With the holidays, church remodeling, and planning for two services, I kept running out of time to sit down and write the newsletter. As I wrestled with what to write, I found myself circling around the idea of gratitude. While it’s similar to thankfulness, I think gratitude runs deeper; it’s less a feeling and more an attitude of the soul.

In the past month I’ve felt a deep gratitude. Gratitude for my family and those times we all act silly together and laugh at our corny jokes. Gratitude for my wife, who balances so many competing commitments with a joy and grace that shows no hint of all that is asked of her. 

But I also have a deep gratitude for you, the people of Jordan Valley Church. After the New Year, I found myself feeling more stressed than normal--anxious, even, which is rare for me--with everything going on in the church. But one of the things that helped was seeing all the ways you are helping out. As we were looking through our lists of new volunteers, I was humbled by those who signed up to help in so many ways that it would be physically impossible for them to do all those things on a single Sunday. I was humbled by the lack of complaining I’ve heard over the move to two services. I was humbled by those who have given so many hours to help with the remodeling. I was struck wondering, with so many churches experiencing division, complaining, gossip, who am I to have a church with this spirit of unity and service? I’m humbled to be your pastor. 

Around that same time I read from 2 Corinthians 3:2-3:
 

The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

 
As I think about the next ten years at JVC, I’m sure I’ll have more crazy ideas: Let’s construct a new building; let’s plant a church; let’s plant three churches, and while we’re at it, let’s have three interns from three different countries! I always have ideas, I always have dreams, and it’s easy for these things to take over one's ministry. But Paul reminds me of something better: the legacy of my ministry is the lives of those I minister to, the story of how Christ has worked in you. 

More and more I want to be a one church pastor. I was ordained here, I hope to retire here. I want the legacy of my ministry to be the lives of the people at Jordan Valley Church. I realize things can change; God could call us somewhere else. I could disqualify myself from ministry through some sin. But I can say, having been here through the good and bad, slow and busy, it’s my desire that, more and more, the letter of your lives would be written on my heart. That I would unite myself to you in deeper and deeper ways and we would grow together. Jonathan Edwards once preached that a minister’s calling is twofold: (1) To unite himself to a particular people, like a young man who unites himself to a bride, and (2) To prepare that people to be united to their true bridegroom, Jesus Christ. My desire is to spend the rest of my career united to you, the people of JVC, and to grow together in the love of our perfect bridegroom, Jesus. There will be times when I let you down; there will be times when you let me down. My hope is that these things don’t lead us apart, but instead lead us to Christ, who will never fail us.

I hope to have the honor of officiating at your funerals and telling others of your love of Jesus. I hope to officiate at the weddings of the kids we now see come up for the children’s message. I long to be there to baptize the grandchildren that come from those marriages. I long to see legacies of faith in our church, as we see a love of Jesus passed down from one generation to another. I hope to weep when you weep and laugh when you laugh. To borrow from Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer, “I wanna grow old with you.” I want to walk with you on this journey, until the Lord calls us home. Thank you for the honor of being your pastor.

In Christ,
Pastor Jon