Here is my final sermon to Grace CP Church that I preached today. It was a challenge to find the right words to say farewell and to sum up a pastorate and this is my attempt. Is is based on 2 Corinthians 13:11-14:

I am grateful that today is the last day that I have to preach after Jamey sings the special music! God speaks volumes through his talent and there are Sundays when the special music is more than enough and no sermon is necessary…sorry, but I am still going to preach today.

Today is the day. Today is a day of possibilities and excitement. New things are happening both for me and for you. Today is a good day but it is a sad day too – because today we end our journey together and begin new, separate ones as God leads us in new directions to new ministries. Today is a day of new things, of endings, and of beginnings.

Let me thank you for your patience and investment over these past few years. I have learned some invaluable lessons from you. I have learned firsthand, from you, how much love and affection a pastor can feel and how much he can store in his heart toward his congregation. You have met me with grace, mercy, and trust. You have graciously obliged all of my crazy ideas and whims – and I will admit some were a bit crazier than others. You have offered support and encouragement at times that I needed it most. You have patiently waited as I have clumsily stumbled through many of ministry’s firsts with you and I thank every one of you.

Of course, I cannot thank all of you without thanking the guy who is sitting behind me. While we did not have the best beginning to our relationship long, long ago, I am grateful to Terry in ways that words can never fully express. He held me back at those times when I needed to be and he pushed me at those times when I needed to be. He kept my head out of the clouds and more than once gave me a good kick in the . . . well let’s say pants. He has been a great guide, mentor, and friend – sorry, Janeane, I am going to make his head swell – and I thank God every day for my friendship with Terry and I am glad he has been part of not only my life but Lisa’s and Sophia’s as well.

As I began to prepare for this morning, I took a trip down memory lane. You have been the home to nearly all of my ministry firsts. My first sermon in view of a call was in this pulpit, well actually the brown one in the narthex but close enough. My first Sunday as a pastor anywhere was right here. My first attempts at program development and my first bible Study were at this church. My first Sunday as an ordained minister and my first time serving communion was at this church. The first time I moderated a Session meeting was at this church. Even the first time I shared in a baptism was right here. And this morning is no different. I realized that even today is another first. Today is my first last Sunday. Today, I will preach my first last sermon. So even in this time of transition, we are still experiencing firsts together.

As I was searching for a text and for the topic this morning, I realized something extraordinary. First sermons are easy. Well, if you take out the nerves and fear and the uncertainty, they are easy. At that point, you are fresh and maybe a little naïve. The church has never heard you. All of life seems so full of possibilities. Those first messages are full of hope and anticipation. Then you eventually get to the last message. I am discovering those are not as easy. What do you say to the people that you love on that last day? What do you share with them? What do you say if there is the chance you will not get to personally share with them again?

Now, I will put you at ease. That sounds like a lead-in to a very long sermon and I do not think any of us want a long, sad sermon today – well at least I do not want one this morning. Additionally, we are going to meet again. I hope that I will be invited back at some point in the future for a homecoming or a revival. I know our paths will cross from time to time.

As I was considering this occasion and what I need to say, I believe that Paul gives us a fitting passage. Yes, for those who know me well, this is significant that I would use Paul in my last sermon, as he is not one of my favorite people in the Bible; but he provides the benediction that I longed to give, but proved too ineloquent to write. I would invite you to join with me at the conclusion of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth and I will be reading it as it is found in the New Revised Standard Version:

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

If we wanted to use a Pauline benediction, he gives us plenty of possibilities in each of his letters. In each letter, he gives a farewell benediction as he always ended his letters to his churches with a farewell and some final instructions. He anticipated meeting them again in future encounters and always held out the possibility that it would happen. He rarely said good-bye in his letters but rather “see you later” or “farewell” or even “TTYL”. I intend to do the same thing this morning. As I am saying farewell, I have a few final instructions for you courtesy of Paul.

What did Paul share with his Corinthian brothers and sisters? What was his farewell and conclusion? How did he sum up his instruction and his hope for those people that he loved at the church in Corinth?

In this passage, Paul gave a final challenge to the church as he was preparing to close his letter. Paul realized the importance of this time in the lives of the people. He recognized that he could not merely say “good-bye” without reiterating those things that were important.

The letter closes with a challenge to listen and hear what he has to say to them. Paul expected, no he demanded, that the church fervently pursue the goal of holiness, righteousness, and godly living. He expected that they set high standards and he showed them by his own example as he lived his life. He expected that they would demand the most of themselves. Paul was not pacified with superficial Christian living and growth. He was an all or nothing kind of guy. And if they were going to carry the name of Christ to a lost and dying world, if they were going to be the church, if they were going to worship together then he expected that they would do so with fervor and passion. But there is more than just fervor and passion in spreading the gospel and being the church.

One of the recurring themes in nearly all of Paul’s letters is unity and reconciliation. To nearly every church, he stresses the importance of unity within the body of Christ. Even here, he ends the letter by encouraging them to live in harmony with one another. Now, does anyone want to venture and take a guess as to why this is such an important, recurring, and volatile topic?

I believe that Paul had seen numerous instances where the church was struggling to fulfill its rightful place in the world because of the rifts and cliques within the local congregations. Oh, they have the passion and the fervor but in Paul’s time, there were certainly some personal issues. You could look at rest of this letter to the Corinthians, or the first letter to the Corinthians, or the letter to the Thessalonians, or any other part of the New Testament and find a reason for personal conflict and dissension. Some were theological differences as they were literally inventing the Church but some were also personality differences.

Paul recognized that the health, endurance, integrity, and effectiveness of the local church was going to hinge heavily on their ability to look beyond differences and find common ground in harmony, peace, and love. He knew that their ability to draw nearer to and to please God was going to hinge largely on whether they could live in peace with one another.

And nothing has changed. For Grace CP Church, your health, endurance, integrity, and effectiveness is going to be determined by how well you are able to come together and work in ministry.

Let me challenge you in the words of Paul, “be in harmony with each other, and live in peace.” I believe that our church is unified in the understanding of the majority of the major Biblical doctrines. There might be some minor differences on certain details and convictions, but overwhelmingly, the church agrees on most interpretative issues. That is not my major concern.

My bigger concern is harmony within our body and community. Now, I am going to take a little liberty here, be exceedingly honest, with the hope that you will again be patient and tolerant on my last Sunday, and not fire me in my last 15 minutes in the pulpit. Our work as a church is hindered when we fail to get along. I am not talking about differences in theology or doctrine. I am talking about hurtful comments made behind people’s backs and even those little cliques or groups that tend to exclude others and keep people (and the church) from reaching its full potential in Christ. They are always part of the church, this church, the one next door, the one up the street, the universal church, unfortunately, and they hinder God’s work. Let go and be in harmony with one another. It is hard and I even have been wrapped up in them but we need to live in harmony and let. Our service to God will not reach its full potential; we will not find the intimacy we want with Christ until we are able to pursue peace and harmony and be inclusive of everyone. The work of the kingdom of God in this world is challenging enough, we do not need to be dividing ourselves in this place.

Paul was never one to mince words. He tended to declare what he intended with boldness and clarity. I am certain that there were times when those messages were hard to hear and receive and I am sure more than once he managed to upset someone here or there. However, there was an overriding factor in Paul’s message to the local church. While he demanded a lot of them, while he declared the truth unapologetically to them, he also loved them deeply. Paul’s desire was not to hurt feelings. It was not to degrade or belittle those that had ways to go to improve in their attempt to follow Christ nor was it to humiliate people publicly for their failures. Rather, he simply longed to lead them closer to their Savior. His love demanded that he share openly and honestly with them about those things that hindered their relationship with Jesus.

And when all is said and done, when Paul is done teaching and preaching, when Paul is done reiterating his final instructions, we see evidence of his love shining through. He called for the obedience of God’s people, and then he bid God’s grace and blessing on those he loved.

Paul’s desire for this church was simply for them to find and experience all that God had for them. He wanted them to experience the magnificent freedom of Christ’s grace. He wanted them to bask in the greatest of the Heavenly Father’s love for them. He wanted them to feel the presence of God and to experience true fellowship with God through the power of the Spirit. I want nothing less for you.

I have often wondered how I would judge the success of my ministry here. Over the past few months, I have thought often about how I would gauge my effectiveness in fulfilling my mission as the pastor of a portion of Christ’s church. And I believe that I finally know. I understand that there are plenty of ways that I have failed. In fact, most of my regrets are sins of omission, rather than commission. I wish that I had found time to visit more. I wish that I could have taken a greater part in the individual lives of God’s people. I wish that I could have given more yet seminary always seemed to dominate my time. Yet, even with regrets, even with ways that I wish I had done better, I believe that it is still possible to find success in this ministry. I have decided that the way to gauge your effectiveness in ministry is by the measure of the love and the hope that you have for the people of the congregation.

You were with me during a significant time in my life – that is my journey through seminary and my journey to discern my calling to ministry – and that changed several times. We worked in ministry together, we prayed together, we cried together, and we grew together. Now, we part paths and we seek to fulfill God’s calling in our lives as we each embark on a new journey. Some of the words Jamey sang this morning say “You just call out my name; and you know wherever I am I’ll come running to see you again.” Well, I do not know that the Army will let me do that because I do not want to end up AWOL but that does not mean you will not be in my prayers. I will be in prayer for you and I will check on you no matter where we end up in this world. I may not be here but I am not saying good-bye – just farewell. As Christians, we never, ever really say good-bye.

Now my friends, my brothers and sisters, for the final time as you pastor, I say,  “May the love God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you on this day, and tomorrow, and in the tomorrows yet to come.” Amen and Hooah!

Here is today’s worship bulletin. To create the bulletin cover image, I used Tagxedo, the logo of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and the text of my sermon.   You can find a full version of the image here.