As I mentioned two days ago, it is now official that my tenure at Romeo is rapidly coming to an end. And while there is plenty of curiosity among readers about what my new job is all about with Youth Specialties… there are years to talk about that and just days to reflect on the past five years in Romeo.
The hardest part of moving is seeing relationships transform, morph… but hopefully not end. As we wrapped up our last staff meeting together on Tuesday we all knew it was the end of an era for the church. Out of our staff meeting have come some of the best and worst ideas! (Cow & elf costumes included) But the staff meeting is always a place where we ask the Spirit to help us plan… and we’ve never been shy in following His leading.
I can’t think of staff meeting and not think of the guys. So let’s kick off this “leaving Romeo” series by talking about them.
Bob is “the man” of our church, constitutionally. I don’t know why, but in the constitution it says that his title is “Pastor” and then a long string of titles like “bishop” and “king of the assembly.” But this includes “the man.” I like that one… and the sports nut in Bob likes it too.
Bob and I met at Caribou on 26 Mile Road in March 2004. He was interested in being our interim pastor and I was desperate to fill that role.
About 6 months prior, his predecessor suddenly left to move to Alabama and that left a serious void at our church. One thing I’ve always been confident in at Romeo was that I was “not the man.” I never felt God called me to Romeo to eventually become the Senior Pastor and that left me in an awkward spot during those transition years without a Senior Pastor… I was a guy left serving an unnamed man.
When we met it wasn’t all that memorable. He was willing and qualified and we agreed that by taking the interim role he was eliminating himself from the possibility of being the Senior. What I was looking for, he had. It’s really the same core thing we’ve looked for in every single hire I’ve been a part of at Romeo. Does this person passionately love Jesus? Is he wild eyed enough to follow God and not man? If you know Bob you have little doubt within the first 2 minutes that the answer to those questions was… YES!
Over the next several months Bob and I gradually got to know one another. The thing I want to communicate and the thing I want people to know about Bob as I leave can be boiled down to a couple of facts.
- Bob passionately loves the Lord. Leading the church through a change process has repeatedly put that to the test… and I am the guy positioned closer than anyone so let me tell you, Bob passionately loves the Lord. You could get all “John Piper” on me and disagree with this statement, but the #1 you should look for in choosing a church or choosing to stay at a church is, “Does the person in charge exhibit a passion for Jesus?” If you want my opinion, Bob’s a firm YES on that one. Got doubts? Let me buy you a cup of coffee and lend me your ear.
- Bob calls people to an active faith. See, it’s one thing to be passionate about Jesus. But being a leader is all about taking people where they won’t go on their own. (I always think of Patton) Bob’s not a lover of confrontation but he is not afraid to confront you with what the Bible says. As much as our personalities are different… this is something that we’ve been rock-solid-together on since day one… God is calling His people to live our their faith visibly to shake this community to it’s core for the sake of winning thousands to Jesus. Not only have I witnessed in innumerable ways Bob living out an active faith, I’ve seen him call tons of people to an active faith.
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