Appreciation!

Somewhere, sometime, at some place some person “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, we don’t really have villages anymore per se, but it certainly takes some sort of community to raise a person. Or a community to fail a person. It’s Pastor Appreciation Month. I’m not sure who decides these things, but somewhere along the way, probably during one of those awful KLOVE pledge drives, someone came up with the idea. Where I live now it’s not a big deal, maybe should it be. In other parts of the country, it seems like a much bigger deal, maybe it shouldn’t be. Culture is funny like that. Anytime I think about Pastor Appreciation Month I am eternally thankful for the people who believed in me, even when there was nothing to see. This week I just want to name a couple of the folks who I greatly appreciate, but I unfortunately never get to see. Maybe they’ll read this, perhaps not. Either way, I hope they know I genuinely appreciate what they’ve done for me.

And disclaimer I for sure appreciate my family. My wife, my kids, my Mom, sister, all my in-laws. They have always been incredibly supportive of me. Whether it was self-publishing a comic book, working at Amazon.com, or working in a Community College Library, to going into ministry full time they’ve believed I could be successful at wherever the wind might blow me. It’s terribly difficult to move away from your support system, but though they live a couple of hundred miles away, I sleep well knowing they’ve always got my back.

Somewhere out there in the wilds of Virginia is a guy named Travis Mowell. I met Travis in my first ill-fated attempt at Seminary, and I almost got him sent packing from there. Fortunately, for him, that didn’t happen. He finished that race and went on to the next phases. At some point, he ended up here in Piqua, and at some point, he thought enough of me that he stuck his neck out with this congregation and convinced them to hire me on staff. Me. No seminary degree. No experience as a Pastor. Me. He saw something in me.

Travis isn’t here at PCC anymore, and I miss him. Things happen for a reason, though sometimes we don’t fully understand why at the time. But God clearly had big plans for Travis as I’ve watched through social media his family continue to grow and thrive, we text occasionally, and I love seeing his big personality shine where God has him now.

I don’t think he’ll ever truly understand how much his belief in me sustains me every day. And even in the little over 3 years now since he has been gone from this family, his legacy, the battles he fought, the vision he led all, like the guys before him, carry on.

Travis gives us firm footing from which we are to be the family of God. We wouldn’t be where we are today as a church without his faithful service. Heck, I wouldn’t have lasted this long if in the tough days I when I feel like quitting I just don’t think about disappointing God, but disappointing guys like Travis who believed in me when there was nothing to see. And I’m so happy he is doing well. He is healthier then he has ever been, he is rock crawling Jeeps, and he is still faithfully preaching. I would not be here without God having put him into my life. I miss having him around, but I’m thrilled with where God has him. And don’t tell him, but occasionally I still listen to his sermons to see if drops a “worzy” on accident every now and then.

Somewhere in Michigan (this is where all my Ohio friends boo loudly) is Jim Matthews (stop booing he is from Ohio and a big Buckeye fan). Travis gave me a chance to step into ministry, but I wouldn’t have gotten there if Jim hadn’t given me the opportunity to lead. Jim is just a great guy. He walked into a church that was not in the healthiest of situations and in his first year he had to bury one of his Elders, my Dad, and learn how to deal with some big ol’ Eastern Kentucky personalities. Jim’s invitation to me to go to a conference in October of 2005 would end-up forever changing my direction in life. When I became a lay leader in the church, he didn’t smash all us younger leader’s drive for change or new ideas. Instead, he taught us patience. Sometimes painfully. Sometimes he didn’t want to have the patience either, sometimes he wept and gnashed his teeth with us, but he still found ways to relate to everyone. Especially the difficult ones. I always appreciated that about him.

There was a sermon series he did many years ago called “Authentic Christianity,” and it was on the Book of James. And as he went through some of those qualities of authenticity as a person, and I saw a lot of that in Jim. He probably doesn’t even remember that series, but I do. It was another real paradigm shifting point in my faith because Jim was just Jim. I knew if I wanted to be an effective leader I could not be someone I was not.  Jim never tried to be someone he was not, at least not with me. He was always honest when he was struggling, and honest when he was in a good spot. I try to live that out myself every day.

For my family at least, in times of crisis, he was one of those guys that knew how to be silent, and when to speak. He preached my Dad’s funeral like he had known him for decades when they had only known each other for about a year. And having done this long enough now to have a done a funeral or two, Dad’s funeral didn’t come out of a book. I could tell Jim meant every word he said. Thank you, Jim!

Countless people have impacted my life in some way. Kyle Russell, Ryan Shoaff, Adam Irwin, Dave Fishback, Elmer Mullins, Greg Denton, Steve Sierer, Travis Jones, Ann Mullins, Bob Zimmerman, Jeff Pepiot, John Manard, Doug and Bethannie Dolder, Ron Rader, David Kaiser, Bridget Snapp, Eric White, my current leadership and church family here at PCC, and on and on the list goes. To all of you- Thanks! I may not be the best husband, Dad, friend, Pastor, counselor, volunteer, or writer on the planet but I’m a better one because of all of you.

If you’ve had a Pastor or a teacher or a family member impact you in some way, don’t wait for whatever appreciation month to let them know. Let them know now! I guarantee you it will make their day.