11/06/2020
"If you want to make God laugh - tell Him your plans.” (Modern Day Proverb)
Sunday was to be a wonderful worship service with folks we’ve come to love deeply. It was to have marked the end of a pastoral career spanning more than three decades. Not many years to some, but a lifetime to me.
Alas, it is not to be.
As you may or may not have heard by now, Tammy tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. She is feeling a little achy and tired today, but we’re confident this will pass.
Our circumstance now is that she is to be quarantined for the next ten days. Susan and I are feeling fine, but due to close proximity, we are both required to be quarantined for two weeks.
So much for our last worship service with our Church Family.
I am not a sentimental man. But as I reflect on the multitude of extraordinary ways I’ve witnessed God at work, and the incredible people I’ve met - I am once again in awe of our Lord.
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now...” (Philippians 1:3-5)
When Tammy and I left my second pastorate, I shared this passage with our Church Family. That was in 1988. We were moving from Hazel Street Baptist Church in Pine Bluff to First Baptist Church in Damascus. I share this same sentiment with my Robinson Avenue Baptist Church Family today, but with a bit more sadness.
Heaven alone knows the impact you’ve made in our lives. We’ve never served with a more loving and gracious people.
We will still be at 43 Acklin Gap Road, and the door will always be open. We love you and will think of you often. Hopefully, we’ll see you often as well.
My pastoral mantra has been and remains: “Soli Deo Gloria!” (“Glory to God Alone!”)
-John
