For those who missed the news

Watching the comments on facebook it became quickly apparent that not everyone had heard the news of the Ferguson family’s transitions from Houston, Texas to Birmingham, Alabama and from Grace Presbyterian to Mountaintop Community Church.

The short version is that today was my last day at Grace.  Tomorrow I load up my pickup and a U-Haul trailer, drive to Birmingham and on Tuesday begin a new season of ministry.  Between now and Thanksgiving we will be back and forth a bit between Birmingham and Houston as we tackle all the logistics of a move.  

For a little more detail here's a slightly updated repost from September:



Since last spring I have been diligently and prayerfully engaged in what I can only describe as a season of intense wrestling with God as I’ve sought to discern what He is saying to me and to His church. I’ve sought the counsel of family, friends and mentors and devoted myself to hearing His voice amidst what at times seems like a cacophony of voices. The wrestling has been painful but it has brought me closer to Jesus and better able to discern His voice and call. 



Ultimately it became clear that God is calling me to a future beyond Grace Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Today was my last day as Pastor of Grace and, after 18 years, my last day as a Pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA). It’s a decision that comes with lots of emotions, but Kim and I are convinced that this is God’s calling and fully trust that it is part of His plan for our lives.

Although we are leaving the PC(USA) and Grace I still love and I am called to serve the church, therefore I am excited that God has called me to serve as Senior Pastor at Mountaintop Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 




 I am convinced that there are greater things ahead as we remain committed to His vision to introduce Jesus Christ and His love and life to the world wherever we are serving in His Kingdom.. 



Handwritten inside the cover of my Bible is this promise from Isaiah 43: 19 –

See I am doing a new thing.  Now it springs up.  Do you not perceive it?

I look forward to living into His new things.  To the glory of God!

Shmita

It’s my last Saturday in Houston (as a resident) and last weekend as the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church (or any Presbyterian church).  The final message is ready for tomorrow and we are heading out in a bit for Ryan Kuykendall’s soccer game, lunch, errand running and a great evening watching the Clemson – Ga. Tech game with the Simpsons and other friends.  And thhank you Houston weather for a perfect last Saturday!

Like much of the last few weeks I am continuing to reflect on both my time at Grace and my years in the Presbyterian Church.  

Reflections usually prompt a blog post so here’s another:

In the Old Testament there was a pattern established that every seventh year would be a year of release – in Hebrew it was known as the Shmita.  The specific requirements for the Shmita are found mostly in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy (with brief mentions in Jeremiah and Nehemiah).  The basic idea is to cancel debts and loans and give the land an opportunity to rest.  The rest requirement is why the Shmita is sometimes referred to as the Sabbatical Year.  The commands are very clear, work hard and harvest for six years and then set aside the seventh as the Shmita.

In August I completed six years as the Senior Pastor of Grace. It has been six years of hard work, heart work and an abundant harvest of love of joy. Over the last six years:

We weathered storms, Katrina, Rita, Ike and the stock market of 2008.  Through those storms we grew closer and we grew stronger.

We introduced new words to our vocabulary:  Project 180, Grace Quarterly, Kingdom Assignments, The Backyard, Women in the Word, Kid’s Christmas Musical and Prime Time.

We renovated the courtyard and the Grace School classrooms.   We purchased a bus, recovered from hurricane damage and made improvements and repairs to roofs, mechanical, lighting and audio visual systems.

Along the way there have been the continued ministries of weddings, baptisms, memorial services, retreats, classes and mission trips all around the nation and the world (for me that’s included Hungary, Romania, Ecuador, Kenya and Mongolia).

We fully embraced Jesus’ command to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbors as we actively pursued a vision to introduce our neighbors to Jesus Christ.  Our neighbors took notice and we even made the front page of the Chronicle on Christmas Day!

We took risks and learned lessons and discovered again and again God’s faithfulness.  It really has been an amazing six years of God’s Grace.

Again, the seventh year – the Shmita – is the year of release.  In the surprising ways that God works it turns out this is a year God is releasing me to follow Him to new places that He has prepared for us to continue His Kingdom work.  I am excited about the possibilities that await us in Birmingham, Alabama as Kim and I join Mountaintop Community Church in the work of turning fans into players.

I am also convinced that this will be a year of release for Grace Presbyterian Church.   During the Shmita any fruit or crop that grew was considered to be hefker, common property, and was shared with everyone.  My hope and prayer is that in this coming year of release we may all discover even greater freedom to share the fruit of God’s kingdom with our neighbors as we introduce them to Jesus in Houston, in Birmingham and all around the world.

For All the Joy

A little over six years ago – in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina -  I began a weekly email at Grace.  At first the intent was simply to help coordinate our relief efforts but over the years it became another place to share thoughts and heart.  Earlier today we sent my last weekly email to the Grace family – which I’ve reposted below:

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.    

1 Thessalonians 3: 9, 12 & 12

Dear Friends,

I started and restarted and edited and reedited this email more times than you can imagine. It is difficult to find the words to express the profound gratitude that Kim and I feel as we reflect on our years at Grace. As I often do when I can't find the words to say, I've turned to Scripture and Paul's words to the church in Thessalonica capture much of what is in our hearts.

Our partnership with you in the gospel has above more than anything else been a source of great joy. Together we have loved the Lord our God with heart, soul, mind and strength. Together we have loved our neighbors as we love ourselves. And together we have discovered the power of Christ's love to bind us all together in perfect unity as the family of God.

Those bonds of love are too strong to break and are knit together in countless memories of moments that we will always treasure in our hearts.

We love you, we will continue to pray for you and we will always be grateful for the privilege God entrusted to us to allow me to serve as your pastor. We simply can't thank God enough for all the joy we have because of you.

I close most services with the benediction that my home church pastor used. Each time I do it is a reminder of where I've come from, where I am going and most importantly, Who is going with me. I will close with that benediction one last time this Sunday morning (and remember there's just one service at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary). But since so many of you have asked for a copy of the benediction I will also use it to close this final email.

May the Living Lord Jesus Christ go with you

May He go above you to watch over you

Behind you to encourage you,

Beside you to befriend you

Within you to give you peace and

Before you to show you His way

Now and forevermore

Amen

To the glory of God!

Doug Ferguson

Senior Pastor

Ambassadors for Christ

Today I had lunch with one of the Grace elders and trustee Fred Blake. Over the past few years Fred and I have made somewhat regular trips for lunch out at the Brookwood Community.  If you don’t know about Brookwood stop reading right now and check out this link:  The Brookwood Community.

Okay now that you have the picture let me tell you about today.  Whenever Fred and I go to Brookwood we have lunch with Wilson, a Brookwood citizen whose grandmother founded the place and whose mom now heads the ministry.  We will meet Wilson and his dad Neal in the café and it is always an entertaining and uplifting lunch.

Today was a little sad because Wilson had learned that I am “retiring” to Alabama and he was very concerned about who is going to preach and more importantly make the announcements at Grace.

After lunch as we were saying goodbye Neal prompted Wilson to go ahead and ask me a question (actually a request) that obviously they had been discussing.  Wilson very loudly and boldly asked me if he could be “promoted” and become an Ambassador of Grace to Brookwood.

I told him that since Fred was an elder and I’m the pastor we could do that right now!  Fred and I laid hands on Wilson and prayed that God would use him as an Ambassador for Christ and of Grace Presbyterian Church to the Brookwood Community (tonight the Grace Session made that “official” with a resolution).

When we finished I reminded Wilson that Fred would be checking up on him and that it was his responsibility to share the love and the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone at Brookwood.  Wilson said he would and then asked me if he could now preach on Christmas Eve!  (I encouraged him to let the pastors preach but perhaps he could hold a candle).

I hardly needed to give Wilson that reminder.  Each and every day he and the other citizens of Brookwood, as well as the staff that serve there, are shining stars for Jesus Christ.  Their lives and the love are reflections of His life and love as they share with one another generously and even sacrificially.

God gave me a precious gift today as Wilson humbly bowed his head and allowed Fred and I to lay our hands on his shoulders and pray that God would use him as His ambassador.  What a great reminder of the humility with which we should accept God’s call upon all of us to serve as Ambassadors for Christ. 

Do Not Be Anxious

In the New Testament letter to the church in Philippi we find this encouragement:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4: 6

Over the years I have found this to be one of the most challenging and frustrating verses in the Bible.  I have a tendency to be anxious about everything; big things and small things.  I started to make a list of all the things I’m anxious about and it got too long for this email! As I watch and listen to people around me it seems as if I’m not alone in my anxiety.  We are an anxious people living in an anxious world.

I know that my anxious worrying is useless.  Jesus once asked: 
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  (Matthew 6: 27)  In case you missed it the answer is “no!” But worry does more than waste time.  What I am discovering is that anxiety is exhausting and takes a toll on me mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  I love the way Charles Spurgeon puts it:

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.

So how do people, like me (and maybe you), who have a tendency to be anxious about everything learn how to not be anxious about anything?   I’m convinced (and daily discovering) that the closer I walk with Jesus the less anxious I become.  The further I am from Him the more my anxiety grows.  So when I am feeling anxious the first question I ask myself is:  Have I drifted away from Jesus?

The words of Psalm 139 help draw me back to Him:

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.


Psalm 139: 23

The anxiety producing challenges you may find yourself facing this week don’t have to empty you of your strength.  Ask God to test your anxious thoughts and then with thanksgiving – because He’s a big enough God to handle your challenges – present those anxious thoughts to Him.  Then, just maybe and with enough practice, you can begin to live free of worry and not anxious about anything.

Lessons Learned

On Saturday I shared with some of Grace leadership that as part of my processing this summer I spent time reading through the journals I’ve kept over the years.  When I was a freshman architectural student I was required to carry a sketch journal around with me at all times and the habit has stuck for 30+ years.  Anyone who has ever been in a meeting with me has likely noticed that I am constantly doodling or note-taking and mostly processing my thoughts.

Back in March I posted two blog entries with a collection of some of the wisdom and insights that found their way into my journal notes over the years.  As I am preparing for a new season of ministry I’ve been re-reading journals and thought I’d also repost a few of the collected thoughts:

• People are more interested in what you are learning than in what you know.
• Clay experiences the greatest joy when it doesn’t attempt to be the potter…
• Its better to have a light in the tunnel than a light at the end of the tunnel…
• We serve a God who comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable…
• The questions you ask will determine the ministry you do…
• If there are no tears in the writer there will be no tears in the reader…
• Janis Joplin was right - “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…”
• We are defined by our cure – not our disease…
• Failures aren’t fatal – they’re directional…
• If we keep doing what we’ve always done then we will get what we’ve always got…(or at least we won’t get what we want)
• The only thing I contribute to my redemption is my sin…
• God is attracted to weakness and humility…
• Inefficient structures may be necessary for effective ministry…
• Success is best measured by the stories we tell, the people we honor and the language we use…
• Abounding in God’s work can distract me from abiding in God’s love…
• Parthenogenesis never leads to progress…
• Its best to quit being clever and look people in the eyes and tell the truth…
• If you hang in longer than your friends think you should – you give God more room to work…
• We all live just one day at a time – but often we are living the wrong day…
• What we call normalcy might just be massive denial and illusion…
• A jewel needs the proper setting for light to show its brilliance…
• You come to recognize someone’s voice through familiarity…
• If you are bored with your devotional life there’s a good chance that Jesus is even more bored than you are…
• Give up certainty and be satisfied with clarity…
• Sin happens…
• If we can’t be holy we can at least be weird…
• No one is meant to be a cloud without rain…
• The first task of leadership is to define reality, the second to say thank you and in between to be a servant…
• Jesus invites rather than dictates… 
• Only God can make it rain...
• We are simul justus et peccata…
• It is the revelation of God that forms us… 
•  Joy is one of the most powerful connections to the nature and presence of God…
• Don’t move any faster than you can on your knees…
• It’s all good!
• The power of prayer is in the One who hears, not the one who prays…
• If you want more people to eat carrots, then change the color of the carrots…
• Leadership is a role and not a title….
• Don’t try to describe the ocean if you’ve never seen it….
• Purity of heart is to will one thing…
• We were created to swim in the deep end….
• What you do thunders so loudly I can hardly hear what you are saying…
• We judge ourselves on our intentions – We judge others on their actions…
• Once upon a time is now…
• Sometimes it’s hard to find the pixie dust…
• Always bump the lamp…
• The task is to clean the room – the purpose is to make you happy….
• Leadership begins in the mirror….
• Prayer is the common language of the Jesus community…
• Only through prayer can the prosperity of a church be increased or even maintain…
• Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered…
• You are only as deep as the last person you served….
• Jesus does not call the world to go to church, He calls the church to go to world…
• Life begins when your youngest child’s pet dies….
• Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up…
• A story is not a story until you tell someone….
• Episcobaptispresbgatonalist….
• The opposite of poverty is enough…
• Talent is cheaper than table salt – what separates the talented individual from the successful one is hard work…
• Captain Kirk wasn’t the smartest guy on the Enterprise…
• When you are screwing up and no one says anything, it means they’ve given up…
• Brick walls are opportunities to discover how badly we want something…
• If you wait long enough people will surprise and impress you…
• The first penguin takes the biggest risk…
• If you put people in open systems they will want to contribute and contribute well…
• Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God…
• We are exactly where we've been led...