Self Talk | Pastor Clay

GRATITUDE:

I am just over two months in as your Senior Pastor, and there have been some unexpected twists already. Kacy, Alex and I are thankful to be here and a part of this rich community. With Kacy’s recent ICU stay, we bow in wonder and awe how people make it through difficult times without the support and prayers of a Jesus-based community. Thank you for caring in tangible ways through these particularly emotionally and physically exhausting days. We have enjoyed getting to know many of you and look forward to getting to know more of you, as well as getting to know each other better as together we strive to be better followers of Jesus tomorrow than we are today.

A heartfelt shout-out goes to Darby; her professionalism and encouragement have helped make the transition here start to feel like home. Or in the mantra of MWBC, like the “family of faith” God intended us to become.

STRUGGLE:

New pastorates are often spoken of in terms of the honeymoon period, which can last six months to a year. As the search team and I talked leading up to my acceptance of your call, we developed a clear understanding that changes needed to be implemented quickly to address at least 15 years of numerical decline exacerbated by the pandemic. Changes on the list we discussed were worship, mission and outreach, organizational structure, renewed vision rooted in creating and building disciples, physical appearance and more. In practical terms what that means is our marriage of pastor and people is more like my honeymoon with Kacy, which included a couple nights at a cozy retreat in Montana before packing up both of her boys, who were staying with her ex-in-laws, in our van and driving through blizzard conditions to our new home in Ohio. The early days were not easy and yet so worth it!

HOPE AND LOVE:

We believe in Mount Washington Baptist Church! You are an amazing collection of God’s children with a lot to give to the ever-expanding family of God. We have some blizzards to face together which will strengthen our love for each other and our trust in our Savior! Following Jesus is an adventure like no other, filled with challenges to our faith and amazing, surprising bursts of God’s goodness and grace. Let’s get in the van and ride, roll down the windows from time to time when the smell gets too bad, and journey to the destination God has for us.

Some have asked why I do not wear a tie. Jesus never wore a tie! Okay, that is a little snarky; the real reason is I am convinced that most of the people out there who are not yet followers of Jesus feel pastors without ties are more relatable. As I have been known to say, if ties would help people become
followers of Jesus, I would wear three at a time. Our focus needs to be on those who are not yet followers of Jesus, the risen Christ.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Clay & Kacy