“We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2 NLT
Happy New Year. I am praying for a blessed year for each of you. Let’s make 2019 an incredible year.
2019 will bring some major changes in my life and ministry. After eight plus years of serving at New Community Church in LaGrange I have answered God’s call to a new chapter of ministry.
I love NCC. It is an incredible community of faith. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to serve as the pastor of this great church.
The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time and season for everything. Ministry assignments are no different. My prayer has always been for God to place me where He can get the most out of me.
Eight years ago my family and I left the Atlanta area to answer that call.
I will never be able to say that I have served NCC perfectly. No pastor who is honest can ever claim to be the perfect leader. What I can say confidently is that I have served NCC faithfully. When you got me. You got everything that I had to offer.
One of the tasks of a pastor is to watch over the souls of those they pastor (Hebrews 13:17) To pastor is to carry the weight of this calling and all that it entails. It is a task that one must be certain they have been called to.
Eight years ago I was called to NCC. I have carried the weight of soul watching. Praying for and preaching to the people of our community. Serving on a stage and in the shadows. Doing my very best to allow God to have full reign over my life and my gifts.
Pastoral transitions are never easy. Sadly in most cases the transition is the result of some tragic mistake or ministry mishap. My departure is not the result of any type of sin nor is it the result of my dissatisfaction with the church. In fact in the earliest stages of God’s instruction for me to end my season of ministry at NCC I found myself arguing with God. A lot.
If there’s is anything that I have learned over my nearly 18 years of ministry it is that we are free to disagree with God but we are never free to disobey God.
My submission to God’s call for my life doesn’t exempt me from the sadness of having to leave those who have become family to me and my family. Yet, I still find peace and comfort in knowing that God has a grand plan to continue the vision of his church. After all when Jesus declared he would build his church, he meant what he said.
That is why I am excited about the next season of life and ministry for NCC and for myself. Beginning January 20th I will assume the role of lead pastor of
Tri-Cities Church in East Point.
What I see at work is the expansion of God’s kingdom unfolding right before our eyes. The lessons and love that I have received from NCC will prove to be more than enough to share with my new church family.
To my New Community Church family. I love you more than words could ever express. As we approach my last Sunday as your pastor I want you to know that the celebration of our time together is much less about how I’ve served you and much more about how God used you to bring the very best out of me. For that I can never repay you.
I love you because Jesus told me to. And I love you because you have loved me.
-Pastor L
