After serving as a pastor in Hudson for nearly eight years, I’m excited to share that on April 28, 2024, Bethel Lutheran Church voted to call me as their new lead pastor.
My family and I are delighted for this new opportunity to walk alongside of the members and staff at Bethel Lutheran and Bethel Highlands Preschool to solidify our foundation and explore new ministries together.
As I told the congregation this past Sunday, I approach this new role with both enthusiasm and a bit of fear. I’m sure many of you can probably relate to the trepidation we feel when adopting a new role or career, even if it’s at the same workplace. If we let our guard down, our emotions or Satan have a foothold in this apprehension, making us doubt or question our abilities. We might start believing that we’re not smart enough, talented enough, personable enough. The list can go on and on. Yet, this place of vulnerability is exactly where God wants me. Not because He wants me to be uncomfortable, but because in my weakness, I can do nothing but turn to God for help and guidance.
Throughout scripture we see God working through weakness. Just look at Elijah after he finished killing all of the priests of Baal. He ran for his life, hid in the desert, and was ready to give up. But in 1 Kings 19:5 an angel touched him and said: “Arise and eat.” If that was not enough, God personally encounters Elijah in 19:9 when he again helps Elijah find a way forward. In the times when we feel vulnerable or incapable, God is able to accomplishes His plan through us.
We all have moments of doubt and vulnerability when our abilities, experience and knowledge seem to evade us. During those times, we seem to lose faith, but God reminds us to return to both our faith in Him and His ability to work through us, because there is nothing we will face alone so long as we do that. As Jesus explains in Matthew 19:26: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
As each of us considers the new chapters in our lives — changes in family, health or the professional world — may we see our vulnerabilities and weaknesses as reminders: We do not have to face these challenges alone. God is with us working through the weakness. As long as we continue to look to Him, He will guide us and show us the way.