the bare bones facts

as many of you now know, earlier today bill pruitt resigned as parkview’s senior pastor. this means our church is going to go through changes in the near future. we’ll have to start the process of gathering together church members to form a “pastor search team”, get an interim pastor for awhile, and then go through the whole long process of finding a new pastor. change is usually not fun but not being fun doesn’t mean that good things can’t happen through it.

i’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of church members asking if pam and i are okay – traslation “are you freaked out and going to leave the church?” i want to say “thanks” for your concern and the answer to your translated question is – pam and i are fine and no we have no plans on leaving parkview within the near future. if you wanted me to stay at parkview then hopefully this is good news. if you wanted me to leave parkview – then i guess it stinks to be you.

parkview is going to go through some changes but we will go through them together – as a family. that’s what families do.

5 Replies to “the bare bones facts”

  1. robert, if it wasn’t for your blog, i wouldn’t ever know anything. haha.

    i really haven’t been to church on a sunday in a really long time…..

  2. You cannot decide when you’ll be a family member and when you’ll not be one. Where were these “family” members when they were needed to stand strong at the onset of the Parkview craziness? Those who steadily fought the fight were weary and now have left. They could not be under the elected leadership of those who clearly oppose godly authority. Now the ones that are left at Parkview are mad as if their other family members left them with a mess to clean-up because now they have to step up and fight. You can never stay neutral. Choose you this day who you will serve. If everyone had done their part to be a true family member and stick together as a family in the first place – perhaps the ugly divorce would not have happened. Do you still stay in contact with your friends who were on the front-lines at Parkview, were injured and now moved on? Or have you cut them off? I would say to you that you are not acting like Jesus and that you actually abandoned your family. Quit acting like your holier than thou and have all the answers. Practice what you tell us in the youth. Let’s go beyond the 4 walls of our youth group and actually be a part of the church.

  3. hey james, thanks for judging me. i always appreciate that. i’m not sure how i have been “holier than thou” and i will gladly take the rebuke if you’ll tell me how (posting your email address or last name would also be a welcome addition). if you really would like to do this scripturally then it would be wise to actually confront me personally in a private manner instead of condemning me (without saying anything specific) on a public website.

    i’ll try to answer your questions as best as i can.

    1. “Where were these “family” members when they were needed to stand strong at the onset of the Parkview craziness?” well most of them were in the midst of the quarrel trying to bring about peace and unity. now they’re still at parkview trying to bring about peace and unity. while some that i respect and love have left many others have stayed and are seeking to work things out as a family. as i said earlier that’s what families do.

    2. “Choose you this day who you will serve.” okay this is more a statement than a question but i figure there is an implied question in it of “who are you going to choose?” i’ll choose CHRIST. when HE tells me to leave the family at parkview i will. HE hasn’t and therefore i don’t really plan on leaving simply because other people say i should.

    3. “Do you still stay in contact with your friends who were on the front-lines at Parkview, were injured and now moved on? Or have you cut them off?” i try to. unfortunately there are several that the only time i saw them was at church and thus if they are not a parkview now then i usually don’t see them. i tried to take bill to the lsu/tennesse game tonight but was merely able to leave a message on his answering machine. does that count? if i have left someone out of my life it has been unintentional. we’ve kind of been busy ministering to hurricane katrina evacuees over the past 4 weeks and my life has been a little busy. please tell me how i have abandoned the family.

    again tell me how i have gone against what i say within our youth ministry because i’ll gladly correct it. i’m very open to rebuke when it is needed.

  4. i was re-reading this and i thought it was interesting that james never said anything back. i wonder if he stayed with his family?

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