Reflections on The Henderson’s Retirement
Some twenty six years ago there was a leadership crisis at Lucas Valley Community Church and as the new ABCW Area Minister responsible for conflict resolution, I was called in to work with the Board and help negotiate a separation with their present pastor. This was in some ways complicated for me by the fact the pastor’s wife was a member of the Regional Staff and thus a colleague of mine. But, at LVCC the pastor and people had reached a parting point. A separation needed to be negotiated. The church had been in decline in recent years. Change was needed.
With the pastor’s farewell and the installing of an Interim Pastor the Call Committee started their task of seeking new leadership for Lucas Valley. But with a small congregation, limited facilities, a lack of sufficient income, and the ever-increasing challenge of a Marin County setting amid several megachurches, potential names of candidates only trickled in. Other ABC Pastors in the area had a few to recommend, but most proved not to be suitable for this struggling situation. The church was called to pray and to hope for a miracle!
Then the Lord opened a door none had anticipated. The Committee found just the person to give the church the leadership and forward thrust it needed. A candidate surfaced that was available, talented, gifted, well qualified, as well as good looking, experienced, personable, and highly committed to serving God’s people near and far. A person of vision. The Committee was unanimous in its recommendation. But there was one real problem: what to do with her husband? So they decided to make him the pastor! And now you know the rest of the story!
That’s how we found Cindy and she brought Steve along with her plus four kids that swelled the role of the Sunday School! The church accepted them warmly, hopes of growth revived, and as they moved into the parsonage a new day dawned for LVCC. It has never been the same since! Steve and Cindy have been at the heart of the fellowship’s growth and spiritual depth as well as its outreach for over twenty-five years. To God be the glory, great things He has done and will continue to do! Watch it happen.
Seriously though, this recently married Blended Family had what this fellowship needed. Before long the chapel was crowded. It needed replacing by a sanctuary and social hall, with expanded classrooms, offices and the revamped school. The warmth the Henderson’s generated was heart-warming. The parsonage was sold and the pastoral family allowed a housing allowance. Between golf and moves and remodeling houses, pastor was kept busy. Before long the church was only limited by the land owned and the expansion allowable. But the vision for ministry and world outreach along with local outreach keep up with the Spirit’s leading. An Associate Pastor, able worship leaders, warm and caring worship services, the music program, and teachers and other ministries at home and overseas, kept the fellowship growing, vital and committed. Look at it today!
Pastor Steve has done a remarkable job during his twenty-five years at Lucas Valley. First is his commitment to His Lord and then to his expanding family. His love for Cindy manifests his love for the Lord and for the people of God. He is steady, a plodder, works with his leadership, and keeps himself sharp and alert. His decision to work for a D. Min. Degree was a natural. He keeps himself on the cutting edge of Evangelicalism and his collegiality with colleagues in ministry making him an encourager and mentor. He lives the Word that he preaches. In all this his primary focus has always been with the local church and its outreach and spiritual depth.
Pastor Steve caught the vision of growing a local fellowship in and through small groups. The programs at Lucas Valley reflect this concern and vision. Early on he saw the need for Divorce Recovery using lay-leadership as well as the input of he and Cindy. Wherever you look in Marin County, deep needs abound, and Lucas Valley had been a lighthouse to so many in crisis.
One of the hardest tasks facing Pastor Steve after twenty-five years in place is when to let go and allow the church to transition into a phase involving new leadership. What is best for the Church? This is his primary consideration. But in concert with Cindy in seeking the Lord’s will, ego is not as important to him as is what God wants for this fellowship. My concern for any professional church leader is a timing that allows them to retire on the crest of the wave rather than under it. The Holy Spirit that has led him and the church assures him and us that the church will continue to prosper because God is in it. So will Steve and Cindy wherever the Lord leads them. The one will be praying and encouraging the other.
There is an old joke about a pastor retiring and those attending the service on that Sunday told him, “How can we go on without you?” The very next Sunday the same ones were asking him, “Where is it you said you are going?” By the third Sunday they were saying, “Oh, you still here?” Let me assure you, this will not happen here. They are too much a part of you and you of them. But in God’s timing, and through a solid Interim Ministry, the transition will happen and God’s anointing of this fellowship will be renewed all the way. Together we’ll wish the pastoral family God’s best, to His glory and your joy.
The church will call another pastor in the Lord’s time but when all is said and done, this fellowship turned a corner under their leadership and those who have been involved with it over the past twenty-five years will remember their years with Pastor Steve. He and Cindy will serve elsewhere in retirement, and what they leave behind at Lucas Valley is glorifying to the Lord they so faithfully served. It will be hard for me to think of Lucas Valley without them. I am so grateful to be able to call them friends as well as colleagues in ministry. The years I have been privileged to share with them is awesome to me. If I could have had one wish during the years I was privileged to serve as their Area Minister, it would have been to clone them for many other churches who would have prospered as did Lucas Valley with a caring ministry like God has given them to share with you in His Name.
Cindy, thank you for being God’s woman behind God’s man. You are a team. Steve, thank you for being a colleague and friend, and remembering my heart-felt advice: listen to Cindy.
On a personal note: Thanks for publishing my works over the years on the Church’s website. Thanks also for having the privilege of being on staff with you. And thanks for the promise to get together as often as He leads. Donna and I prize our relationship with the two of you.
In the bonds of His love and grace,
Emil
eauthelet@cox.net
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