Monday Reflections...Following in the Footsteps of Others

Another outing with "the guys" yielded a few more pictures and this is one that depicts what I have been thinking about as I have been having conversations with the congregants of Machias Valley Baptist Church and also those of the community.  As a minister and pastor, I realized that I am just walking in the footsteps of others who have gone before in respect to carrying and sharing the Gospel all the way back to the Twelve following in the very footsteps of Christ Himself.

The history of this church I am pulling from is a book called "Roots & Branches:  Or Growing Up In Maine" by Jane Rozelle.  Chapter 5 is titled, "The Real Reason."  Jane tells the story of two families, the Rozelles and the Maces who had a desire to see a church rise up in Machias, Maine.

"Our only plan was to get ourselves and the children 

into a sound Gospel preaching church."

It started out in their homes, alternating from one home to another and later moved to the Grange Hall before an abandoned church building became available.  Connections are always so valuable.  Mother Rozelle had a brother who attended NBBI, New Brunswick Bible Institute, and he was part of a quartet that came down to sing for this "start up" church back in 1955/56.  Her brother just graduated and he told her about a classmate who had also just graduated named George Henderson.  He thought George, a single man hailing from Allagash, Maine, would be a great pastor for them.  Allagash, Maine is about as far north you can go in Maine before stepping on Canadian soil.  He was a middle child.

George was invited to come at the ripe "old" age of 22 and was described as a very "green" pastor.  He accepted the call and received lodging in the homes of the Rozelles' and Maces', alternating each week, until he got his own digs, a trailer placed behind the Mace's home.  He received $21 dollars a week.  

I couldn't help but think about my first call.  It would have been 30 years after George accepted his.  I was 21 and soon to be 22 and my starting pay was $75 a week while married and with our first child on the way.  We lived in a home that was directly attached to the church.  You went from our kitchen into the foyer and our living room into the sanctuary.  I was a middle child.  

Pastor George ended up serving this congregation for 50 years, the only church he served.  He got married here and raised his family here.  He saw generations of families go through this church.  The writer of this book called Pastor George Henderson "one of the leading pastors in the State of Maine."  

This image is growing in my mind of Pastor Henderson.  I have met so many men of this congregation who have went on to pastor other churches.  They all point back to Pastor George and his teaching to them the words of God.  One man called Pastor George, "the most holy person he has ever known."  What resonates with me is what I have seen over time in regards to the importance of training up the men of the church to know and live God's Word.  Pastor Henderson's mark on this church stretches out into the community of Machias and the whole county of Washington.  

These are good steps to be following in.  Pastor Henderson did what the Lord did with the Twelve as Jesus sent out them as the Apostles into all the world.  He invested in their lives and gave an example to follow.  On Sunday mornings I stand it the spot that Pastor Henderson stood for 50 years pouring out to this church body, and especially the men, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There are some "good bones" to work with here because Pastor Henderson built upon the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.  

I am so thankful for men who answer the call of God.  I am also so thankful for those who see the ministry possible through the ones they are ministering too.  Those men were encouraged by this man named Pastor Henderson, to put into action the words of God.  May I do the same is my prayer today.

Adam

(p.s. - below are some pictures of life as an interim pastor and the latest installment of our walk through the book of Luke.)