And the story Continues...

I wrote the following article for this week's Cornerstone. I know some of you may not read the Cornerstone, so I thought I would post it here as well.

And the Story Continues...

I always feel that people have heard my faith story so many times that I am surprised when someone asks me the question, “so Will, did you grow up in the church?” Without recounting the whole story here, let me answer that with “no.” In fact, as the story goes, Oak Hill United Methodist Church was the very first church I ever belonged to. In fact, the waters of my baptism came from the baptismal font at the front of our sanctuary. In fact, the waters of my baptism were poured over my head by our own pastor John Wright. Our former senior pastor Barbara Ruth was my very first Disciple teacher and Mary Beth Gartner quickly became my choir director. (She tried to recruit me the very first day I came to church.) John Wright was also the one I went to when I felt called to ministry.

Eventually, I started attending seminary at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. After a semester there, I returned to Austin to be with my wife Alisha and to attend Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Upon my return, I was offered the opportunity to return to Oak Hill as a staff member in charge of adult education ministries. I anticipated that position to be short term, but over three years later, I find myself here, now as associate pastor.

From the beginning of my call to ministry, I have been excited about the United Methodist itinerate pastor system and how well it serves our churches. We are a long way from the rugged, horse riding circuit riders of our tradition, but I am proud to be part of such a dynamic system. As much as I love Oak Hill, I also love our connectional system and the wide variety of congregations and communities it serves.

After my time learning from Barbara Ruth and John Wright and the entire Oak Hill congregation, I have informed our District Superintendent, Robert Hall that I feel I am ready to make to move to a new place and perhaps even the role of senior pastor. While the decision is ultimately up to the Bishop and his cabinet, I anticipate a move after Annual Conference in June.

Some of you that have heard that I might move have expressed some sadness. Believe me, I share that with you. Oak Hill has always been my church home. It is where I discovered the Gospel. It is where I watched it in action and it is where I began to see Jesus in the faces and lives of my friends, my brothers and sisters on the way. It is also where I felt my call to ministry, where that was nurtured and where I began to learn how to live that out and be a pastor.

At the same time that I am sad, I am truly excited. There is so much good here at Oak Hill and so much work to be done out there. I am looking forward to taking what I have learned here and putting it to work in new places. As the cabinet continues to meet and make decisions, I will let you know what my future holds. In the mean time, your prayers for me, this church, and our entire connectional system are always welcome.

Will