Campion Church—You are our family. There are no words that have been introduced into the human tongue that communicate the impact on our lives of your life. Together, we have cried and laughed, ran and hiked, worshiped and petitioned, mourned and celebrated, pro- claimed and served. Our congregation and our community will never be the same because we did life together with Jesus.
As a preacher, it has been my humble privilege to stand in the sacred desk each Sabbath, and the sacred desk of the weekday in the office. My prayer has always been to be the “man in the arena” -
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the are- na, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor de- feat.” (Teddy Roosevelt).
My prayer for you—that you would allow God to throw yourself into the arena of being a laborer for the great harvest (Matthew 9:35-38). Nothing. Else. Matters.
Then came last Saturday night. A festivity that, in our hearts, will only be outdone by the long-awaited marriage supper of the Lamb. We have experienced hundreds of Saturday nights together with you— hardly ever being alone at the close of a Sabbath during the last 8.5 years, it was fitting to spend one last one with all of you. Each one of you moved our hearts by being there. We must directly thank those who gave their prolonged time of planning so we all could come to- gether. We must directly thank those who gave their prolonged time of planning so we could come together. Thank you—Christine Baker, Aubrey Nelson, Sarah Schwisow, Vicki Kahler, Lindsay Carlisle, Carey Jordan, Pastor Leandro, Steve Philips and Andrea Orrison. Then there were each of you who shared the pies, the burgers, the treats and the munchies. Let’s do it again, for eternity.
Maranatha.
