Godspeed to Pastor Ryan Barnett as he and Kim move to Kerrville, Texas. You have made a long lasting and wonderful impact on St. Johns United Methodist church, the congregation, and the people of Corpus Christi. You will be missed but you go with our blessing for this next chapter of your life. We will indeed see you at our Fathers Throne- SJUMC Ryans first Pen to Paper column he wrote for the church newsletter. From Pen to Paper- Pastor Ryan Barnett July 6, 2011 I Want To Ring That Bell! The first time I walked onto the campus of St. John’s United Methodist Church with the District Superintendent, I asked him: “Do you think the pastor gets to ring that bell?” Perhaps it is the child in me, but I just can’t walk under the bell tower in our courtyard without yearning to reach up, grab the rope, and give that bell a thorough workout. I want to ring that bell. I am pretty sure I know how to ring a bell. It isn’t complicated; it produces instantly gratifying results; and I am pretty sure it would give me no small sense of satisfaction. My life is incredibly complicated right now – and likely to remain that way for some time to come. The flow of data into my head has me treading just below the water level. My sense of familiar and easy has abandoned me to a learning curve equivalent to drinking out of a fire hose. New faces, lots of names, unfamiliar systems of operation, a phone I don’t know how to operate, alarm codes, procedures, protocols, etc., etc. Any of you who have started a new job in a new town can appreciate how much emotional and mental strain so much change can create. Still, as complicated and sometimes challenging as things are for me in this particular moment – I want to ring that bell. Any stress I am experiencing is totally eclipsed by my absolute excitement over being here. God has been doing some- thing special at St. John’s and I am thrilled to have been appointed to be a small part of it with all of you. I want to ring the bell to let people know that we are here. I am so excited about what I have already discovered at St. John’s that I want to ring that bell and scream and shout to our city – “God is here! Christ is Risen! We are his people! Come and see! Come and see!” I want to ring that bell as a sign of my excitement of being among you. I want to ring that bell to signal others of the love and grace that I have found in you and through you. I cannot be silent. I will not be still. This church has demonstrated the true love and grace of Jesus Christ to me and my family, and I long to ring that bell as an invitation for others to share in that which I have found!
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:53:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015