10th Anniversary at Grace (Oct 19, 2009)
What a great weekend Karen and I experienced as we celebrated our tenth anniversary here at Grace Baptist Church! It is hard to believe that this decade has passed so rapidly. We are, however, humbled that God has allowed us to be a part of this strategic ministry for the last ten years.
We boarded a plane on Thursday morning and flew to Houston, where we were greeted by Johnny and Barbara Pope. Dr. Pope has pastored the Christchurch Baptist Fellowship for nearly thirty years, and we were honored to be a part of their couples retreat in Galveston, Texas. The theme of the retreat was centered on building marriages that "survive the storm." I taught five different sessions on family life and felt good liberty throughout the weekend. The Popes are some of our newer friends, but we are thankful that God has allowed our paths to cross. They were gracious hosts throughout the retreat, and we left for home on Saturday morning feeling refreshed ourselves as a result our time with them. We arrived home around 9:00 PM Saturday night.
The church was waiting Sunday morning with numerous gifts and words of encouragement. The most exciting gift for me was six tickets to Ohio State's homecoming game against Minnesota this weekend at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. Though I have been a Buckeye fan for years, I have never seen a game on the banks of the Olentangy, and I am thrilled the church made such a sacrifice to buy such good seats for the occasion. They are also flying Karen, April, and I to Columbus a few days early so that we can spend time with my parents. What a great gift!
Though the numerous gifts and the reception after church last night was precious, the most encouraging thing was the many expressions of thanks and heartfelt appreciation that we received from our people. For whatever reason, this has been a somewhat discouraging year, and the numerous expressions of love provided a much-needed "gut warm." We praise the Lord for the wonderful sheep that God has allowed me to shepherd.
On Sunday morning, it was my privilege to help Justen and Laura Alger dedicate their second son, Everett, to the Lord. Outside of my immediate family, I have pastored Justen longer than anybody - some 17 years. What a privilege to now be the pastor of his lovely wife and two precious boys.
In the evening service, our chapel pastor, Brian Allison, performed his first baptism. It was especially precious because he baptized his wife, who had been struggling with her salvation. Heather got it settled this weekend, and Brian did a great job of presenting the beauty of this God-ordained profession of faith.
Our Fort Benning Bible studies were attended by 125 soldiers this week with twelve professions of faith. Praise the Lord!
Do pray for me as I precah at Luther Rice University tomorrow and then board a plane for Baltimore where I will be officiating the memorial service for Eunice Laird, a 97-year-old member of our church who went home to be with the Lord last week.
I'll fly back to Columbus on Wednesday to gather the family so that we can fly to Columbus on Thursday to watch the Buckeyes. The church has arranged for us to fly back on Saturday in time for our annual revival campaign which begins this upcoming Sunday. Do pray for Dr. Comfort and the rest of the evangelistic team as they minister to us next week.
Please continue to keep this ministry near the top of your prayer list.