Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Aloha, OR

“I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember you in my prayers…” 

I felt it was appropriate that I should quote Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:16 from the version of the Scriptures that I first read completely, Genesis through Revelation.  Do you remember, “Good News for Modern Man?”  That was the “trendy” name for what is now known as the Contemporary English Version—although, I don’t really know how contemporary the English is, since it was first published in 1966.  My pastor suggested that, since I was considering the seminary, I should have read the Bible before I got there.

Since my “career” in the ministry sort of began in the CEV, I thought I would let it conclude there as well.  Ephesus was a special place for Paul.  He was there for two years and three months.  That’s longer than he was in Corinth or Philippi.  Ephesus had such an important place in Paul’s heart that, as he was taking the collection for the believers in Jerusalem to Jerusalem, he risked his own safety to visit the Ephesians elders nearby.

As I consider what words to say to you, dear Bethlehem family, Paul’s words speak better than my own.  Since I first spoke with Mark Temme in 2012 about your call list and asked where Aloha was, I have not stopped remembering you in my prayers or giving thanks to God for you.

I felt, in 2012, that our Lord was preparing my heart for a change.  My heart investigated several possibilities but did not find rest in them.  I have felt that my ministry skills are set to help congregations discover “what’s next” for them, so when your call came to me by the Holy Spirit, my heart was confident this was the change our Lord had in mind for us.

These eleven years have been such a blessing for Anne and me.  We have loved your “mission heart” as you continue to work with Love, INC and began to work with Family Promise and the

different programs that supported school children.  We have appreciated your warm welcome into the family of God in this place. Most importantly, we have enjoyed partnering with you around the Gospel and looking for ways to be pointed and point others to Jesus.  And now, our time together ends in Aloha.

We will not forget where Aloha is.  Every time we remember you, we give thanks to God for you.

Now, you are ready for “what’s next.”  What that will look like, I don’t know—but it will, and should, be different than these last eleven years.  I will continue to pray for you—that the Lord will continue to hold you close to Himself in His Word; that the Lord will lead you to that shepherd who will lead this flock into “what’s next;” and that the Lord will continue to keep you in His favor and give you His peace.

Pastor Jeff and Anne Shearier