In Support Of My Friend Chad Stewart

My church has lost its Pastor. He had been gone since December, and now with his death, we are left with a void. This is not to say that our church staff hasn't done an amazing job in his absence, they have. Our associate pastor Chad has taken the reigns, not so much out of his own desire but really much more out of necessity.

It's like in those old westerns, where the reigns of the stagecoach gets cut, and all of a sudden someone has to jump in and bring the stage under control at great risk to themselves trying to keep it from crashing. That is the situation Chad has found himself in.

I can honestly say that I would not want to trade places with him at all. He has been put into a very tough and challenging position, yet has risen to that challenge in a most admirable and noble way. Hired in to be our college and career pastor, he had the added responsibility of youth pastor when ours left, and then when Pastor David left, our church board tapped him to become our associate pastor, all in the course of a year's time, and I might add that none of this had been discussed when Pastor David hired him. Oh, and don't let me forget, he also got married in that time as well.

Chad has had to fill some pretty big shoes when it comes to teaching and leading my church, but he does have what it takes to fill them, and I see that growing with each passing week. This is not his first dance so to speak, he helped to pioneer a church in Missouri and was an associate pastor on staff there. It was after leaving that church that he decided to go to Bible School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. God has been leading him on a path laid out for him before the foundations of the world. I know in my heart that Chad has been placed at my church for just such a time as this.

God does have a handle on what is going on at Word of Life. Nothing in the last several months has caught Him off guard, and He for sure didn't say, "Well, I didn't see that coming." Pastor Chad is at Word of Life because God wants him there. The best thing we as a church body can do right now is to support his leadership, get behind what he is doing and stay humble before the Lord.

I know that people tend to want to give their opinions about what should or shouldn't be done in these types of situations, heck, I've even been known to be kind of opinionated from time to time. (Ha!) But right now, we should keep our opinions to ourselves, pray (A lot.) for the staff and the board for the decisions that they have to make concerning our church's future and listen very closely for the Spirit's voice about what our part is to play at Word of Life. (And then do that.)

I wanted to write this blog this morning in the hope that it might help bring knowledge to others so they would support Chad Stewart in the job that God has for him at Word of Life. God has great things in store for us as a church, and we will see the continuation of Pastor David's vision for reaching people grow and grow. So let's not worry about what the future holds, let's just get behind Pastor Chad now and follow where he (By the Holy Spirit) leads us.