June 2007

To my brothers and sisters in Christ:

     I am pleased to announce that at this year's session of Annual Conference, I will be appointed by Bishop Middleton to continue to serve as your pastor for yet another year.
     It is an honor to become one of the longest-tenured pastors in Lincoln Chapel's history.  These six years have brought spiritual growth to both me and you, and I am looking forward to what God has in store for us in our shared future!
     In our time together, we have made great strides forward in growing together and building God's kingdom.  And we have shared great heartaches as well.  But isn't that what it's all about?  It is not our own strength that gives us success.  It is not our own willpower that allows us to overcome the evil and temptation placed before us.  Rather it is our full reliance upon God's wonderful, infinite, matchless grace.
   I am reminded of a verse from one of my favorite new hymns: 
    
   Together we serve, united in love, 
   Inviting God's world to the glorious feast. 
   We work and we pray through sorrow and joy, 
   extending your love to the last and the least. 
    
     As the body of Christ, let us continue to grow together as we serve God together.  Let us find our strength and peace nowhere else but in our Savior.  Let us work and pray through the sorrow and joy, not because of it.  Let us confidently move together into the bright and beautiful future God has in store for us.
   And they'll know we are Christians by our love.  (John 13:34) 
   With you on the journey, 
   Pastor Jon West