Pastor Anyabwile

I had previously written that we had Pastor Anyabwile as a guest preacher. According to his blog, he enjoyed his trip.

I’ll post a quote in which he talked specifically about the people at my church:

It was a great privilege to “bunk” with Ellen and Anand, transplanted Trinidadians who opened their home and literally showered me with generosity. Despite Anand’s crazy work schedule, he and Ellen were tremendous hosts, and I won’t soon forget their kindness.

My official Canadian tour guide and historian was Pastor Ken Davis, pastor of Thistletown Baptist Church. Ken is about as close to walking laughter and Christian joy as you’ll find. And I love his deep love for his people at Thistletown. Saying he has “a pastor’s heart” is too much of a cliche. He loves the people of the church and the community. It was a privilege to preach at Thistletown Baptist, a very diverse congregation that loves God’s word and each other. They know how to make a brother feel right at home.

I agree with Pastor Anyabwile’s comments. Ellen and Anand are extremely friendly; I have the pleasure of worshipping with Anand in our church’s worship team, on Sunday mornings, and he’s full of the LORD’s joy. And there are many, many more in the church who, like he and Ellen, are about as friendly, helpful, and loving as any human could hope to be.

And I very much agree about my pastor, Ken Davis. Rarely do you meet a man who cares about God’s Word so deeply—you will never hear a sermon from Pastor Davis which is not steeped in Scripture—and yet, at the same time, has a true, deep love for the members of his church. Many pastors care about the Scriptures but aren’t loving, and many others love to the exclusion of the Word, but Pastor Davis loves because he has the Word of God in him.

I wish I could say, to paraphrase Paul, that I “never cease to thank God” for the church He has placed me in, but I have to admit that I do sometimes cease to thank Him for it. Nevertheless, I am deeply thankful that He has placed me where He has; I believe that it’s a rare blessing to be in such a church as Thistletown, where I’ve been placed.