retirement celebration

This past Sunday afternoon, Jeannine and I traveled to the Upper Essex Baptist Church in Caret, Virginia. We went to support our good friends, Roy & Missi Foster, who are soon to retire after 36 years of pastoral ministry to this church. The congregation had a reception to honor them.

I met Roy when we were both freshmen at Averett College in 1977. We followed one another to Southeastern Seminary where we graduated in 1984. Roy and I have had many shared experiences over the years. I was a groomsman at his wedding, he officiated mine. When his dad died, I preached the funeral service for him. When my father died, he preached the funeral for me. When my wife was very sick and in the hospital, he was one of the first people I called.

We have attended preaching conferences, annual meetings of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, and met a couple times a year for lunch at the Five Guys in Fredericksburg. We have shared heartaches and sermon illustrations and jokes. We have shared advice, grief, and dreams. Roy is one of the best friends I’ve ever had.

After the celebration on Sunday afternoon, we stopped by Roy’s house for a while. We sat in his living room, and he asked me, “So, Bart. When are YOU going to retire?” Roy is a few years older than me so it makes sense that he would retire first. I know that transition is on the horizon, but I’m not ready to go there just yet. I feel like God has not yet released me from this calling. Whenever it comes, I’m glad Roy will be able to show me the way.