The First 35 Years!

 

“Our privilege is twofold. We have an amazing task, 

and we get it to do it among people we get to love.” Daryl Dash

 
It’s been a year of anniversaries for me. In May I was honored for twenty years of service as the chaplain of the Burlington Police Department. Then, on July 2^nd our church family joined Jane and me as we celebrated 40 years of marriage and this weekend marks 35 years as your pastor.
  Little did Jane and I realize that as we moved our family from Detroit that we would some day be celebrating 35 years as your pastor in Burlington. We were in the midst of assisting a new church plant on the northwest side of the Detroit suburbs when God called us here. They celebrated their launch of their first Sunday on our first Sunday in Burlington.
  No doubt you have heard the old saying, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Wisconsin was not our first choice of places to minister. Jane and I had both gone to school in Watertown and the college we attended sadly had an adversarial relationship with the community. Then, most of our family and friends lived in Michigan. We thought that we might serve the Lord in Wisconsin for five or so years and then head back to Michigan…and an opportunity did arise, but I turned it down. It just didn’t seem like it was God’s will.
  Today this is our home. You are our family. This is our community (please, just don’t demand that we be Packer fans).
  Looking back. Burlington was the smallest town either of us have lived in. In 1988, the city didn’t have a traffic light. I quickly realized how small the city was when I opened a bank account the next morning after we moved in at what was then “the Bank of Burlington.” The woman at the front desk greeted me with, “You’re the minister who moved in last night.”
  Yet I look back with gratitude at the faith and hope of those 30 some people who called us to come. The church had recently gone through some deep waters. That small group had discussed closing, but they persevered. They didn’t just talk about making changes, as so many churches do, they truly wanted change. They were cognizant that it was change or die…and so we did.
  They weren’t astronomical changes. Most were incremental. Many times, we fail to realize that as each of us needs to grow spiritually, churches too must grow spiritually…and pastors must grow spiritually. My approach and philosophy of ministry today is very different from my approach to ministry in 1988. God was going to work on my heart.
  Funerals are the dark valley of being a pastor. God was so gracious to me in my first one at our church. It was for a dear old saint, Bess Norum, who was 95-years young. Bess was a firecracker and had sung in the choir for Evangelist Billy Sunday’s crusades and Bess was ready to go Home. It helped prepare me for my next funeral of a young mother who was a cancer victim and left behind a husband and two young children.
  In thirty-five years, there are thousands of memories. Yet, as I look back, I continually marvel at the faith of our church family. They trusted the Lord. They trusted Him to work through our leadership. There were some big challenges and some deep waters, but they remained faithful. We changed our philosophy of ministry from internally focused to externally focused, our music, our version of Scripture, even our location to our present building. Those are radical changes for a church. Many a church has died because they refused to grow and change. We are here today because of their faith in God and perseverance.
  Looking at the present. The most dangerous place for a believer is to become satisfied and think that they’ve arrived. It’s even more dangerous for a church. Too many churches rest on the victories of yesterday.
  I’m so thankful that our church has a holy sense of discontent. There is a passion to continue to grow in grace and to reach our community with the gospel. Most churches talk about reaching their community but have internal barriers that hinder it like cliquishness, pettiness, legalism, liberalism or politicalization.
  Currently, most churches grow either through children in the church coming to Christ or believers from another area church transferring in, not through outreach. At Grace, we’re thankful for children who come to faith, yet hold that we’re co-laborers with other churches not competitors. Our mission field is our community and those who have not yet met our Savior.  
  I feel so blessed to systematically work our way through Scripture with you so that we grow in our understanding and application of His truth to our lives. This is our family! It’s a privilege to pray for each of you and to share your needs and burdens with the Father. I am so thankful that our church is growing in its understanding that our church is not a “business,” it’s a family of redeemed brothers and sisters. That means that we’re not clones. Our differences become building blocks of unity and spiritual growth. Today our church is made up of those from varied walks of life, marital situations, and economic levels. Committed discipleship is one of our goals as we continue to move forward together.
  What’s ahead? Personally, I’m thankful that I don’t know. Retirement is not in our plans. We still have a fiery passion to take new ground and reach more folk for His glory! We don’t want to coast or be satisfied with the status quo. We want to invest and be part of raising up the next generation to love Jesus and reach our community for the glory of God.
  Yet, there comes a time to step away. Most pastors leave too soon, some though stay too long. Jane and I want to be sensitive that we are helping you move forward into becoming more like Jesus. All of us need to be cognizant of the fragility of life and good health. Experience has taught us that one’s health situation can change quickly. We never want to get in the way of God’s plans or what He’s doing. Afterall, it’s His church.
  One of our next steps is to continue with our master plan and build a children’s wing. We want to plan for the future and next generation. This church is not about us, it’s Him and them.
  Jane and I look forward to one day going Home. Yet we know that we are so blessed to have had a taste of heaven for the past 35 years of serving Him by serving you, our Grace Church family! All I can say is: Thank you for being so good to us! We love you so much!!

Can we help you spiritually? 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.