We have a great thing going in Maine. It is evident that the hand of God is at work in a number of churches, and as we continue to study our Bibles and our roots, I believe God will revive hearts.
Church planting is the will and design of God. As we see in Acts, as Paul went on his missionary journeys he worked to plant churches -local, independent works. One way in which we in Maine are working to do the same is through Plant and Root Maine. Once a month we gather at a church-house on a Tuesday night to sing and hear the precious Word preached, and it is indeed a time of refreshment and recharge.
This most recent Plant and Root meeting we were at Center Conway Baptist Church in New Hampshire, which many speculate is actually a suburb of Maine, wink wink. At each meeting the pastors present are recognized and prayed for (a great blessing), and this time, Brother Ness, the pastor at Center Conway, decided to ask of each preacher the number of years he had pastored.
Gulp. Part of me is adding together each instance where I functioned in some sort of pastor-ish role and debating whether or not I should add those into my total time at South Liberty. One by one pastors are naming years served. Years. Years.
It's my turn.
I clear my throat and brain. "Nine months."
The pastor after me. "Forty-seven years."
God has so blessed my family to be at South Liberty Baptist Church. I believe with all my heart I will serve here until the Lord raptures me or I die, whichever comes first. Pastor Garnett, the man of God who pastored South Liberty before he went home, believed the same. While I've only been here for nine months, God has knit the heart of my family with those of the church family, and we are seeing more and more folks come visit our church. I often look at the people and remember that they have had a wonderful man previous to me, and compare his over thirty-years to my nine months. Nine months.
I can dwell and dwell and rationalize and doubt because of nine months. But I must not. Because, ultimately, the Truth of which I am to proclaim is eternal, timeless. I am so thankful that though I am a younger pastor, and lack experience (a greater benefit than the experienced may be able to understand), the Truth that is God's Word is unchanging and perfect for the needy heart of the hearer, whether the messenger is young or old.
