I want to take just a minute or two and give you a report on my sabbatical.

First, I want to extend my appreciation and genuine thanks to the Rev. Dr. Shane Garrison for making the trip every weekend to teach in my stead. I have received many affirmations of his work bringing the Word of God each weekend.

Secondly, I want to thank my staff for taking up the extra work created by absence. We run a very lean operation at Main Street and anyone’s absence, even for a day, causes additional burden on those who remain.

I also want to thank Wayne Biddle and Jerry Delaney for making themselves available to take up pastoral duties in my absence, both men are great blessings to this congregation and I am happy to have their expertise and assistance.

Your Elders and Deacons continue to work diligently to serve you and lead you, I pray you appreciate their efforts and encourage them to even greater devotion to our family here at Main Street.

Before you “zone out” I want to give you some simplified, yet very specific outcomes of my time away:

1. My passion to lead Main Street to be a global impact church was deepened as I received excellent reports for our various mission endeavors: especially from our Ecuador mission and our mission to Uganda. We can be global; we should be global; we will be global for the sake of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
2. My heart was convicted regarding my speech. As a follower of Christ, I believe it is crucial that I model and practice a Biblical command that I committed to memory many years ago, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
3. I also was convicted regarding my leadership. Without going into too much detail at this juncture, I believe I have not led this congregation well enough: Too often I have pointed in the general direction, rather than taking the pains to walk alongside God’s people to the specific location of the answer to their spiritual need. I have been more like the guy who tells you, “It’s on aisle 9, about half way down” rather than taking the time and effort to “take the walk.”
4. I was allowed to stop for a while. The word “Shabbat” upon which the sabbatical is built simply means stop. My very first day at Main Street was consumed with joining a building program and capital stewardship campaign. The cumulative effect of the subsequent relocation, our consistent growth, the loss of over half of my professional staff (and close friends) during the past two years on top of the normal grind all of us are familiar with resulted in my becoming exhausted. It was good to take the sidelines for a breather and I am grateful for the grace you extended me.
5. Lastly I was afforded the time to evaluate where we are and where we are going and to prepare for what the immediate and not so distant future holds. It is my prayer that the benefit of this extra time of preparation is evident to all over the next months and years.