Reflections on nearly 30 years of ministry

“In life there are milestones each rare and so sweet, sharing with loved ones makes them complete.”

  Recently, I’ve been doing some reminiscing. Remembering Ben’s brain surgery and celebrating his being seizure free for ten years brought back a flood of memories. Then, on our recent vacation, Jane and I re-connected with Don Widener. I baptized Don when he was growing up in our church. It was Don’s father, Ted Widener, who first contacted me in 1988 regarding the potential of being the pastor of Grace Church.  

  This weekend begins my 30^th year as pastor at Grace. Wow! Thirty years? When I was a kid, I thought 30 was ancient. I wasn’t sure I’d ever live to be 30 and was part of the generation taught to not trust anyone over 30.

  Do you want to hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans. When we moved to Burlington from Detroit in 1988, I was on the 5 year plan – we’d be in Wisconsin for 5 years and then off to another ministry, hopefully, in an urban area as I’m a city boy…but God had a much better plan. Grace is not just where I’m the pastor, it’s my family and our community has become an extended family. There’s just something refreshing about shopping in a local store to quickly pick up a few items, and an hour later realizing that you’ve talked to two or three friends and probably should head home.

  Our church is on the brink of a new chapter in our history, yet, we don’t want to forget our past. Many who came before us gave of themselves for the Lord in our church. One of the heavy burdens of long pastorates is that eventually you have to bury your friends. Heaven is all the sweeter for me because I have many “family members” from Grace waiting for me. Sometimes I catch myself starting to share a wonderful story about an old friend, “Do you remember?” and then realize the person I’m talking to wasn’t at our church then. Can I take a moment and tell you about just a few of my friends from Grace who are already Home?

  Bess Norum. If you met Bess, you never forgot her. She was already in her nineties when I first met her, a short little spitfire. She’d sung in the choir for one of Billy Sunday’s crusades. Even at ninety, Bess was passionate about her friends that they might not know Jesus. Our church didn’t have air conditioning back then and it was a chunk of change to add it. When Bess learned how much it was going to cost, she quipped, “You can buy a lot of lemonade for that amount.” Yet, Bess gave faithfully and sacrificially from her limited and fixed income so that we soon were able to install air conditioning. Her funeral was my first, yet it really wasn’t a funeral. It was a celebration of a sparrow who’d been set free.

  Ted Widener. Ted was chairman of our body of Deacons for many years. He was also one of my dearest friends. After meetings he and I’d talk until one of us finally noticed the time and realized we needed to head home. There wasn’t much Ted couldn’t or wouldn’t do when it came to serving the Lord. He was one of the first with a vision for building and expanding our ministry. Though Ted didn’t like change, if the change made us more effective for the gospel, he’d support it, even if it made him uncomfortable. He knew that I had three left hands when it came to repairing things, yet Ted never made me feel stupid or embarrassed. One weekend Jane was away at a ladies’ retreat and Ben began having seizures again. Ted rushed to Whitewater to pick up Jane because I couldn’t leave Ben. I’ll never forget shortly before the Lord called him Home, Ted had been nominated again to be a Deacon. Though he loved our church, he turned it down, sharing with me that there were some things he needed to work on in his life. I loved him for his humility and transparency.

  Connie Thompson. Thinking of her brings both a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. For her, I was never Pastor or Scott, I was “Yo Rev!” She never met a stranger and loved to make others feel welcome. She had a unique gift for making you feel at ease. I think we clicked because our family history was similar. I’ll never forget hugging her when her Dad died. I thought her heart was going to break, she was so distraught. She was one of those rare folk that if she didn’t like something, she didn’t play games – she didn’t know how. Her candor was refreshing. She loved Jesus and loved to sing about Him. The Lord had blessed her with a beautiful voice. She also had a huge heart and it weighed on her to see others hurting. Once when our church was going through a dark period, I came in on Sunday and it was written all over my face, but Connie let me know in no uncertain terms that looking like God had died wasn’t going to fly.  

  Bob Cannon. Bob reminded me that even when I give up, God never does. When I first came in 1988, I’d visit Bob and invite him to church. I lost track of how many times. Finally, I gave up, but God didn’t. Back then, Bob would tell me that he knew the Lord. But just a few years ago, Bob really came to Christ. What a change! It’s what’s supposed to happen when someone comes to Christ. When there’s new life, the Bible teaches there will be fruit. Bob, who’d wanted little to do with Christianity before began digging into his Bible, faithfully worshipped with his brothers and sisters in Christ, and began serving – he loved working with Jr Hi kids. He became a giver. Even when he couldn’t make it to church, his offering did. And Bob became a missionary. His primary field was from his hospital bed as his health deteriorated. He’d share the love of Jesus with the doctors and nurses who cared for his heart, that Jesus had given him a new heart, and how they could have one too.

  That’s only a few who’ve so wonderfully been a part of our church. There are many others. We’re truly, “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.” We’re so blessed that as believers, we never say “Good-bye,” just “Good night, we’ll see you in the morning, that great resurrection morning.” 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. "