Letter to the Congregation
from Pastor Rick

August 2, 2020

Dear brothers and sisters and friends at CTK,

The apostle usually begins his letters with some variation of ‘grace and peace’ (Galatians being the exception!). Such is often much more necessary than it seems. It’s a pity that we can skip over the greeting, which contains a bit of a prayer. So as I open with ‘grace and peace,’ it’s with an earnest prayer and hope for such in our church.

This may seem sudden to some of you, but I am stepping away from my call as pastor of CTK this month. This decision has been made with a lot of prayer and not a little anguish. T and I are of the same mind and are both saddened by the move, even as we are hopeful both for the future of CTK and our own as yet undetermined steps. We are mindful of and deeply grateful for the great joy and privilege we’ve enjoyed during our twenty plus years here. Our memories are full of wonderful friendships, explicit partnerships in the gospel, surprising blessings from our heavenly Father. Stories could be told long into the night of the beauty of God’s grace in his growing and sustaining CTK. The planting of churches, the establishment of multiple RUF’s, the international flavor of the congregation, the esteemed visitors who slip in on Sunday mornings, and especially ‘the least of these my brothers’ who have found a home at CTK are highlights we will cherish all our days.

It is a decision that has been long in the making. For five years or so I’ve been thinking that sometime after I turned 65 and before I turned 70 I would leave CTK (I turned 65 a couple of years ago.). The consideration intensified after I returned from a sabbatical in 2016. I’m sure that some of my personal wrestling crept into my preaching and teaching, mostly around the thought of trusting God and focussing on his Word. I’ve been in communication with the session all along. Last fall I had some helpful conversations with a few friends/counselors/advisors which prompted me to let the session know that I’d step aside in 2020.

There have also been hard times which, if we’re realistic, are common to every church. Those moments remind me that we’re not there yet, ‘so far from home.’ It is a commentary on our current culture that such griefs catch us by surprise. Maybe we’re not paying enough attention to the Bible. I think I’ve preached and taught, consistently if periodically, that struggle/suffering are normal and are usually that place in which God’s grace shines more brightly for its being needed more pointedly. I don’t want to pretend that this is a purely happy time, but it is still a hopeful and a grateful time.

I’ve spoken to a few close friends in the church in advance about this decision and the immediate question is: why? The short answer is I feel quite convinced I have fulfilled God's calling for me to CTK. It is always bittersweet to leave a Church family you love dearly, but the theme of death and resurrection is our daily journey of sanctification. One of my favorite songwriters writes of longing for a day when there are “no more goodbyes; just ‘hellos,’ ‘how are ya’s,’ and ‘welcome back’ sighs.” That’s our sustained hope, not just for us now, but for all that have passed through the doors of CTK through the years.

Another question that comes up is what’s next for T and me. The honest answer is that we don’t know. We’ve been praying pretty consistently for a while now that God would guide us. Please pray with us and for us. Our initial hope is for an open door somewhere but we’re cognizant that such may be delayed or not come at all. We have no design on leaving Cambridge soon (although we are planning some traveling in the fall) and hope that more person to person interactions can happen once the pandemic passes.

The pandemic and our inability to meet all together adds to the difficulty of a transition, but it also provides opportunities. One pastor said that every church will need essentially to be replanted after the shut down is lifted. I think there’s wisdom in that. It’s going to take quite a bit of energy and not a little innovation. It seems, from that perspective, to be a good time for new leadership and a vision recast for the next 10 years. The session is laying a foundation, but all of you will need to come together ‘with one accord’ in seeking the Lord and investing yourselves in the work that God will continue to do in Cambridge.

I am most affectionately yours,

Rick