You may have read Kevin Richardson's article, published on November 2, entitled, With Thanksgiving, in which Kevin announces that, suddenly, he will not be in the Executive Director office until the new E. D. is in place but will leave the role "in a few weeks."
This announcement came the day after that special Ad Council meeting which I understood was called to settle issues related to the search for the new Executive Director. I don't know if Kevin had any advanced notice of the change.
You may remember that I called for an Interim Executive Director to be appointed, so obviously, I don't oppose the decision.
Clearly, Kevin and I have had our differences. His impact on my ministry and of the community here at Faith, is well-known to those of you who read this blog.
I've been very open here about my conviction that Kevin was taking the Conference in the direction of becoming theologically conservative Lutheran wannabes. I thought he was too committed to the pastor dominated leadership culture and, wrongly, not advancing apostolic servanthood. I criticized him for being obsessed with the church and unmotivated to advance the Kingdom.
And I own all of that as I take this moment to hold Kevin up as a man of grace.
Kevin's article is a litany of thanksgiving.
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In the ERC, we are, one way or the other, about to travel on a bumpy road.
The hierarchs know, by now, that change must happen, and it must happen soon.
From what I'm hearing from people still in conversation with me...
...and, all of these people reside a fair piece up the ERC mountain,...
...there are many, very different ideas about the direction the Conference should travel in the future.
Who doesn't know that we are broken?!
We are unified in rejecting where we are now...
...but we are as divided as we have ever been about how we will be able to reverse our decline, decay and putrefication.
And, as we work through these issues, many more people are going to be in the position Kevin is in now.
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Kevin,
You have just led more powerfully than you ever have.
You have shown us one way we can, one day, again, be walking together in the blessing of the Spirit...
...as we were in our first generation.
You had choices in handling the decisions others made about you.
You created an example that gives us the possibility of having a godly future by choosing to give thanks.
Bless you...
...and, blessings on you and Ruth and Molly and Tessa.
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