Sunday, February 15, I had the honor of being installed, Co-Pastor with Robert here at New Hanover Presbyterian. It was a beautiful service and celebration. We did it! I’m officially official.
But why a co-pastor?
Well you all decided! Hahaha… I want to just reflect a little bit about the cool adventure that Robert and I are going on as co-pastors at the start of this year. When Moses was asked to lead his people out of Egypt, he took right from a scene in Wayne’s World and shouted “I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!”. Moses felt like his oration skills were very subpar for the task of being the mouthpiece of God. Who wouldn’t? Insert Moses’s brother Aaron and you had a dynamic duo (of course with some issues) that were able to lead well the people of God away from the subjugation of Egypt. Possibly two really are better than one, or as Harry Nilsson wrote “one is the loneliest number”. Did you know he wrote that while listening to a busy signal on the phone? What I love the most about shared leadership is that we can really sharpen each other and I still have so much to learn. Co-pastoring reminds me that the Church has never been built on one personality, but on the shared calling of the body of Christ.
We are trying something new here because here at New Hanover… it’s different. Being co-pastors with Robert allows me to pick his brain and hear from his 10 years of experience. It also gives me a chance to get to know you all and get to know this community, instead of jumping head first into all the tasks of the pastor. I can walk before I run, even though with the start of this year… I’ve done a lot of running!
My last call was very silo-ed. What I mean by that is, as a solo pastor for a small church, I really didn’t have many voices guiding my own walk with Jesus or my shepherding of that flock. It was just me in my echo chamber and at times that led to tunnel vision. With Robert and with Eric, with Session and with all of you I feel like I am not in this on my own, we are in it together and we are better together. As someone who loves brainstorming big ideas and dreaming out loud, having a co-pastor means those ideas don’t just live in my head — they get refined, sharpened, and sometimes lovingly edited. So church family, I hope this is “the beginning of a beautiful friendship” and I can’t wait to see how Jesus guides us: growing the good work you all have started and embracing the changes that Jesus will continue to shape in us.
In Ecclesiastes many of you might remember, that “two are better than one… if one falls the other is there to catch them. One can lift up the other, a cord of three strands is not easily broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 paraphrased)