Thanks for everything!

Today, my position at the church has come to an end. The church has been struggling financially for many months now and something had to give. I have been serving there for the past ten years. It is difficult to thank about my life without going there everyday. It is the only church that both of my children have ever known. I am thankful for the many ways that the members of the church have positively impacted my family. I thought that as I close out my final month in service at Judson, I would spend several posts reflecting on the many memories that I have collected in my time here and the many lessons that I have learned.
I remember one of my first events as a youth pastor. It was a harvest party out at a parishioner's house. This was an event that the youth group had done for many years, and it seemed like everything was going as planned. Out of no where, things begin to rapidly turn ugly. A fight breaks out between a couple of the high school boys. As I separate them, I tell them that they will be escorted home by the staff. They begin to rally their friends to all leave, and chaos ensues. My wife is cussed out by a female youth and I am being pulled in every direction trying to regain some semblance of control. I can only imagine what is going through the head of the parishioner and his wife. In my mind, I begin to word my letter of apology and resignation.
Order was regained and I did not resign the next day. Instead, this incident became the starting point to five years of life-changing ministry. In these last five years, I have been given many opportunities to grow and mature in my faith and in my abilities to lead and shepherd God's people. Many gifted people have blessed my life with their wisdom and encouragement during this time. I have made many friends who I would consider to be like family. God taught me through this event that he has a plan for my life and in all instances, he is ready to teach me a lesson. I just want to say thank you to the many people who have stood by me these last five years. I am a better man because of you, your love for people, and your love for the Lord.
In Him,
Paul