It has been almost six years since I bid farewell to my faithful flock that I had “watched over” as an under-shepherd for 40 years. My farewell to Thompson Road Baptist Church as “Senior Pastor” was as follows:
“Farewell, dear friends, it’s hard to say ‘Goodbye.’ At times we want to laugh, at times to cry. We’ve walked, we’ve talked, we’ve worked along life’s way. Our love has grown, His grace He’s shown, From our first meeting 40 years ago today.
You’ve been a flock supreme, A shepherd’s fondest dream; You’ve heard and heeded truths—and grown in grace; you’ve made your goal in life to seek His face.
We part now, yet our sorrow—it is sweet; we’ll soon all cast our crowns at Jesus’ feet; We know by then the victory will be won—our soul’s desire: to hear Him say ‘Well done!’
‘Come, enter child, enjoy eternal rest; you are at home, now with His children blessed. Your work on earth is done forever more; come, child, come boldly through the door.’
Oh! Happy thought when time no more is rushed; when sirens, guns and wailing will be hushed; And with for eons in His precious love, we’ll talk and laugh and share with all above.
The world that now is drear will then be past; no more will weakness wear us down at last. We shall be there, with Christ in Heav’n so fair—Oh blessed thought—His joy for e’er to share!”
Following that farewell occasion, Ellen and I journeyed to Sebring, Florida, where for six weeks we loafed and lounged with friends—old and new—at Maranatha Village, a retirement haven where homes can be purchased or rented by retirees, mostly but not exclusively pastors and missionaries. We enjoyed fellowship with friends, several of whom we had gone to school with a half-century earlier.
The day we left Maranatha Village was the day that EVERYTHING shut down due to Covid-19! We spent one night with my sister in Georgia, then made it home the next day, thankful to be able to get fuel along the way!
In the meantime, I had been accepted by Gospel Fellowship Association as a member of their Interim Pastor’s ministry. I would be available and on call to serve churches without a pastor as the church searched for God’s man to lead their flock. Happily, a church about 40 miles west of Indianapolis, Coatesville Missionary Baptist Church, was searching for a senior pastor. I met with the deacons, and the church invited me to serve as their interim pastor as they continued their search. Ellen and I so very much enjoyed our year-long ministry there with those dear people—a church, incidentally, in which I had served for two summers when I was a college student, helping in their summer camp ministry before I married the love of my life (after graduating from Bob Jones University) in August of 1965!
All of the interim ministry at Coatesville was during the pandemic; but we were never sidelined with that sickness. However, early in 2021, I was told that my body was being attacked by some rogue white blood cells. The doctor said it was multiple myeloma, a cancer for which there is no known cause or cure. It can be treated by chemotherapy and by infusion of a cancer-fighting drug, and it sometimes does go into remission—but eventually will return. The average lifespan after diagnosis is typically between 5 and 6 years. I have been receiving monthly treatments and, until few weeks ago, have been taking chemo by pill—three weeks on and one week off.
After the Coatesville church called a full-time pastor, God opened up an opportunity to serve—with my long-time friend, Dr. Larry Hufhand—a church in Noblesville, Indiana, which is about a 35-minute drive from our house. Pastor Hufhand and I alternated Sundays in sharing the pulpit ministry there. In his mid-80’s at the time, he was limited in physical strength, and due to my weakened physical stamina because of cancer, it was necessary that each of us have a Sunday off between engagements, and the church was “OK” with that. So I preached regularly until mid-December—when Pastor Hufhand, turning 90, announced that he would not be able to continue preaching after the end of the year (2024). The church also announced that there was a man that they believed would meet their need for a pastor. So for Dr. Hufhand, the church, and myself, the end of that chapter had come.
A couple of months ago, my cancer doctor told me that he thought I could stop taking the chemo pill that I had been on for more than three years. He did not say that my cancer was in remission—there are still a couple of markers indicating it is still active—but he wanted to see how I would respond without the chemo. So far, so good. I am, as I have been, fairly weak and not without some pesky pain along with neuropathy, etc. But so far I am able to do light work, write this bi-weekly blog called “You and God” (for five years now, with 500 plus installments), and fill a pulpit occasionally at our home church.
Ellen and I will mark our 60th wedding anniversary, Lord willing, this summer. God is good; and with heartfelt sincerity, I can concur with the apostle: “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”
“Thank you” to Ellen, our children, grandchildren, pastor, church family, friends, and followers of “You and God” for all the prayers, enabling us to enjoy these last years here. Our son, Theo, a freelance journalist, proofs and edits each of these blogs; our daughter, Sandy, a marketing specialist, does the artwork and posting logistics. Our daughter, Marti, and her family live close by and tirelessly serve us, addressing a myriad of our needs, without which help we would be struggling! Thank you all—and thank Him for such rich goodness!
“But I (we) have all, and abound: I (we) am full, having received…the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Phil.4:18-20)
YOU and GOD 