Philippians 1:1–6
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
“He’s the last of the great churchmen.”
From time to time, I will recite this line to my wife and co-pastor, Meg, in reference to some male member of our congregation. It’s intended to be a compliment — a way to describe somebody who is thoroughly “solid” — committed to the community, capable of laying his ego aside, and dedicated to ensuring that the church of tomorrow is as healthy as the church that formed him yesterday.
I feel certain that I would have used this phrase to describe Frank Shirley. His resume would include serving as pastor, Army chaplain, Sunday school missionary and synod newspaper editor. His calling, however, was to cultivate health in Black Presbyterian churches. Shirley was a leader always in search of the next generation of leaders.
In his salutations to the church in Philippi, Paul includes Timothy as co-author in this epistle of care and encouragement. Paul understood that the health of the church tomorrow depends on identifying and cultivating leaders today. Shirley practiced this same kind of fidelity — and that is precisely why that phrase I use to describe rock-solid churchmen will never actually be true. What makes great churchmen “great” is that they would never allow themselves to be the last of the great — they always have an eye on the next generation. Thanks be to God that we have an opportunity to be those “great church people” today.
Prayer:
We give thanks to you, O God, for every sibling in Christ who — with spit, grit, and the Holy Spirit — shaped this church and thus shaped the contours of our own hearts. Help us take that same long view today, always on the lookout for tomorrow’s leaders that the Spirit has just begun to anoint. Amen.
The Rev. Jarrett McLaughlin serves as co-pastor with his wife, Meg Peery McLaughlin, at University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. As one shaped by presbytery youth councils and opportunities to serve and lead at Massanetta Springs and Montreat youth conferences, he is incredibly grateful for the elders who shaped him.
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