He’s not going to like this because he’s not one comfortable with drawing attention to himself (which I love about him!). . . but I’m going to do this publicly anyway. . . Today is the last full day of ministry for Michael Rogers. Michael has been our pastor for 24 years. . . faithfully spending time in his study each week to become, as he says, hand-cuffed by the Holy Spirit to the text. . . and then bringing it to us each week in ways that have led us deeper and deeper into the beautiful riches of the Gospel.
Today, Lisa and I will be joining Michael and Carol at a brunch for our congregation’s supported missionaries. We’re a part of that group. I got the blubbering out of my system last Sunday as he preached his last sermon, which I will be posting soon. Today will be much easier.
Lisa and I have been blessed to sit under the leadership of a man whose first priority has not been to please people, to market the Gospel by softening it, or to make a name for himself. Rather, the man I know has been committed to faithfully serving the Lord without compromising the Gospel, all while endeavoring to proclaim and glorify the name of Jesus Christ.
Because my calling takes me out on the road to a variety of places, I’m finding fewer and fewer ministry leaders like our pastor who are committed to these priorities. I find that incredibly discouraging. People who know me and what I do are often surprised that I don’t attend a more “relevant” or “trendy” church. I’m actually surprised that people are surprised. I’m in those places all the time and I’ve yet to find anything more relevant than straightforward Biblical truth proclaimed faithfully by one who is committed to going deep into the text. That’s why we are here. I would have run out of ministry gas a long, long time ago without our home church.
To all of you in ministry. . . the marching orders are clear. And if you pursue those marching orders without compromise, you will be used to feed, encourage, and minister to people like me and Lisa, who desperately need to be taken deeper and deeper week by week. Well done sir! Thanks for your willingness to be used in our lives.
You can read about our pastor and his retirement in an article here.