On this day, two years ago, I began work as a new pastor to Southside Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama. The following Sunday, I preached a sermon from 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 called "Let the Word Work."
While this appeal did spring from the sermon text, it also communicated a conviction that has guided my work to this day - shepherding Southside to "be God's witnesses, who do God's will, as revealed in God's word."
I heard a pastor's first year is a "honeymoon year."
The first six months started that way, resembling something like what I used to call "normal." Then, March 2020 arrived, and you know the rest of the story. Eighteen months (and counting) of "pandemic pastoring."
As I reflect today on these last two years, I hear the appeal of that first sermon again, to "let the word work." Let God do what God will do. Labor in that which is sure, life-giving, and unchanging.
2 Timothy 4:2 (ESV)
"preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
Southside Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama gathers Sundays at 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary at 709 9th St SE. Preaching. Pastoral Care. Strategic Biblical Movements.
Reflecting on 2 Years
On this day, two years ago, I began work as a new pastor to Southside Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama. The following Sunday, I preached a sermon from 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 called "Let the Word Work."
While this appeal did spring from the sermon text, it also communicated a conviction that has guided my work to this day - shepherding Southside to "be God's witnesses, who do God's will, as revealed in God's word."
I heard a pastor's first year is a "honeymoon year."
The first six months started that way, resembling something like what I used to call "normal." Then, March 2020 arrived, and you know the rest of the story. Eighteen months (and counting) of "pandemic pastoring."
As I reflect today on these last two years, I hear the appeal of that first sermon again, to "let the word work." Let God do what God will do. Labor in that which is sure, life-giving, and unchanging.
2 Timothy 4:2 (ESV)
"preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
Southside Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama gathers Sundays at 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary at 709 9th St SE. Preaching. Pastoral Care. Strategic Biblical Movements.