36 Church 7 – Back at QBC

Church 7 – Back at QBC

Our return to QBC was like coming home.  We were welcomed by many friends, including an old life-long member who enthusiastically encouraged to attend the Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) class taught (interminably) by the pastor’s protégé, a Navy chief nearing retirement.

My view from experience though several churches is that a pastoral search is very traumatic, and a church is best served when a pastor chooses and grooms his successor (hopefully seminary trained) from among the flock.  This way the new pastor is known to his congregation, continuity is assured, and the church has its best chance for a long-term pastorate, rather than a series of poorly matched short-timers, each with its hiatus in leadership.  Thus pulpit succession is a pastor’s greatest responsibility.  Accordingly our friend the pastor; a long-time missionary, added (at my suggestion) a sermon outline and allowed a few occasions for his successor to preach, arranged a smooth transition, and then left.

I inherited the position of usher, with duties every Sunday morning, and was issued a door key and a security code.  I did the related role of “doorkeeper”, when according to a published schedule, once every week or two I secured all doors and windows of the main church buildings.  Our pastor led a few men’s Bible study series, of which I remember four: life of Joseph; life of David; two “Men’s Fraternity” studies by Robert Lewis.  The pastor also hosted a couple of men’s breakfasts in support of the men’s ministry.  I was invited to teach in his absence, which I did on the subject of “work”.

I was invited to a “men’s accountability class”, which met weekly; first we went to the home/office of a young man who later taught our ABF class (formerly our pastor’s).  Though the class was valued by all and regarded as successful, weekly attendance fluctuated, mostly down, as members came and quit for various reasons.  I took over the leadership of this small group, and we met in the church lounge, to which I had access by virtue of my duties as doorkeeper.  Eventually it ceased, as God’s use for it was evidently fulfilled.

I was also elected to the board of Deacons, where I served as assistant to the church’s treasurer, who was my original friend from the accountability class and who owned a business.

The new pastor, now retired from the Navy, is a workaholic and a voracious reader, favoring tried-and-true Puritan writers; he went through his own trials, growth and learning.  The pastor turned the ABF over to my friend, an able, dedicated teacher.  The pastor chose two energetic young but mature and experienced family men to be his co-elders, who with him led QBC to reinvent itself and turn around from inevitable death as the congregation was aging; they dealt with several serious building and property upkeep issues, and became more relevant in our changing community.  The story of QBC is an on-going one, and it’s exciting to watch God at work!