“What About Bob?”
There’s a 1991 movie by that title starring Richard Dreyfus and Bill Murray. I didn’t see it in 1991 but a few years later a friend told me it was the funniest movie he had ever seen, so I rented it from Blockbuster (yeah, I’m Blockbuster old).
I determined after watching it at home by myself that one of two things must be true. Either this is a movie that needs to be viewed with several people who are ready to laugh, or my friend really needed to get out more.
The movie caused a couple of chortles, but an LOL was not to be found.
But one of my funniest memories in my 45 years of ministry involved my friend, Bob Miller. Unfortunately, I can’t do the story justice in this format. Just trust me—it tickles my funny bone over three decades later.
I graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in May of 1988 and started the adventure of trying to find a church that would take a chance on a first-time pastor.
After interviewing with dozens of churches, I found a church willing to take the risk. My first Sunday as pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church of Tucumcari, New Mexico was the first Sunday of December 1988.
Bob Miller was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Tucumcari just a few blocks away.
Bob became a friend and mentor almost immediately. With a Sunday morning attendance of around 300, FBC was the big church in town.
At Trinity, we had about 45.
Bob was generous, funny, and encouraging and I learned a lot from his wisdom and experience.
I was only in Tucumcari for a little over two years before I returned to the Fort Worth area in April 1991 to pastor Eagle Mountain Baptist Church—where I had served as music/youth minister during my seminary years.
Our paths crossed a few times over the years when Bob allowed me the opportunity to return to Tucumcari for a concert and then do both a weekend youth ministry and a couples retreat (with Mrs. Sweetie) at his church after he moved to South Georgia Baptist Church in Amarillo.
Bob retired a few years ago but couldn’t stay retired. Now 75, he’s been pastor for the past 10 years at the Crossroads Country Church in Amarillo.
We happened to be in Amarillo over the July 4th weekend and our original Sunday morning church plans fell through. So, at the last minute, we decided to drop in for the morning service at CCC.
It’s been almost 20 years since I last saw Bob, but Sunday morning was really a treat. He’s still gracious and funny and encouraging and his folks love him. It was so good to visit for a few minutes and thank him for his encouragement to me those many years ago.
I started doing the math and realized that I’m 19 years older now than he was when I met him. I hope I’ve been half the encourager to young pastors as he was for me.
And I hope there’s been a Bob for you along your life’s journey.
If so, how about pausing right now to thank the Lord for that person.
Be amazing today, my friend.
