions agency).
I’m excited about all that of course, but I’m also genuinely excited about what lies ahead for Southwood. About two years ago, I realized that one piece of the puzzle was missing in our congregation, the piece of the puzzle that would tie together everything we have been trying to accomplish for many, many years. On January 4, 2009, I will spell that out for you. On that Sunday, I believe that things will begin to come into focus for you—you will understand better than ever before where we have been headed and where we are going. And I believe you will sense the “rightness” of the direction of your church.
I would love for everyone to be present on that Sunday so that together we can celebrate what God has done during the two decades-long existence of Southwood Presbyterian Church and so that we can anticipate what we believe lies ahead. You have much to rejoice over and much to look forward to. See ya’ Sunday.