As I mentioned before, my pastor is leaving our church. Left, in fact, after last weekend’s farewell party in which I cried for about 3 hours while people told their favorite Pastor John stories.

The church leadership asked me to write an article about his 14 years of pastorship. They did not realize that I am about the sappiest person in the world and I would spread my tears throughout the county. Here’s what I wrote:

John Holm answered the call to become the pastor of Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church on July 1, 1994. He is leaving us in February to answer the next call that God has given him. I’ve been asked to write a little about his years here at Shepherd, but I feel completely unequal to the task. How do you sum up 14 years in a career that touches the hearts, minds, and souls of so many people?

There have been many changes in our church over the years, like the introduction of exciting new styles of worship, expansion of our building, and the transition from church committees to ministry groups formed around a specific need. There has also been a wonderful sense of stability in our traditional worship and core values. Through the years of John’s leadership our church has endured the pain of losing staff members, it has built a wildly successful preschool, and it has become the “Hilton” of homeless shelters, and has reached out even more lovingly into our community.

But when I think about what to say about Pastor John, those aren’t the things that seem vivid to me. I know him as a person, as an intellectual, and as a friend. I can’t tell you the content of many of the last 14 years’ sermons, but I can tell you about the sermon that I saw him living out in front of his congregation.

I started attending our church a few months after John was called here. I was a very young single mom desperate to leave an abusive relationship. Though I didn’t even know my pastor, I went to him for help. John let me and my daughters live with his family until I got back on my feet. This act was a sermon on grace – a gift that I didn’t deserve, and could never pay back.

I’ve met with John in his early office hours to receive counsel on some matter of faith and doubt I’d been wrestling with, and then have run into him at church fourteen hours later at yet another ministry meeting. Though his eyes were bleary and his shoulders slumped, he always had time for one more person who needed him, and treated them with kindness and patience as if he had all night for their needs. This was a sermon of untiring service to others.

Leadership always involves some criticism, and I’ve seen John painfully hear his share, and respond with love and honest self-reflection. These actions have been a sermon on our need to constantly evaluate our hearts and to respond to pain with Christ’s love and patience.

I’ve heard John passionately discuss the problems of the poor and the horrors going on around the world. I’ve seen him singing and worshiping God as if only the two of them were present. And I’ve heard him talk with equal passion about the theology of the Lutheran faith. This has taught me that our beliefs and our works are both sacred to God.

I’ve seen John preparing for sermons and bible studies with translations, commentaries, and reference books arrayed all around him. I’ve heard him explain the sociological reasons for the behavior of some character in the Old Testament, and I’ve also heard him cut to the heart of theological debate to point out what is truly important. He has taught us that God gave us our minds to serve our faith, yet our hearts must be engaged as well.

For all his scholarly ways, I’ve also seen him excuse himself in the middle of a counseling session or a prayer meeting to go unstop the men’s toilet that’s clogged again. I’ve seen him spending a day off up on a crane changing the light bulbs at the top of the worship center. From this I have learned that Jesus’ example of washing the feet of his disciples does not actually have to involve feet at all. No job is too lowly for a true Christian.

I truly believe that John’s ministry at Shepherd would not have been possible without Peg’s support. Though Peg has served in dozens of other ministries within our church, Peg’s biggest ministry to us has often been behind the scenes – supporting, counseling, and challenging John. And those of you who have served with Peg, enjoyed her friendship, or had her pray with you in the Prayer Ministry, have seen her own sermon of intimate, honest faith in God.

John’s strength as a strategist has left our church in a strong position to weather our time without a pastor. Our DNA council is fully prepared and dedicated to this unique call of leadership, and our staff members are an effective, close-knit group. John has shown the staff how to handle tricky locks and where to find the buckets for the leaky roof. Now that Chris Neptun has been instructed in how to unblock the sewer drain in Lake Shepherd, by the west parking lot, John’s transfer of knowledge is complete.

All that is left for us to do is to wish farewell to our leader, guide, and friend. And we can all join in that on Sunday, Sunday, February 3, 2008, 12:00 noon – 3:00 p.m. at the Shepherd of the Lakes worship center.