 |
First Baptist Church
of Albemarle, NC |
|
|
|
Centuries ago, a very wise man once wrote: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). On February 10, 1974, I made one of the best decisions of my life in accepting the call to become Senior Minister of the First Baptist Church of Albemarle. For almost 27 years, you have been our larger family - a family most dear and beloved. It has been my privilege to see children grow from small babies to fine young men and women; to rejoice as they gave their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ and followed him in baptism; to observe them as they stood before the sacred altar of marriage; and to dedicate their tiny babies to God. Together, we have shared joys and sorrows, laughter and tears, victories and disappointments. Our lives have been intertwined in all of life's varied aspects. You have become both friends and family to me and, when you have lost loved ones, I have felt the pain of that loss right along with you. Each time it is necessary for me to stand in this pulpit and look out on the tear-stained faces of those who are in mourning, my heart breaks as well, for I have lost a dear friend. We have climbed many mountains and have seen many things accomplished together. You have made these the happiest 26 years of my life and you will be forever my friends and my larger family. But "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." The time has now come for me to make perhaps the most difficult decision of my life. In June, I will reach my sixty-fifth birthday. Even though I am strong and my health is good at the present, this is the accepted time for retirement. My love for you and for this great church is such that I want to act only in its best interest. I am reminded of what Sir Winston Churchill said about those brave men who lost their lives in the Battle of Britain. I am simply substituting retirement for death: "To retire at the height of a man's career, the highest moment of his effort here in this world.....to retire while great issues are still commanding the whole of his interest.....is not the most unenviable of fates."I would not ever want to be able to give less than my very best to a church which deserves nothing but the best. Thus it is with the deepest love and gratitude that I announce to you my intention to retire as Senior Minister of this great church at the end of June. As in every decision of my life, I have come to this decision through long months of prayer and feel convinced that this is the direction God is leading me now. I will leave the church with the finest staff imaginable. To have worked with Charles Royal, Doug Thompson, Nathan Davis, Marilyn Easley, Sandra Stone and Wayne Burleson these past years has not only been a joy but a rare privilege accorded to only a few ministers. During the next six months, I will work diligently to make the transition as smooth and easy as possible. As God called me here 27 years ago, I know now, beyond any shadow of doubt, that He is leading me in this step. I am convinced that God still has challenges for me out there and I know that He will open new doors for service on a different level. I will follow Him there as I have trusted and followed Him every day of my life. I want each and every one of you to know that, though I will no longer be your pastor, I will always be your friend and will love each of you until the day I die. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" and this is the season and the time God is calling me to a new and different dimension of life. Know that you, as my friends and my larger family, will ever and always have both my earnest prayers and my undying love. Harold L. McDonald |
|
Site Maintained by |
