Psalm 86:5 "You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on you."
At my church, First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Florida, we have a new senior minister. Our previous senior minister, Dr. Bob Bushong, was with us for 15 years. Bob was, and is, a very kind, caring person with a doctorate from Princeton and a special gift for counseling, as well as being a futurist (and a boat load of other gifts.)
All this to say....Hard act to follow!
Yesterday was the first Sunday for our new senior minister, David Miller. We've had a fantastic two month transition period (what I like to call "the greatest, most well orchestrated transition in the history of Methodism") because that's the way we do things here.
In the United Methodist Church we have what's called an "itinerant" ministry, i.e., ministers come and go - and not only that - they are not hired by the church. They are appointed by the bishop. This seems pretty cut and dried and usually it is, so I know we are very fortunate to have this transition be so smooth.
For instance, in the vast majority of "moves" the old minister and family move out of the parsonage (house) on a Thursday morning and the new minister and family move in that same house on that same Thursday afternoon. Good times!! Once, when my husband, Ken and I and our four kids and my daughter's boyfriend arrived at our new parsonage we discovered that the old minister had left his wife. Not only that - he had left her in the parsonage!
Several years ago in my brother's small church in Indiana, the bishop replaced their folksy, "good old country boy,' retiring minister whom everybody loved with a young, African American woman with a PhD. To the credit of the church leaders and the new minister they made it work but it was a long struggle. And it was a pretty startling "first date" when she made her debut in the pulpit.
So! Our new minister, David, started his sermon yesterday talking about "Bad First Dates." Like when a person is all nervous and sweating or when your date can't remember your name - and doesn't care that he or she can't remember your name. And so on. And then, of course, he applied all of this to himself and his situation - and our situation. And, even with "the greatest, most well orchestrated transition in the history of Methodism" it's still a delicate "first date" experience.
David then went on to preach an excellent, challenging sermon - including asking the entire congregation to memorize the scripture above. I hope you'll memorize it too because, if you're feeling low, it can save you at least a couple of visits at the psychiatrist's office.
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| Welcome! David Miller |
All this to say....Hard act to follow!
Yesterday was the first Sunday for our new senior minister, David Miller. We've had a fantastic two month transition period (what I like to call "the greatest, most well orchestrated transition in the history of Methodism") because that's the way we do things here.
In the United Methodist Church we have what's called an "itinerant" ministry, i.e., ministers come and go - and not only that - they are not hired by the church. They are appointed by the bishop. This seems pretty cut and dried and usually it is, so I know we are very fortunate to have this transition be so smooth.
For instance, in the vast majority of "moves" the old minister and family move out of the parsonage (house) on a Thursday morning and the new minister and family move in that same house on that same Thursday afternoon. Good times!! Once, when my husband, Ken and I and our four kids and my daughter's boyfriend arrived at our new parsonage we discovered that the old minister had left his wife. Not only that - he had left her in the parsonage!
Several years ago in my brother's small church in Indiana, the bishop replaced their folksy, "good old country boy,' retiring minister whom everybody loved with a young, African American woman with a PhD. To the credit of the church leaders and the new minister they made it work but it was a long struggle. And it was a pretty startling "first date" when she made her debut in the pulpit.
So! Our new minister, David, started his sermon yesterday talking about "Bad First Dates." Like when a person is all nervous and sweating or when your date can't remember your name - and doesn't care that he or she can't remember your name. And so on. And then, of course, he applied all of this to himself and his situation - and our situation. And, even with "the greatest, most well orchestrated transition in the history of Methodism" it's still a delicate "first date" experience.
David then went on to preach an excellent, challenging sermon - including asking the entire congregation to memorize the scripture above. I hope you'll memorize it too because, if you're feeling low, it can save you at least a couple of visits at the psychiatrist's office.
***
