There is a bittersweet feeling to life these days. As I look forward to taking on the new challenge of being the lead pastor at the North Avenue Church of God I am filled with excitement and anticipation. There are new challenges to face, new people to meet, new vision to cast, and a new culture to fit into. I will need to adjust in many ways to this new opportunity, since my role will be more focused there, but I look forward to zeroing in on preaching teaching and leadership.
At the same time I am deeply moved by the many here at the Floyd Church who have expressed their appreciation for my ministry here, and can’t help but wonder what the future would look like if we were to stay a few years longer. We have grown to love these people, and we will miss them a great deal after the move, but until the day comes for us to go, there is still work to be done preparing them for the changes ahead, and for the building that they will finish…without me.
Following God is bittersweet. In fact, life in general is bittersweet. There are good times, bad times, easy times, and hard times, but throughout all of time, God is good, and His plan is always perfect. So we follow, and trust, and weep, and laugh, and most importantly, obey! God is Good!!!
Jeff, I’ve encountered little TRULY good in life that was truly easy. I’m fairly certain God didny promisr an easy journey, but He did offer His hand when we got to the speedbumps. Onebof my main problems has been reaching out for that divine assistance rather than trying to fly solo in rough weather…big mustake on my part! I have no doubt your departure from Floyd will be difficult for you and your church family who has grown close to you and your family. They will miss you…and you will miss them. For what it’s worth, the transition is tough of our gang at North Avenue. A man whom we’ve grown to love and respect has decided to move on to new challenges, and in that we wish him well, while we lick our emotional wounds. Make no mistake – we are eagerly anticipating your arrival, and are ready to move forward with you on our journey together. The good news is that we are moving ahead on a solid foundation built with the prayerful and loving help of Pastor Jim Sparks…and your Floyd family will move forward thanks to the love and dedication you have demonstrated there. They’ll feel lost for awhile, just like we will. But we will all grow and flourish as we learn from each other in our pursuit of the Christ-purposed lives. I hope you’ll tell all of your Floyd family how grateful we to them for sharing you with us. Blessings on them, and on you.