Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who believed ‘change’ was the fundamental essence of the universe. He is credited with writing the famous lines: “The only thing that is constant in life is change,” and “No one steps in the same river twice.”
This fall, our church will experience two noticeable changes in personnel. First, our Pastoral Resident Dylan Rigg has been called to be the Associate Pastor of 19th Avenue Baptist Church in San Francisco, California. (Rumor has it we both applied for the job, and they gave it to the young guy. That’s just a rumor.) Our residency program is designed to give seminary graduates two years of experience at First Baptist. It is inevitable, however, that when we recruit highly qualified residents, they may well be hired before the end of their two years. This speaks well of our program and the quality of the resident. Dylan has served us well for over a year. He brought to First Baptist a true love for the church, an impeccable work ethic and a willingness to learn and practice ministry. We will miss Dylan, Hannah and Ida and will look forward to hearing good reports concerning his work on the west coast. Dylan will begin his work in San Francisco the first weekend of October. We have already begun the process of recruiting our next resident, and that person will hopefully begin their work in June 2020.
I also recently received a letter of resignation from Bootie (Scott) Cothran. Bootie Cothran has served our church in the areas of tech and media for well over a decade. His letter stated, it is with ‘both sadness and excitement’ he is stepping away from his responsibilities at First Baptist to fully vest himself in a private business venture related to his association with American Ninja Warrior. His resignation is effective October 1. During these remaining days of September, Bootie will be helping us train an interim for his position and ensuring our media transition is as seamless as possible.
Change may well be the constant of the universe. God, however, is constantly with us through the changes.
—Jim