THE FULL TEXT OF PASTOR STEVE’S RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
A
few of you have wanted copies of my retirement announcement and some of
you weren’t at the special meeting on June 19 when I read this. I’m
having this printed in The Bell to make sure everyone has the same
information. I have been very grateful for the loving and Christ-like
response all the members and friends of Memorial Baptist have given! --
Pastor Steve
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV
June 19, 2011
To my sisters and brothers at Memorial Baptist Church;
Having
given much thought and prayer to matters concerning the times and
seasons of my life and to those of our life together, I have decided
that this is the right time to retire from settled pastoral ministry.
Therefore I will resign from the pastorate of our church effective
November 20, 2011.
Here are my main reasons for taking this action at this time.
Firstly;
I have been sensing a call to a wider field of service for some time.
The vague sense of calling to new fields and endeavors became clearer as
I considered the possibility of interim ministries. The main
difference between being a settled pastor and being an interim pastor is
that interims are called to a church in transition for a specified
period of time to carry out a specific mission in the church’s life.
For years I have believed that Memorial Baptist would be my last call to
settled ministry and I have been blessed to be here. Nevertheless I
sense a clear call to a form of ministry that will take me in different
directions and to different places.
Secondly;
Lord willing, Kathy and I will retire in Middlebury. The simple and
easy thing would seem to be for me to continue on as pastor at Memorial
Baptist. But this would be wrong. For one thing, I think the time has
come for the church to be led by a pastor who has new eyes and a fresh
voice. I also feel positively called to new avenues of the Lord’s
service. I’m confident that the right time for all of us to make this
transition has come.
The
pastoral relationship we have known would have to be cut at some point
in time. I’m convinced the best time for this to happen is now. The
church is well organized and has strong leadership. You will be an
attractive church for a prospective pastor and they will be blessed to
serve you. I know I have. By the time Kathy and I are ready to draw
our pensions, a new settled pastor will have a well-established and
thriving ministry with all of you. While we will remain friends and
neighbors, someone of God’s choosing will be your pastor.
All
of this will be greatly helped as you come to embrace the pastoral
skills and care of your new pastor. This happens through the course of
weddings, funerals, and baptisms, as well as the regular preaching,
Bible study and the day-to-day ministries of pastoral care. If I were
to engage in such ministries with any of you I would be robbing my
successor of opportunities to come to know and love you. In order to
make way for God to knit people in a church into a close bond with a new
pastor, good ethics require former pastors to let go of that role in
places where they have once served.
So
please do not ask me to engage in any of these pastoral duties after
November 20, 2011. It will be painful and awkward for all of us to have
me say no. And I will say no without exception. We will be beloved
friends in Christ but the pastor-parishioner relationship will rightly
belong to someone else.
To
summarize; I feel God calling me to a new field of service. A new
pastor, with fresh ideas, spiritual gifts, and unique skills is coming
your way. And it’s all good!
Let
us do the work that needs to be done in the days ahead. Let us finish
well and depart as good friends. And above all, let us never stop
growing in our love for Jesus Christ and our neighbors.
Your servant,
Steven Jewett
