The Turning Around, Part Ten
No changes have really taken place since part nine was written. However, a very significant event did happen this week….
The Pastor Emeritus passed away at the ripe old age of 84. Even though a church that is turning around may have lost a great man in Horace, heaven gained a new resident Wednesday morning.
As I read his obituary online this afternoon, I became more impressed at the legacy that this man had left behind. To have pastored and served in many churches to eventually call the city where I live as ‘home’, I became further reminded of the stories and wisdom that he shared whether it was five minutes on the podium between the announcements and the music or if it was seeing him in the hallway and coming up to you and showing you honor, respect, integrity, and dignity when one felt as if they needed to show these attributes to him. As his health started failing in his later years, the stories and wisdom came out less and less, but in the growing pains of Word and Spirit, they were needed more and more.
Even though he spent ten years pastoring the church I attend, he was named ‘Pastor Emeritus’ from the day he retired until the day he died. When Horace spoke, everyone listened. The wisdom and anointing the came out of his words were nuggets of Scripture that were applied to the everyday life. Even though he had retired, Horace was very influential in the transition of the church leaving the PCUSA denomination and coming under the authority of the EPC which proved very beneficial since the church was in the beginning of the process of trying to become a Word and Spirit church where the Word as taught by the Reformers was emphasized while exercising of Spiritual Gifts were being manifested.
Even though Horace continued to extensively teach, counsel, and preach after his retirement, the fondest memory I have of the man was not even the words spoken at my church or words spoken in the church hallway.
Months before I eventually decided to leave the Vineyard I was attending to attend the EPC church where I attend now, the pastor of the Vineyard church (who had a prior working relationship with Horace) felt the need for Horace to come in and preach a sermon one Sunday morning. I fondly remember when Horace was introduced to the congregation after worship had taken place, Horace received a standing ovation from the congregation that lasted almost five minutes because of the anointing and respect this man had that he always gave glory to God and Jesus Christ. The speaker, statesman, and servant tried his best to stop the applause but the applause did not stop until he spoke the first words of his sermon on never giving up.
When a man or woman of God is anointed, they do not have to flaunt it. They do not have to have marketeers with marketing schemes telling us that they are anointed. They do not have to use threat tactics to beat people down. When anointing from God is on the life of an individual, it is seen in their steps of the righetous that are ordered by God. Anointing is seen in the actions and demeanor of that person as they act so natural even though supernatural impartation is flowing out at the same time. Respect and honor are voluntarily and freely given out to the anointed and never coerced out with trinitarian threats of future torture if one does not comply.
Today, a funeral was held (I was not able to attend nor was I able to attend the visitation the night before) where he was honored and remembered for his love, humor, anointing, guidance, and wisdom. Even though some may try to relate ‘the turning around’ and the death of Horace to the death of Moses and Joshua, I vehemetly refuse to participate in this common Pentecostal analogy because Moses was Moses and Horace was Horace. Period. Moses did what God wanted Moses to do and Horace did what God wanted Horace to do.
However, as I thought about Horace and the love, humor, anointing, guidance, and wisdom he gave us along with the teaching, counseling and preaching he left behind, all I could do was interrelate these much needed character traits into what the church I attend needs to complete a successful transition of ‘the turning around’ from the quazi seker-sensitive / purpose driven, (from Warren and Hybels) pablum the last pastor tried to implement to being once again a Word and Spirit church where every member is equipped to minister.
We were blessed and honored to have received from Horace. However, have we remembered what we have received and will we be able to implement once again these things and get back on the right track to being a Word and Spirit church once again?
The turning around continues and hopefully onward and forward.
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