Change

In just under a week Mollie and I will welcome our second child, Makenzie Reagan, to our family. Needless to say we are anxious, excited and a little nervous about her impending birth. Next to giving my life to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, becoming a parent has been the most rewarding part of my life. It has been hard, but it has been rewarding.

Emotions are running high as we begin to prepare for this change to our family. In addition to the emotion of having a new child, I have also had to deal with the emotions of losing a friend. Now I am not talking about a death, but a move. Three weeks ago I got word that our pastor, Dr. Matt Pearson, and his family would be moving to El Dorado, Arkansas where he would be serving as pastor of First Baptist Church El Dorado. This was confirmed the following Sunday when Matt announced to the church what I had heard earlier in the week. This past Sunday was Matt's last as our pastor. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I would like to say to Matt on his last day with us. When the time came, I just clammed up and was able to say nothing more than "thank you." Well, I decided that I would just post my thoughts about my former pastor here.

Seven years ago our church was at a crossroad. We were in search of a pastor. We were looking for someone to fill some mighty big shoes. After a diligent search our search committee returned a recommendation of a 28 year old in Louisiana by the name of Matt Pearson. Matt was voted in as our next pastor and I, along with most everyone else was excited. This was special to me because he and I were only two years apart in age. I had never before had a pastor so close in age to me. Most of them were old enough to be my dad. I knew this was special and I intentionally set out to get to know Matt on a personal level. Matt and I met for lunch one day and I used this as an opportunity to tell him a little about myself and find out a little about me. I would encourage every church member to reach out to their pastor this way. I know I am glad that I did.

God used Matt in a tremendous way in my life. I learned a lot from him. Matt provided me with discipleship in my life that I had never had before. He encouraged me to not only read God's word, but to meditate on it. He encouraged me to hide God's word in my heart. Matt showed me how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and how to make the most of Jesus. Matt also encouraged me to be radically intentional about taking the gospel to others and not just keep it to myself. Last, Matt showed me how to disciple others by the example he set for me.

I can honestly say that I have never had a pastor like Matt Pearson. Matt's door was always open. I felt I could go to him with any issue I may be struggling with and he would always be there to help or pray over me.  Matt was the first pastor I could honestly call my friend. His door was also always open just to chat and hang out.  I think that it is important that you can call your pastor your friend. Lots of church members see thier pastor as just the guy who they see once a week; the guy who preaches on Sunday. I feel you benefit more when you can see your pastor as more than that. When I looked at Matt, I saw more than just my pastor. Matt was just like me. He was human. He was one of the guys. He struggled just like I did in my walk with Christ. He was a sinner just like me. He was real. Matt was the type of pastor who I felt I could talk to about anything, not just "church talk."

Now, let me stop here and say something. I told Matt a while ago that no matter how much I thought of him, no matter how wise I thought he was or how great of a pastor I thought he was, I couldn't allow myself to put more emphasis on him instead of Christ. You see, we church members tend to put a lot into our pastors. We put them up on a pedestal instead of Christ. The problem with this is that they are sinful creatures just like us. They are human and they will fail us. When this happens, and we have elevated them to such a level, we tend to become upset with the church and some end up leaving the church. I told Matt that I had to be very careful to not put more emphasis on him and less on Christ, because there will come a time when he will fail me. He and I are humans. It is inevitable. That is and was very hard to do. Most of the time, I failed at this.

In closing I want to say one more thing. Matt Pearson was an outstanding pastor. He is very wise beyond his years. There are very few people who can preach and teach the word like Matt Pearson. FBC El Dorado, you better be good to him or there will be a contingency from Wynne, Arkansas that you will have to deal with! LOL!! Seriously though, I don't want this to sound like I am making a god of Matt Pearson. Wynne Baptist Church has been extremely blessed by God to get the opportunity to have Matt as our pastor. Matt would want to make it very clear that is all about God and not about Matt. God has blessed Matt with an incredible talent and it is by His grace alone that Matt was able to share that talent with us for the past seven years. It is now time for God to share that talent with FBC El Dorado. While we are sad to see Matt and Katie go, we are collectively excited to see how God uses the Pearson family in El Dorado. Ultimately all of this is for God's glory and He is soveriegn to see it through.

Matt, I want you to know how much I appreciate you serving God as my pastor. You have been such a Godly influence and inspiration to me.  You are one of my heroes of the faith. You have set a Godly example for me of a pastor, teacher, husband, father and friend. You have showed me how to love God and live my life for His glory. You have taught me to be radically intentional in my walk with Christ.  Thank you so much for being a friend to me. That in and of itself is a blessing and an honor I don't take for granted. I wish you, Katie, Luke, Seth and Birti nothing but the best. My prayer for you and your family is that you will remain strong in the Lord and that you will allow Him to continue to mold and shape you into the people and family that he intends for you to be. Thank you again for your obedience to God. To Him be the glory, great things He has done and will do!