Another Pastoral Epistle 10/17/18

“But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” Those words were spoken by the apostle Paul. A man wrote those words? I don’t know about you, but my impression of Paul is that he is a man’s man, a tough-minded guy who wouldn’t hesitate to set you straight if your theology was a bit off. I can imagine if I knew Paul was coming to my house for dinner that I might be a little intimidated. Would my prayer of thanks for the food come up short? Would I be sure to brush up on my knowledge of Scripture before he arrived? Would I concern myself with trying to impress him? And what if he picked up on that?

In that same letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul continued by saying, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” Paul wasn’t afraid to express how he felt about them. There was another side to Paul that could easily be missed. Likely, people were quite comfortable in his presence. He genuinely cared for people and it showed. As the old adage goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

At the welcome luncheon (you will hear more on this in next week’s epistle), Pastor Dan “interviewed” me in a speed round fashion to answer his questions with the first thing that came to my mind. Favorite food? Lobster! Favorite Pats player? Brady! Favorite state? Maine! Oops! New Hampshire is a very close second! Favorite thing about EBC? The leadership team I get to serve with and the people of EBC!

It is all about the people! Again, Paul speaks of people as his joy. Church, you are my joy! It is not possible for me to get to know each of you to the same degree. But I love seeing you when we worship each Sunday. I enjoy even the quick greeting or brief check-in that takes place on Sunday morning. When there was a discussion about changing the worship service times which would shorten the time between services, I resisted it a bit because it might mean connecting less with the people on Sunday morning. EBC, you are my joy! I pray for you and want nothing more than to see you grow in Christ and love one another.

Speaking of service time changes, on November 11, we will be switching to a new schedule in order to grow the first service. First service will be at 9:00 and second service will be at 10:45. The hope also is that the shortened time in-between services will result in more people connecting with each other.

Don’t forget about the opportunity to show our neighborhood we care by using our facility to host Trunk or Treat on Wednesday, October 31 from 5:00-8:00. Consider decorating your trunk. We are shooting for 20 cars (we presently have 7). You can also sign up to provide candy or food for that evening. Do pray that we touch this neighborhood with His love as people pass through that night! It is all about people!

With thanks for you,
Pastor Brian