A Place for Pastors

FCC Pastor Tibbs has been taking his vacation the past three weeks to help Deb settle into home after her long journey recovering from knee replacement. He expects to be back in the pulpit this Sunday. Meanwhile, we were treated to two sermons from Associate Pastor Ron Mitchell and a message on the Lord's Prayer from Pastor Emeritus John Gill.

Aren't we blessed to have such talented and faithful men? John Gill was the pastor at FCC from 2001-2004. Ron Mitchell led the church from 2010 to 2018. Pastor Tibbs has been with us since 2019. And we are occasionally joined by Jerry Combs, who was our pastor from 2004 to 2006. Each of them have their unique backgrounds, gifts, and styles, but all are dedicated above all to serving God through his son Jesus Christ.

Lee Ann told us about a conversation she had with a retired pastor in which he remarked how difficult it was to find a new church after retiring. He implied that was common. Maybe that's because the presence of a former pastor would make the new guy nervous, or because they are afraid of doctrinal clashes that would affect the congregation. Either way, that's kind of sad. Lee Ann told him we have no such problems at First Christian Church; in fact, we tend to keep our former pastors if they aren't called to serve somewhere else.

These men of God value each other's friendship, and find a sense of community together. They recognize the value of serving the Lord together. The goal of teaching, inspiring, and leading our congregation is more important to them than their own egos. We love them all, and we know that we are greatly blessed for their continued service.