Pastor Doug Brown
I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, but when it did it was still quite a blow.
Pastor Doug Brown announced this past Sunday to the congregation of The Rock Church that, effective Sun., Jan. 31, 2010, he will be resigning our church.
Pastor was good enough to give me a few days warning, which of course came with the plea that I keep it to myself so that he could announce it to the people personally. So it wasn’t quite as big a shock to me when he announced it. That doesn’t mean my heart wasn’t pounding when he did.
I want to go on record to say this: I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Pastor Doug Brown. I’ve had the pleasure of being his Youth Pastor for these past six months. And, though I’ve only known him for a total of 7 months, it didn’t take long for me to figure out that, when he is speaking, I need to shut up and listen. The words that come out of his mouth are wisdom like that of Solomon. He has years of experience not only Pastoring, but on the missions field, and he has taken those experiences and become a wealth of knowledge and compassion. I’ll never forget the staff meetings he and I had where he sat behind his desk and related to me his vision and passion for The Rock Church.
For those that don’t know, Pastor Doug has been battling cancer: melanoma. The typical life-expectancy is a maximum of five years. He’s had it going on six. And most people that see him in public would probably never know he has cancer, because he looks and acts healthy. And he will probably never tell us of the private health battles he fights at home. But I know he is very tired, and he deserves this rest–retirement, if you will.
It has been my honor to have served with him these few months. My regret is that I didn’t get to know him sooner, and learn from his vast wisdom.
He will probably be embarrassed if he ever reads this because he doesn’t want the attention. It’s his desire–and I can personally attest to his sincerity in this matter–that his efforts disappear and that God gets the complete and total glory. So, Pastor Doug Brown, may God be glorified and exalted because of your life. And may you find rest, comfort, and peace in the hands of the Healer. We will miss you greatly, Pastor, but our prayers for you and your family will continue, and we will rejoice together when you are healed. Go with the honor and blessing of The Rock Church.