March 24, 2014 (Monday)
Next Sunday, March 30, will be my final day as Interim Pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church of Ingleside, Texas. The church has called Mike Mayfield of Jacksonville, Texas as pastor. His wife, Jennifer, attended with him as he led the services Sunday and afterwards the church extended a call to him to become the pastor. He has accepted and will be on the field in a couple of weeks.
I have been very fortunate as a retiree to have had opportunities of Christian service during these eighteen years of retirement. Several churches have asked me to preach in the absence of their pastor as pulpit supply. Usually this has been one day at a time.
In 1997, the First Baptist Church of Refugio called me as their interim pastor, and that turned out to be a term of four months until they called a new pastor. Later, in 1998, the Bethel Baptist Church of Ingleside asked me to become their interim pastor for 1 1/2 years until 2000. Again, the First Baptist Church of Refugio asked me to serve as Interim Pastor, that time for 17 months, from August 2001 to January 2003. I became Pastor of Timbergrove Baptist Church , Houston, from 2004 to 2006, and again from 2008 to 2010; in between those two terms as pastor, I was Interim Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Rockport from June 2006 to January 2008. Bethel church of Ingleside asked me to serve them again as supply from November 2010 to March 2011, then Interim until September 2012. They asked me back a third time as Interim Pastor in September 2013, and next Sunday will complete the interim period as a new pastor comes onto the field. I cannot thank the Lord and the people enough for making these 18 years of retirement fruitful and enjoyable. In between these times of service in other churches, the First Baptist Church of Rockport has welcomed me back as a member and I have thoroughly enjoyed the outstanding ministries of my pastors, Walter Knight and Scott Jones. God has been very good to me. Thank you, Lord.