God Bless You, Nazarene Pastor

I owe so much to Nazarene pastors.  They have been, and are, such a means of grace to my family and me.  If it is true that we have guardian angels, mine have come in the form of Nazarene pastors.

It was a Nazarene pastor who dedicated me when I was eight days old.  Born on a Sunday, I was welcomed to church by a Nazarene pastor on my second Sunday of life.  That pastor—John Lawwill—is one of the reasons I am a Nazarene.  He provided much-needed pastoral care and spiritual guidance to my parents during a very difficult season in their young married life and helped them become grounded in their faith and active in their church.

It was a Nazarene pastor who baptized me. His name was O. C. Rushing.  He was my pastor when as a child I gave my heart to Jesus in a Sunday night service.  One of my favorite photos shows me as a six or seven-year-old wading out of a creek after being baptized by Pastor Rushing.

It was a Nazarene pastor that preached the sermon God used to call me to the ministry.  Jim Bearden was the speaker at the youth camp in Summersville, West Virginia, where, as a young teenager, I discovered my vocation would be the Christian ministry.  I had long forgotten who the preacher was that night, only to be delighted a few years ago by the discovery that the man I followed as superintendent of the South Carolina District was the preacher that night of youth camp.   I don't know if he takes the credit or takes the blame for that.

It was a Nazarene pastor who mentored me following my call to preach.  L. K. Hostutler pastored my home church.  He was a pastor who believed in leadership development long before that phrase became popular.  As soon as he learned of my call to preach, he took a special interest in introducing me to ministry.  He drew back the curtain on local church ministry and allowed me to view the wonders of my future vocation.

It was a Nazarene pastor who inspired me during my formative college years.  To a boy from the hills of West Virginia, Jack Archer was bigger than life.  He captivated me with his gift for weaving together story and sermon and opening the altar.  Those were the days the romance of the ministry began to blossom in my soul.   

It was a Nazarene pastor - actually several of them - who taught me the adventure of serving with a pastoral staff.   Greg, Tim, Cathy, Harvey, Scott, Terry, Deb, Chuck, Josephus, Amy, Jason, Eric, and Ted helped me discover lessons in synergy, grace, self-awareness, loyalty, teamwork, prayer, authenticity, and the value of investing in entrepreneurial missional opportunities.  I will forever be indebted to them.

It was a Nazarene pastor—Geoff Kunselman—who was a blessing to my family when I transitioned from parish ministry to the superintendency some years ago.  Geoff’s preaching, pastoral care, and friendship helped our family more than he will ever know.

Nazarene pastors continue to inspire me.  I am privileged to serve with some of God’s finest servants.  Seldom does a day go by that I am not awed and humbled by a pastor’s commitment to the mission and passion to see lives transformed.  I am privileged to hear their stories and humbled to see their sacrifices.  I marvel at their commitment.  They are my heroes.  These are pastors who labor diligently in their mission fields, often appreciated, but not nearly as much as they should be.  They preach and pray and visit, counsel and lead and disciple, teach and comfort and mentor.  The world is not worthy of them, but so desperately needs them.

God bless you, Nazarene pastor.  You are making a bigger difference than you may realize..