It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” (Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities. 1859).
Yesterday, I attended two churches.
At the first one, I was the guest preacher. At the second, I was simply a guest.
At the first one, a cloud of heaviness and uncertainty hovered over the service. At the second, a spirit of joy and celebration permeated the gathering.
At the first one, regrets about the past and anxiety about the future were an undercurrent. At the second, joyful celebration of the past and visionary anticipation of the future were the focus.
For obvious reasons, I will not identify the first one. I was there preaching because the church had just gone through the resignation of their pastor—a resignation suggested by church leadership. I was there in my official capacity as Executive Director/Lead Strategist of Harvest Baptist Association to encourage the church and meet with leadership to strategize next steps.
I can enthusiastically identity the second one. I was there to join with Ash Creek Baptist Church to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their pastor, my friend, Dr. Wesley Shotwell. I was there as a longtime friend of Wesley and many folks at ACBC.
At the first church, there was an “elephant in the room” that nobody mentioned.
At Ash Creek, there was nothing in the room but “family.”
Different people told stories and offered affirmation and gratitude in a room full of laughter and a few heartfelt tears.
I’d already been a pastor in the Azle area for 7 years when Wesley came to Ash Creek. He immediately engaged with the community and became a friend and encouragement to other pastors. We served together through the Azle Ministerial Alliance and Tarrant Baptist Association.
We probably got to know each other best through taking kids from our churches to the same pre-teen camp every summer. That’s the place where I came to appreciate his sense of humor and found out that, of all the things Wesley Shotwell takes seriously, Wesley Shotwell is not one of those things.
Since I left the pastorate and went on to my current ministry, it has been my privilege to fill in for Wesley a few times preaching at Ash Creek and grabbing an occasional cup of coffee.
In everything I’ve seen over the past 25 years, Wesley has prioritized loving the people of ACBC and helping them to love their community.
That was so obvious last night when he was able to speak at the end of his anniversary celebration. After all the great things that had been said about him, he reminded his congregation that none of this was about the “he” of Wesley; it was about the “we” of ACBC.
“We’ve done this,” he said. And that’s how he’s been able to stay for 25 years. He recognizes the power of “we.”
A good lesson for all of us.
Be amazing today, my friends.
