Lyle's Blog

Our church is closing in late April. We received an email informing us all that financially the church can no longer continue. We had the dreaded sermon on tithing a couple of months ago. This resulted in our pastor telling us the following week offerings were way up. Apparently, this did not continue. Our pastor also told us he and his wife were going to Greece for two weeks.

Pastor has said he wants to retire so, he’s been interviewing a possible replacement over the past year, even having one deliver the message once. Just a couple months ago he said he interviewed another pastor but to no avail.

What puzzles us is simply this, if the ship is sinking (this had to be known some time ago), why is a replacement being sought for a new pastor? Perhaps it was hard to accept the reality of the situation. Our pastor, through no fault of his own, lost his last church to the whims of Methodist corporate meddling. The pain of our church passing from the scene must be somewhat disheartening. Maybe it’s not so much retirement he wanted, but a desire not to be at the helm when the ship goes under.

We can’t know the hearts and minds of people placed in a tight place. What would I do? I can pretend to know and radically espouse it, but heroes are made in a moment, not before the event. So let’s not judge; that, after all, is the prerogative of God. Grace and mercy are what we say we’re about. Can we practice what we preach?