Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Transition...
Upon my arrival in the Washington, DC Metro area in August of 1996, I began attending different churches to find a new place to worship. One visit to Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield and I was hooked on the teaching. The senior pastor there, Michael Easley, was in the middle of a lengthy sermon series on the book of Acts. I will always remember his chosen theme for Acts: Transition.
Over the years, Michael, his wife Cindy, and their four kids have become personal friends of mine. I have attended classes that he has taught through our church, have listened to Cindy teach Bible studies, and have learned much about life and faith and relationships from private conversations with them.
Often, from the pulpit at Immanuel, Michael has stated that he is NOT looking for a new (i.e. bigger & better) job. He loves the Immanuel congregation, and has been content and fulfilled there. Therefore, it is a shock to many of us to find out that he will be starting as the President of Moody Bible Institute as of March 1, 2005. He did not seek out this position, but the search committee at Moody came to him. After much prayer and consultation with his closest friends, he and Cindy came to the realization that this is God's will for the Easley family.
I am sad and excited all at the same time. It will be difficult to say goodbye to such wonderful friends that the Easleys have been to me. It will be difficult to imagine the Immanuel pulpit without Michael again (his last sermon will be 2/6/05). I will have a large hole in my own personal spiritual leadership. (Did you notice that all of the "difficult" things are about ME?) But my excitement in this situation exists on several levels. First of all, knowing that God has already chosen His man to replace Michael in our pulpit is exciting. New leadership always involves new vision and new direction, which will involve spiritual growth for our congregation. Sure, growth always comes with growing pains. But growth is growth, and when it happens under God's direction, it will be a wonderful thing. Secondly, at Moody Bible Institute (MBI), Michael (henceforth, "Dr. Easley") will be expected to publish (frequently?) and will most likely be preaching on the radio (preaching IS his strength!!) Thus, not only will the Bible College branch of Moody benefit from his leadership, but the Christian community as a whole will be influenced by his writing and preaching. We can't keep him to ourselves at IBC forever. The man who we at Immanuel know to be of great faith, wisdom, intelligence, character and integrity will now have the opportunity for worldwide impact. How can I be so selfish!?
Thus, things come full circle. Transition is the word to use here. There will be transition in my own life as I adjust to changes in spiritual leadership and my circle of friends. There will be major transition at Immanuel as we search for that man of God's choosing to fill our pulpit. There will be major transition at Moody Bible Institute as they adjust to Michael's style of leadership. And there will be transition within the Christian community as Michael's spiritual influence comes to be seated at MBI in Chicago.
Please check out the following websites:
Maybe a trip to the church library is due ... so that I can re-listen to the tapes of Michael's sermons from Acts about Transition.........
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