Child, Brother, Pastor, Friend
Child, Brother, Pastor, Friend by Rev. L. John Gable
July 18, 2021
All of life is built on relationships, and particularly so the life of faith which is grounded in our relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and then lived out in relationship with one another we call brothers and sisters. This is true for us now even as it is well attested throughout the Scriptures.
This morning as we reflect on the relationship we have had with Oscar during the past 12, almost 13 years, I am drawn to the relationship the elder Apostle Paul had with his young companion Timothy: one he referred to in his writings as being his child and brother in the faith, his fellow pastor, and most certainly his faithful friend…all ways we might describe our relationship with Oscar. We have been his Paul and he our Timothy.
Paul first met Timothy as he began his second missionary journey in a little community in Asia Minor called Lystra. His father was a Gentile Greek and his mother a Jewish Christian. Of note, he became a believer through the witness of his mother Lois and his grandmother Eunice. (II Tim. 1:5), a good reminder of our role and responsibility in the lives of our children and grandchildren. Timothy’s character and credentials were well attested by others and Paul’s interest and attachment to him must have been immediate because he invited him to join them on their missionary journey, which he was anxious to do.
We first met Oscar in August of 2008 when he responded to our posting of an associate pastor position. I, as perhaps do many of you, still have very clear memories of those first meetings and I have the advantage of having kept the notes I took from our conversations then. I made a note to myself as to how winsome and approachable he was. He has an “easy laugh and smile” I wrote; others made mention of his dimples and many still do. He spoke of an early call to ministry when he heard a missionary tell of God’s call to the mission field and he has told us more recently of his prayer as a child that God would somehow use him. Oscar was young at the time we first met him, this being his first call, but I also noted that the answers he gave to our questions were “thoughtful and mature.”
The Apostle Paul spoke of Timothy as being his “loyal and beloved child in the faith” and we can say the same about Oscar, and he about us. In his recent interview for the Chimes, in answer to the question, “What will you miss most about Tab?” Oscar said, “They’re the people that really have touched my life. They have loved me like a son, and I think in some ways they might feel like they’re sending their kid off to college or to their first job out in the workforce.” Oscar, you are exactly right. We have watched you grow up before our very eyes.
This has been our privilege, and we are very proud of you as our “loyal and beloved child in the faith”.
And admittedly, you had some growing up to do as you matured in this calling from being our “child” to being our “brother”. I won’t tell stories out of school, but one Tuesday morning relatively early on Oscar announced during a staff meeting that he had gotten so bored while listening to my sermon for the third time that he pulled out his phone and tweeted “Is anyone else checking their messages while John is preaching?” When he told me that I said, “That is amazing…and it will never happen again” and it didn’t, did it? I also took note to my chagrin that he got several responses.
Oscar, just as Paul drew young Timothy close and mentored him, so we have drawn you close and mentored you, not just as our child in the faith, but as our brother. You spoke beautifully, powerfully and appreciatively of that in your sermon last week. I can honestly say you have the most teachable spirit of anyone I have ever had the privilege of serving with. Even when we have had to have hard conversations you have received them as given, with openness and grace, without being defensive or resistant. When Paul was traveling or imprisoned he repeatedly sent Timothy to be his representative, his emissary, his faithful and trusted colleague to strengthen and encourage the churches he was concerned about. Through the years, I have been so grateful to you for representing me and us so well, and through those experiences you have continued to grow as our brother in Christ, and we have loved and appreciated that in you.
But reflected in Paul’s writings we also see that through their years together he came to see Timothy not just as his child in the faith or his younger brother, but as his colleague and fellow pastor. Through our years together we have grown to love and respect you as our pastor as well. We have been inspired by your passion and your vulnerability in preaching (and the cameras have learned to follow you as you wander), inspired by the power and beauty of your heart-felt prayers, informed and instructed by your sound teaching, comforted by your care and calling in our times of need, and challenged and encouraged by the way you call for an offering. I have never met anyone who could do that better. Every week, year in and year out, when Oscar has called for the morning offering he has given us a short stewardship sermon on the importance of giving as a discipline of the Christian life and we have grown from that, not just in our giving but in our discipleship. Referring again to my notes from when we first met, I quote you as saying, “I hope my life is a living sacrifice to Jesus Christ…because if you’re going to spend your life on anything, spend your life on the Gospel.” We will be forever grateful for the ways you have served us as our pastor.
Let me speak for a moment, not so much to Oscar as to us as a church family, in order to thank you and commend you for the role you have taken in his life and ministry as mentors and models in his development as a pastor. First calls in ministry are critical in shaping a young pastor’s experience of ministry and you/we have done so well with Oscar. We have modeled for him a maturity of faith and a depth of commitment both to our own spiritual growth and development as well as to the well-being of our neighbors that he will carry with him throughout his ministry. We have modeled well how “persons of good character and principle may differ with one another” as we are united under the banner of Christ. This is one of the critical roles we can play as a congregation in helping to shape and form and encourage a next generation of pastors and church leaders. You have done this so well with Oscar as I pray we will continue to do with any who will follow after him in this role. Again, we have been his Paul as he has been our Timothy.
As we’ve read this morning, Paul gave some instruction and encouragement to young Timothy in his role as pastor. These seem so appropriate for you and us today. Paul writes, and we agree, “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophesy with the laying on of hands (even as we did with you this morning). Put these things in to practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. (In short, practice what you preach). Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Far be it from me to try to improve on Paul’s words, but let me add my own word of instruction and encouragement. I needn’t remind you of how God has called and gifted you for ministry. You are more than ready for the new challenges and opportunities that await you. As you said, in August of 2008, “God has chosen me out of His great love”; indeed He has, so never forget that, as I know you won’t.
Paul instructed Timothy to not let them look down on him because of his youth. I am not suspecting that the good folks of Wekiva Presbyterian would ever do that because you are now a seasoned pastor, but I will encourage you to remember that you still have much to learn. None of us comes or ever becomes fully formed in faith or in ministry, so continue to grow with them and learn from them even as you lead them, just as you have done with us.
As soon as possible get to know your people. Learn their names, listen to their stories, share their struggles, celebrates their joys. Visit them in their homes and places of business and leisure, just as you will in hospitals and care facilities. There is great truth to the saying, “They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Even as you care for them, be sure also to take care of yourself. Like the instruction given when the air masks drop down in the airplane, put your own mask on first and then care for the others. Take care of your flock without neglecting to take care of yourself.
And finally, remember who you are and whose you are.
So now, Oscar, child, brother and pastor, we commission and commend you to Wekiva Presbyterian Church and send you off as our friend. We will no longer be traveling together and may be separated by miles, but we are still partners with you in ministry as we will hold you in our prayers as we trust you will hold us in yours. And be forewarned, friends go to visit friends, particularly friends who live in Florida!
At the close of every staff meeting you have heard me say these very words which I now say to you on our behalf. Oscar, you are loved, child, brother, pastor and friend, now go do something great for the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Rev. L. John Gable
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church
Indianapolis, IN