The Good Shepherd story is a story of God’s continuous weaving and threading together of lives and dreams. From the moment God threaded the needle into our story in 1979 with a small but missional congregation on Westmoreland Avenue, God has been building his kingdom through this congregation, day in and day out. I marvel at the faithfulness of this church that has led to hundreds of baptisms, faith renewals, mission projects around the globe, and leaps of faith that led to building projects. I always recognize that I stand on the shoulders of the faith giants that have gone before me, including the pastors. As each day passes, I see the fingerprints, touch, and impact of Pastors Greg Wenhold, Gary Olson, Mark Carlsson, PJ Malin, Glen Wagner, and many others. I thank God for them.

I believe that my work as a pastor is to bridge the past into the future. I believe that God is doing a new thing and is calling us to new wine, but it isn’t without a blind eye to the past. Our past is good and rich and holy, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without it. 

As I work to understand our past and future, this week we welcomed Jay Mitchell from Vanderbloemen. Jay has been working with me, the staff, and council in assessing our current staff structure and culture. As you heard me share from my heart at the annual meeting, we might be missing key players and key roles in our staff to help us get to the next season of flourishing. I am excited for the skills and thoughts that Jay will bring to our staff as we work to create a thriving staff that leads to lasting and Kingdom-building ministry.

As we continue to build a bridge from the past into the future, we can’t do this well without first going before God. Our mission and vision can’t be thought up on a whiteboard or in a good strategy document. Instead, it takes all of us pressing into the presence of God and together seeking his leading, direction, and guidance. Please join me for our Worship and Prayer Night this coming Sunday, May 21st at 5:30 pm in the Worship Center. We will gather in the Worship Center for acoustic worship and corporate prayer. I can’t imagine a future without first seeking God and God’s leading. 

Some of you may have noticed that Greg and IdaLynn Wenhold have been around the building on Sunday mornings. For those of you who do not know Greg and IdaLynn, Greg was the former Co-Lead Pastor of Good Shepherd Church for many years before retiring in 2018. You can listen to one of his sermons from 2018 here. IdaLynn was involved in the fabric and life of this congregation through many ministry and mission endeavors. I was so excited to learn that Greg and IdaLynn recently moved back to the area just last month, and after a wonderful lunch reunion a few weeks ago, I invited Greg and IdaLynn back into the life of the church. Please welcome them back now as one of us!

Beloved, I look forward to worshiping with you this coming Sunday as we celebrate and remember the ascension of Jesus. I am excited to dig into our final sermon in this series, Encounter Jesus. We will look at Acts 1:1-11 as Jesus ascends to the throne and sends the disciples on mission. I will be preaching in all 4 of our worship gatherings, and I can’t wait to be with you!

From my Heart,

Pastor Tara Beth Leach