On Sunday, May 26th, I announced to our congregation at First Methodist Church Gladewater that I would be retiring from ordained ministry on October 1st, 2024!
Last week, on Thursday, May 30th, Debi and I closed on a house in Fort Worth, TX which is around 15 minutes from our son, Mark and his wife, Lauren and our four grandchildren, Beau (9), Logan (soon to be 7), Kollins (5) and Boone (3). We will be gradually moving there over the next four months.
That means my last Sunday to preach at First Methodist Church Gladewater will be on Sunday, September 29th.
This will be a huge transition for me and for Debi, but we are so excited about the next season of our lives. I am excited for the ministry which is ahead for me (and for us). God has been leading me deeper in prayer. About 18 months or so ago, the Lord gave me a calling to learn what it means to be a “Prayer Warrior!” I have been doing my best to grow into this. In the past three months or so, I have experienced some powerful progress. I still have A LONG WAY to go, but it is exciting to be pressing into the Lord in prayer!
I will be going to Guatemala in July (Thursday, July 25th through Tuesday, July 30th) to check on Hacedoras de Tiendas. This is the training and sending programs which Arrows of Light (Flechas de Luz) is involved with there. Also, I want to spend some face to face time with my dear friend and brother in Christ, Abdiel Lopez and with his family. That is so important for staying connected. I love his church, Iglesia Monte Shama. The people of this church have a very special place in my heart and life! I look forward to seeing how I will be able to be involved with Pastor Abdiel and with Hacedoras de Tiendas and with Iglesia Monte Shama in the coming years!
I am also involved with a team of people that is planning a conference in Costa Rica for next January 2025. It is exciting to see the stirring which is taking place, and we are praying and trusting God that He will do mighty and powerful things in the hearts and lives of the young people who will be involved with this conference. I believe that our last Arrows of Light conference in Costa Rica was in 2008. Some of the young people who were at that conference are now involved in helping us plan this upcoming conference.
I am very involved in doing discipleship with men to encourage them in being the disciples and husbands and fathers (and grandfathers in some instances) that God is calling them to be! I believe this is one of the most important ministry things which I do! I love this! I love how iron sharpens iron as we meet together and share the journey of faith and life together. I have seen God do some amazing things. I am still working out the logistics for a lot of this, but I know that it is going to still be a part of my life in the coming years!
I am praying for my writing. I have felt called to write for a long time, but the busyness of ministry has prevented me. I enjoy the opportunity and the challenge of writing this blog! I pray that it can be an encouragement and an inspiration. I pray that God will guide me forward in what He wants me to write and what formats it should take.
I would guess that it is obvious that our grandchildren are going to be a key focus for this next season of our lives. A couple of years ago, I was talking with a pastor who pastors a very large church, and the Lord prompted me to remind him that while the responsibilities of ministry seem so urgent, that no one can be a husband to his wife but him and no one can be a father to his children but him. It has been interesting in recent months that the Lord has brought that back around to me in thinking about my grandchildren. They are at very precious and important ages right now, and Debi and I have an opportunity to connect with them and be a part of sowing into their hearts and lives! I don’t want to miss that!
I am especially looking forward to hanging out more with Debi! She is such a huge blessing in my life, and we do enjoy hanging out and sharing life together!
Please be keeping us in your prayers in these coming four months and hopefully in the coming years as well. We cherish your prayers! We hope that we can connect with you in person at some point as well!
In His grace and for His glory!
(Thanks for reading this and thank you for your prayers!)
I will pray for y’all dear sir and how exciting to live close to the Grands they make life Grand it is just not in my budget to pay for your blog so worth the read so my gift as it were is praying for you and humble asking you to take me off you blog praying in secret is what I do best these days sir I love you more then you know blessings as you go and angels to follow you amen sir
So excited for you and your family! We will be praying for you and Debi as you make the transition.