Scary, but Good

Yesterday was an incredible day. It was the day our new pastor, Dr. Danny Lanier, began his ministry at Northcrest Baptist Church here in Meridian. It was great for a number of reasons: great music, great preaching, the largest crowd we've had in years, and just a generally electric atmosphere in both services. But it's what happened outside those two services that was the most amazing part of the day for me.

Bro. Danny had the "good fortune" of having a deacon's meeting on his very first Sunday afternoon as pastor. As any Baptist knows, deacons meetings can be a real pit of snakes for many pastors. I think I can safely say that our deacon's meetings have never been like that, though. Either way, it's an important thing for a new pastor to get off on the right foot with the deacon body, and vice versa.

I can say without reservation that Bro. Danny did just that. He asked the entire pastoral team to attend the meeting, and also asked non-active deacons to be there. When the meeting started, he did something pretty amazing - he washed our feet. That's right, he washed our feet. Now, for some churches, I'm aware that feet washing is a pretty standard practice; for us, it is not. It's never happened as long as I've been going there, and I'm pretty sure for long before I was there. But Bro. Danny wanted us to know from the very beginning that he was there to serve us, and that's just what he did. He spent 30 minutes, on his hands and knees, with his sleeves rolled up, washing the feet of more than 20 men. And for those of you who don't know, he has fibromyalgia, a chronic illnesses that causes major pain. So I know he was hurting while he did this.

I don't tell you this to toot my own pastor's horn. He didn't do it so we'd tell everyone. He did it to humble himself, and show himself a servant. In the process, he humbled us also, and reminded us that we are servants in the church, not bosses. That's something every deacon body should remember, and I think yesterday is something that every person in that room will never forget. There certainly was not a dry eye in the room.

I really believe something is about to happen in our church, and in this community. Last night, I felt God's presence in a way that I have few times in my life, in a way that frankly scared me to death. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, I was as frightened as anyone who is happy can be, and as happy as anyone who is frightened can be. I pray that it becomes a regular occurrence.