LEADERSHIP MATTERS by Roger Yancey, D.Min.
“What do those stones mean to you?” Those are the words found in Joshua 4:6 where God instructs Joshua to take 12 stones, one for each tribe, by a member of each tribe, from the center of the Jordan where the children of Israel would pass over on dry ground and enter the Promise Land. The stones would serve as a memorial and marker of a seminal event in the lives of the children of Israel.
In all our lives we have memorials and markers. Those reminders shape us and direct us toward the future God has in store for us. Sometimes they are moments we walk through or people we are enmeshed with but they both impact how we understand God’s work in our lives. When they occur, we know life will not be the same.
Other than coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ, no one has been as impactful and shaping in my life as my wife Pauline. We met approximately 42 years ago, and on June 4th we celebrated 40 years of marriage. Through the years we have had so much to be grateful for as we have served the Lord together. My wife has taught me so much about loving people and being willing to see the best about people in my life.
I don’t understand how she said yes to me, but I am so very thankful that she did. My prayer is for the days ahead to be as blessed as the days we have already experienced in our walk together. God has been so good to us.
Churches have memorials and markers as well. This past month we have seen the retirement of Dr. Jay Gross of West Conroe Baptist Church and Pastor Carl Williamson of Calvary Baptist Church in Cleveland. Both men have been great friends and supporters of the ministry of the TEBA.
I am thankful they will both remain in our area to assist and serve local churches as interims and pulpit supply. We are so blessed in the TEBA to have so many exceptional pastors who serve our churches during their retirements.
In Kingdom service,
Executive Directory, AMS
Joshua 4:6-7
6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
