Skip to main content

A little hard to admit, but the time has come for me to step out of full time work...

There are times when God’s work and His timing make absolutely no sense to us. In 2008 when I had my stroke, my family and the church were taken completely by surprise. As the time went on, it was amazing to watch how God used a terrible situation to bring about something that brings Him the greatest glory. God’s provisions in the months after my stroke were absolutely incredible. He has sustained me and my family through some of the most terrible months of our lives.

About a year ago, I had mentioned to Laura that there were some things occurring on Sunday mornings and as I interacted with people that might seem to suggest that some of my deficiencies were becoming more evident. What I told her then was that when my deficiencies begin to become almost a distraction, I would know it would be time to step back from full time ministry.

Over the next several months, it was communicated to Laura and and myself that I look tired, appear to be having swallowing issues and more difficulty with weakness in the left side.  Certainly, all of those things are true.  At that time, I began praying about what to do. Enter Joe and Kerri Strode. In April, Laura and I met with Joe and Kerri and asked them to begin praying about what God would have for them in full time ministry. I asked him, then, if I were to take a diminished role in the church, would he be interested in becoming a full time Family Life Pastor at New Covenant church.

We talked several times over the next few months and in July we met again to discuss the possibility of a transition. Following those discussions, I met with the deacons and the Board and discussed the possibility of a realignment of workload and salaries that would allow Joe the opportunity to pursue the Lord in full-time ministry as well as give me the option of following the advice of many physicians and reduce my workload.  The proposal to have Joe come on in a full-time capacity while I mentor Joe in his new role was met with overwhelming affirmation.  With that said, effective September 1, I will be stepping down from full-time ministry. I will remain the Senior Pastor of New Covenant church during this time of transition and come along side Joe as a mentor and friend.  Joe has shared that the Lord has given him a desire to become a senior pastor and this will be a step in the process in helping Joe get to where he feels God wants him to be. Joe will assume the day-to-day operations of the church and his job will be expanded to include a greater responsibility with our youth, children and families.


Joe and Kerri have shown themselves to be dedicated to the Lord and clearly have a heart for reaching people.  God has obviously equipped them with tremendous talents and in turn, Joe and Kerri use those God-given talents for the purpose of reaching and discipling people for Christ.  I would ask that you prayerfully come along side myself, my family and the Strodes as we move forward with what we believe is God’s direction for New Covenant Church.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Does it get any worse than a stroke? Yes

On December 8, 2008, my life changed forever. I had a double sided cerebellar stroke with 2 brain stem compressions. It was not until December 10, 40 hours after my stroke, that surgery was finally done to relieve the pressure. Dr. Piper, the neuro-surgeon from Iowa Methodist hospital in Des Moines, told my wife that surgery was nothing more than an attempt to save my life, but that it would not erase the deficiencies as a result of the stroke. Although she admits that she did not really understand what Dr. Piper had just said, my wife, Laura, agreed to the surgery and the care team performed a decrompessive craniotomy, to hopefully relieve the pressure and allow my brain to function somewhat normally. For those who have followed my blog for the last 14+ years, the surgery was successful, I returned to the church and I now live a relatively normal life, although I do have some pretty severe, though not always visible, defieciencies. I really thought that life could not get any worse th
Post a Comment
Read more

Sometimes my new life stinks...

For the last few weeks I have been experiencing some pretty terrible headaches; not the kind that you can relieve by rubbing your temples or taking Tylenol, but headaches that radiate from the back of my head. It seems as though I have tried several things to relieve them: taking naps, lying down on heating pads, taking Tylenol, turning the lights of, etc. but nothing seems to help. Now, I don't have them all the time, only a few days a week and I can tell that they are more from muscle tightness than anything else. I have been instructed to go the ER if they flare up again, because of my past history of headaches before my stroke, but most likely it is due to the muscles that were cut in the back of my head for the Craniotomy. I would say that most days I do not struggle with headaches at all; but, the days I do have headaches they are a doozy. I don't have blurred vision with them or sensitivity to light or sound; it just hurts. As I look back over the past 3+ years I realize
8 comments
Read more

A little lethargic the last couple of days....

The last couple days I have been really, unusual. I don't know exactly how to describe it. I'm tired all the time. No matter how long I sleep at night I never seem to get enough sleep. The last few days I have noticed that my eyes have been acting a little weird. I tried to explain it to someone but it is like I just can't find the words to describe it right. It is worse when I have to change my focus, when I am looking at one thing and then have to change the focus to something else it seems as though it takes just a fraction of a second to refocus. Now, a fraction of a second does not seem bad until you are driving; then it can be pretty problematic. I also noticed that I seem to get a little dizzy when I stand up. It is not something that really bothers me, but it is a little irritating. It is not bad enough that I think "Oh, no, not this again." But it is something I notice. I don't know, perhaps it is because tomorrow will be the 2 year anniversary of the
5 comments
Read more