25 Decembers
“3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”
Phil. 1:3-7
On Sunday evening April 7, 1996 at the age of twenty-six Cynthia and I began our pastoral journey with the Jesus Name Pentecostal Church of Wylie now known as The Refuge Church of The Lake Cities. This blog was supposed to be entitled, “Twenty-five Octobers,” but time got away from me. So, we find Christmastime upon us and we want to say:
Thank You Jesus for twenty-five Decembers pastoring in the Dallas area of Wylie, Texas! And thank you TRC family for allowing us to be and serve as your pastoral family.
When God gave us this divine opportunity the population of Wylie was 9,600 souls. The membership of the church was around thirty or forty, and most Wednesday nights we had about twelve people in attendance.
Through the years we, along with our precious TRC family, have loved, rejoiced, wept, won, experienced loss, healed, prayed, forgiven, blessed, baptized, buried, married, dedicated, built, given, and envisioned all while pushing TRC forward in Jesus’ name. The words of this blog could never capture the totality or essence of the past twenty-five Decembers we have shared together! You are always so kind to honor us throughout the year and especially each October.
A God appointed shepherd is a gift from for the betterment of our lives and for the salvation of our souls.
“And I will give you pastors according to mine heart,
which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Jer. 3:15
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”
Eph. 4:11-12
Likewise, a church family that loves God, His Word, and their pastor is a tremendous gift from God to the pastor and his family! As the pastor is called to feed and protect the flock, the sheep are called to love, nurture, and support their pastor and his family.
“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”
Heb. 13:7
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
Heb. 13:17
Many years ago the thought came to me ‘a pastor and wife that stays for a lifetime in one church will give their best years to loving and growing the precious people of God we call “the church”’. The Holy Spirit whispered back to me, “All the while the church is growing them.” (The pastor and his wife).
Once when I was leaving my office for an out of town conference, I prayed out loud, “Now Lord, take care of the church while I’m gone.” Of course I was contemplating the wellbeing of our people, their health, their families, our church building and suchlike. The Holy Ghost spoke to me and asked, “Who do you think takes care of it while you’re here?” I’m so glad the church belongs to Jesus Christ! We all belong to Him. To God be all the glory for these past twenty-five we have shared.
“The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”
Ps. 126:3
Thank you TRC for loving us and for being such a wonderful family of faith. Thank you for following us as we follow Jesus Christ together. Thank you for making TRC the vibrant New Testament church it is today. It is with a firm grasp on our apostolic Pentecostal heritage we hold on to while reaching forth into the future for all that God desires us to enjoy. TRC- forward!
With God’s help and blessings, Cynthia and I are looking forward to the next season of TRC’S BIG FUTURE together in Jesus’ name. Lord, give us twenty-five more profitable years together! Cynthia and I, along with our family, love and treasure you all.
Allow me to give you this pastoral blessing for today and our future:
“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
Num. 6:24-26
Edited by: Cindy Adams
