Sitting in the Pews

Sunday was a bittersweet experience for me. I've been the minister for Leonard Street Church of Christ in Pensacola, Florida since September, 1991. So much has changed since then. George Bush the First was President. Jared, my soon-to-be-high-school-graduate, was a twenty-two month old toddler. My older son, Daniel (who will celebrate his 9th wedding anniversary in a month) was an 8th grader. Oh, yes, a lot has happened in the last almost 16 years. The one constant was that I was the Leonard Street preacher. Of course, we had guest preachers from time to time, but I always felt a sense of ownership . . . that was my pulpit and I'd be back up there in my rightful place next week.

However, I announced my upcoming resignation several months ago and now the time is getting close. If we adhere to the present schedule, I'll have six more Sundays in the pulpit here. Last Sunday was the first time we had a "candidate" trying out for the minister's position. I sat and listened as Barry O'dell preached two good sermons. Honestly, I wasn't jealous at all. I hope it works out for him to come here; if it does, I think he would be a good fit for the folks here. If that does not come to pass, I am confident that a good man will be found to come and carry on the work I've been going for a decade and a half.

I am deeply excited about moving and beginning a new work in the Pacific Northwest. I've been having a good bit of e-mail and phone contact with different members of the Skagit Valley church and I am truly eager to get there and get going with the work I'm going to be doing there. But the bittersweet emotions come when I realize that I won't be able to experience much longer the things I've taken for granted for so long. No more "fishing" for a peppermint candy in Dale McCaleb's pocket. No more stopping by to chat with Margie in the library before every service. No more conversations with our nonagenarians . . . "Miz Nellie" and "Aunt Katie" who are present every Sunday. I could go on and on . . . after this many years, a preacher gets to know the members pretty well and I have more good memories than I could ever list here. As May 27 (our last Sunday here) gets closer, my thoughts will be dwelling on those memories more and more.

Life will go on. The church here will prosper and, I pray, Trish and I will be happy and fruitful in our work in Washington. I believe we will all be able to look back on the last fifteen years and be grateful for a lot of good things which happened while we lived in Pensacola.