When I first stood among you several weeks ago on the first weekend of February, I shared that I believe we have been brought together as congregation and interim pastor under God’s wondrous loving plan. This alignment, this remarkable confluence of place, people and a moment in time, is provided as a gift from God so we can discover and step into all that God wants to show us.
We all are part of this story, this particular part of the larger story of Knox. It occurs to me that this year marks sixty years of God’s work within and through this congregation. God has tended this church, this spiritual vineyard, through repositioning, pruning, and providing deep connections with Jesus, with one another and with the world in which we live. God’s goal is that we consistently bear lots of really great spiritual fruit in season and out.
“What does it mean for Pat to do the work of interim pastor in this long term role?” you might wonder. I could answer by some points from some interim manual, but I'd prefer to answer from the heart. I am, in no particular order,
- an apprentice who seeks to live surrendered to the Lord God, Rabbi Jesus, every day;
- an observer of people, details, sweeping movements of culture and society and what the Spirit of God might be stirring up at any given moment;
- a spiritual companion and encourager who comes alongside people in the journey of faith;
- a contemplative who seeks to be open to what God wants to change in me;
- an adventurer who believes that something new and of consequence is around every corner;
- a wagon master who has some knowledge of what lies ahead and does my best to guide people to that new place;
- an embedded consultant with some experience and information that may help people become more and more like Jesus;
- a shepherd who seeks to lead, love and care like the Good Shepherd Jesus;
- a cultivator of context and people so the greatest amount of good spiritual fruit can come to full ripeness.
With these traits combined as they are in me, I rejoice in the privilege of stepping among you as we live into our quest to know and follow our Rabbi, Master and King, Jesus of Nazareth, God in the flesh. Even with all these words about me, I know this intentional transitional time is not really about me. It’s about all of us as we step into life with one another for the journey ahead. I cherish the opportunity to see it all unfold with you.
Pat