March 2, 2023

Dear Christ Church and Friends,

I hope that you are having a great day!

Be forewarned, this blog post is going to have a lot of “get to” in it because the past week or so has made me so grateful that I get to serve as your Lead Pastor.

Some of you have heard me tell the story of my first Christmas Eve at the church I served in North Miami Beach. I can’t quite explain what happened that evening, but as each person shook my hand or gave me a hug and we wished each other Merry Christmas, I couldn’t help but thinking to myself, “These are my people. I am their pastor.” Like most appointments in the United Methodist Church, I had been there since the previous July, but it was that evening when it finally all came together if you will. There had been other moments, but not quite like that. Indeed, as I headed home that evening, I left contented and filled with peace.

Well, that type of moment happened for me again recently at the conclusion of our Ash Wednesday service. I have been proud to be your Lead Pastor, and obviously have been since July, but for me that special and familiar feeling of “These are my people. I am their pastor,” came rushing over me in a powerful and different way on Ash Wednesday. It wasn’t just after service, but really throughout the day.

As a church we had a great Ash Wednesday; one worth celebrating! It started with administering ashes in our sanctuary and in our parking lot on Commercial Boulevard. The Sun Sentinel even got pictures of this! Then we had a great chapel for our school, Christ Church School (CCS) led by Pastor Monique. It was a joy to place a cross on our little ones’ heads or hands and to see how eager they were to receive it. Later that evening, Pastor Monique led our family Ash Wednesday event and administered ashes at our Fort Lauderdale campus, while Pastor Josh and I (and our great choir) led the Ash Wednesday service at our Parkway Campus. We even brought out extra chairs to make sure we had enough seating!

I often leave our Parkway campus on Wednesday nights after service with a full heart, but I found it even fuller on Ash Wednesday. I mean, read that paragraph again, friends. We had an awesome day in the life of our church. Thank you to everyone who played a part in making it happen. I couldn’t help but think what I so often think, “I get to do this! We get to do this!” I left that night with that same sense of contentment and peace that I did many Christmas Eves ago in North Miami Beach.

Honestly though, that was just the start of what was quite a great week of “getting to do this.” Check out just some of the highlights of what I got to do and all of the fantastic people who I (and we) get to meet, serve, and be in relationship with:

• On Thursday, clergy folks in the SE District of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church got to meet with our new Bishop, the Rev. Tom Berlin, for a question-and-answer session and lunch. It was extra special for me as it was my first such clergy gathering in the district since returning from five years of service in Colorado.
• On Thursday evening I got to have dinner with members of our Rainbow Alliance in Wilton Manors as we dreamed and planned future opportunities for our church to continue to grow as an inclusive community.
• That Friday afternoon my dog, Chance, and I walked over to the field on our Fort Lauderdale campus for a food truck rally hosted by CCS and to cheer on the CCS Flag Football team. Go Cheetahs! We won! I hear we’ll be playing for the championship soon. It was great to see and chat with many of our students and families.
• Saturday, I got the opportunity and honor to celebrate the life of Mona Thiem with her family and friends as we gathered for her memorial service. I consider honoring you and your loved ones in this manner one of the most sacred acts that I get to do as a pastor.
• Later that evening, my wife Alicia and I got to get all dressed up and visit with our CCS parents and great faculty for the annual auction. It was great to get to meet folks in a different setting, and the event raised a lot of money for our great school. Thank you to everyone who donated.
• Sunday, February 26, was CCS Sunday. What a joy it was to get to be led by our two wonderful guest pastors for the morning! They did a great job. Well done, Quinn and Rylan!
• On Monday afternoon, I got to spend some time with one of our most dedicated servants at our Parkway Campus. She walked me around the campus and told and showed me all of the great ways we are helping people in real and tangible ways to experience the love, hope, and joy of Jesus. I was quite moved by the time I left. Wow!
• Tuesday afternoon, brought a lunch meeting on the beach. Seriously, lunch on the beach? I get to do this as part of my job?
• Finally, on Wednesday evening, I got to spend the evening with more than 70 of our neighbors on the Fort Lauderdale Campus as we hosted the annual meeting for the Coral Ridge Country Club Estates Community Association. You better believe I loved getting to greet folks in the room as your Lead Pastor. It was an honor to get to represent you all and meet some of my neighbors since the Lead Pastor parsonage is in the neighborhood.

So, why did I take the time to write all of that out? Well for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to give you just a glimpse of what a week or so in my life looks like as your Lead Pastor. More than that though, I hope you hear my joy and gratitude in the words above. I’m still amazed that I get to be your Lead Pastor. It isn’t imposter syndrome. Promise. Instead, it comes from a deep place of gratitude for this opportunity and for each of you who make it possible. None of what I listed above is possible without you. That is especially true of our incredible staff and lay leaders throughout our church and school. (Also, props to my wife, Alicia, for all she does in public and behind the scenes to support me).

Here’s the thing though, I also shared this because you too get to be a part of the great things happening here at Christ Church and in your individual life. Remember, you “get to.” To me, it all boils down to our mission statement: we are an inclusive and diverse church family that is experiencing and reflecting the love, hope, and joy of Jesus to our community. That’s our job individually as Christians and as a part of Christ Church. We get to do this. Seriously, we get to experience the love, hope, and joy of Jesus and then reflect it with and to others.

When you as an individual and we as a church make the shift from “have to” to “get to,” I promise you, it will change so much. No longer are you obliged to do something, but you get to, and wow, what a joy it is to be able to get to do something rather than having to do it. Even the hard stuff.

Again, Christ Church and friends, thank you for allowing me to get to be your Lead Pastor and for you to be my people. I’m honored to get to do this thing we call church together.

Now, let’s get to it.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Nathan