TOGETHER:
Ministers walk by faith, trusting
God with all their hearts
___For the first time since I was 15 years old, I have a pastor. First Baptist Church of Arlington unanimously has called Dennis Wiles as pastor to lead our church into the 21st century.
___A reporter asked my thoughts on Dr. Wiles' coming, and he wanted to know why it took the church so long to find a new pastor. I told him a rule of thumb for finding a new pastor is that it takes about a month for every year the former pastor served. "So 18 months
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CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
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is about right for the 23 years I was pastor," I said. "They were prayerful, and they were careful."
___As an aside, I continued, "Besides that, they took their time because they wanted to get it right this time!" That was the quote that wound up in the paper.
___It has been a new experience for me to serve 5,500 churches rather than just one. It has been a difficult emotional adjustment for my wife, Rosemary. She loved teaching her Sunday School class. They were and are some of her closest friends. Now, we travel somewhere most every Sunday, getting acquainted with our Texas Baptist family. We love doing this new work, finding amazing stories of faith and ministry in the lives of people, churches and the 23 institutions that receive support from the churches of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___We had been told that the adjustment would be difficult. Most ministers and their families love the work and fellowship of the local church. When they answer the call to serve all the churches in a denominational resource role, there is a transition in relationships.
___I have come to have a deep appreciation for the incredible people who serve Texas Baptists on our convention staff. They are involved in the lives of their local churches even as they serve all the churches of the convention. They teach Sunday School classes, serve as deacons, do interim ministries, serve on committees and tithe. When they talk about their churches, I hear gratitude and excitement about what God is doing. But many of them went through a painful journey from local church staff to denominational service.
___I have had so much to learn. I only wish I could know now what I will know, God willing, two years down the road. But life doesn't come to us that way. You have to walk by faith if you walk at all. When I began this work, I asked you to pray that God would give me both wisdom and courage. Keep praying that. I sense God's presence and help as we take new steps on behalf of our vision to assist churches and the ministries related to the BGCT to be the presence of Christ in the world.
___Rosemary's favorite passage from the Proverbs has come to hold rich significance for me. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
___Ministers who serve your churches feel something of what I have described as they come to take up new assignments from God in your midst. Pray for them. Follow their leadership. Support them. Love them.
___That's what Rosemary and I are eager to do for our new pastor.
___We are loved.
The Baptist Standard
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
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