FIRST THOUGHTS AS A LEAD PASTOR

On Sunday August 5, 2007 I preached my first sermon as Lead Pastor at North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene. To read more about this and even hear the message I preached on the podcast simply click : http://www.nrnazarene.org/ You can also hear for yourself why I am not the senior pastor - but the lead pastor of the church! Pictures will be posted soon!

I appreciate Crystal Bennett and the worship team leading us into the presence of the Lord. I was especially honored when I looked upon the congregation and saw my dear friends - Doug and Joy Huber with their children, Mac, Jacob and Emma Grace, and Joyce Ford. When I surprised Sharron by asking her to sit with someone for me, she broke into tears when she saw Joyce and the family!

As I shared the message entitled "The Marks of a Healthy Church" the spirit of God moved upon us. At the close of the service I invited people to come forward to the altars to pray and "give this church back to God.". The prayers of many in leadership and then prayers of long time members brought tears to my eyes. People prayed for forgiveness. Many prayed for unity. I believe God was pleased with the many decisions made.


I had the privilege of meeting many new people prior to the service. It was good to be in the foyer to welcome people!

This coming Sunday - August 12th - a 15 minute reception is scheduled for me to meet everyone!

(Cartoon: Copyright Christianity Today International/BuildingChurchLeaders.com. Used with permission.)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/features/cartoons/

In the office during the week I attending my first meeting with the Steward Committee. This team consist of leaders responsible for outreach, membership and spiritual life in the church. I also met with pastoral staff members and filled the days with meetings and pastoral responsibilities.

I appreciate the hospitality of John and Janet LaLone. They opened their home for my use while they were out of town for the week.

I am really excited about this coming Sunday. Zack Whiteside is leading our worship with the worship team before he heads back to Appalachian University in the beautiful mountains near Boone, NC. His brother Brandon recently graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University. http://www.trevecca.edu/

God has moved upon my spirit to change the message I had planned and follow up on the message from last week. I am putting the strategy together for my first 100 days as pastor.

Sharron is enjoying the time with our family in Indian Trail, NC. I enjoy the days I spend there each week and hold my grand daughter. Her smiles at me are worth the round trip commute to Raleigh each week. We are still praying for the sell of our home in Topeka and look forward to establishing a new home in the Raleigh area.

Sharron noted that the emotional stress was evident by my demeanor last Friday and Saturday. It greatly encouraged me when Sharron told our close friends that "Rick seemed so anxious Saturday afternoon, but after his prayer time at the church late that evening, he seemed like the Rick I haven't seen in quite a while." I admit, it was good to be back into the pulpit as pastor again. I am crying out to God to increase my love for the people at NRN (North Raleigh Nazarene) as I desire to be the best pastor I could possibly be.

This past week I have been thinking each day about what I believe will be the measure of success as pastor at NRN. I know many people are hoping for numerical and financial growth of the church. I trust God for those things. I desire to base my work on the simple definition of success: "Finding out what is on Jesus' heart and then doing it, when and how he says."

I will be sharing these words of missionary Jim Elliott, who gave his life for the cause of Christ in the remote jungles of Ecuador:

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep,

for that which he cannot lose."

I believe this, my friends, is a trustworthy saying.