Happy Returning-Home-Saturday, friends!
I’m experiencing a different kind of return this weekend.
On July 6, 1984 my Sweetie became my Mrs.
On Sunday, the day after we flew home from our honeymoon, we were at Eagle Mountain Baptist Church in Ft. Worth “in view of a call” (the terminology our tribe uses) for me to be their Minister of Music and Youth.
We served there in that capacity from August 1984-November 1988 and then moved to Tucumcari, NM for my first Pastorate.
Roland Earl, the Pastor of EMBC, who had become like a father to me during our time there, passed away in January 1991.
The church invited us to return and I served there as Senior Pastor from April 1991 – May 2008.
This church is where we “grew up” as a family and in ministry and it’s indelibly etched onto who we are today.
Tomorrow we return to help the church celebrate 75 years of ministry.
The pastor graciously asked me, as the only living former pastor, to preach and sing in the morning celebration service.
There are only a handful of people left who were there when we showed up 42 years ago, clueless but excited.
Honestly, I’m still pondering what I’m going to say to them tomorrow, but what I read in Zechariah 1 this morning captured my attention about something that is consistently necessary for followers of Jesus (individually and in community).
We need to be consistently returning—coming back—to who we were created to be.
I wrote a song over 30 years ago about memories. The chorus says,
“Take me back to the places that now seem so near,Take me back to the faces that I hold so dear,I can go to the place where my faith had its startIf you take me back, Lord Jesus, in my heart.”
Maybe this is a good day for you to “return” to where faith started for you.
Be amazing today, my friend.
