An early Birthday Gift of the best kind.

I received an email tonight from a young family in my congregation. The man grew up in a very traditional Baptist church and his young wife grew up Lutheran. They are now members of my church and He is really gifted and called to be in some form of Pastoral ministry. After our service this weekend, with an emphasis upon the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Ryan & Julie sent this note. It took me a long time to read, since the tears kept blurring the words!

Gary,

I just wanted to email about this past Sunday, and just in general. First, to thank you for the message you gave this past Sunday. You know that I have heard messages about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in many places, and your message was the more Biblical than any I have heard from any Pentecostal, Baptist or whatever. I truly appreciate what it meant for you to say what you did, knowing the responses of some of those that heard it.

I more generally wanted to thank you for your dedication to my and my families souls and lives. If you only knew the amount of times I have said "I hope that I am like that when I am a pastor" in reference to you. I have learned so much in the last 2 years, that I am afraid I will forget it! Gary, I know that the Lord has a calling on my life, and I know even more that I have soooo much to learn between now and then. I would especially ask that you pray for my boldness. I know I don't seem like the kind of person that needs help with boldness, but there are so many times that I have backed down and not proudly said the name of Jesus when I should have. Lets just say that the cock has crowed more than 3 times for me. I also struggle daily with arrogance, though I think that the Lord has been helping me with that. I honestly believe in the power of prayer, though I have no clue how to pray, and still feel weird when I do. I have not even begun to be faithful with my devotions and the failures keep adding, but I know that the Lord will still guide me and help me.

I have hated being so distant from the church compared to the way we were, but I have so many responsibilities now that I sometimes feel overwhelmed. I need to become much better at balancing my time.

With that said Gary, having grown up in the baptist community, singing out of a psalter hymnal with a piano for every song, being able to smile, laugh, dance, clap or just listen and enjoy the worship of our creator is something to be appreciated and longed for. After traveling recently, and visiting several churches whose form of "worship" was more like gregorian chant then a "getting back to the heart of worship", Julie and I missed it so much. It is like having your feet nailed to the ground when all you want to do is run. There were no butterflies in our stomachs afterwards like we get when we hear brothers and sisters around us crying as they sing because they don't know any other way to express the emotions inside them. Gary, I honestly believe that it doesn't matter it every little detail is right or not, it is the heart, or the love behind the worship that counts. It is like a star struck lover. When you are madly, deeply, truly in love, you find yourself saying and doing things you never thought you would. You look back and think "I can;t believe I did that, or "I can't believe I said that". The wonderful thing is, that no matter how many "left feet" you have when you dance with them, or how many times your voice cracks as you try to whispers those sweet things in their ear, they love every moment of it because it the love behind the act, not the act that touches the heart. God almighty "bends down his ear" to his children, because it is the love behind our worship that touches His heart, not the mode of delivery. If, by how loud, long or weird I worship my Lord is done so because I am so madly, deeply, truly I am in love with him that I am all left feet, cracked voiced, too loud, to soft, dancing in the aisles, or simply bowing my head and raising my hands, then I don't care. My Lord will hear the love behind my voice or the steps in my hula.

Thank you for everything that you have meant to our ohana Gary. We will truly miss WWC, and your family, scratch that, our family. Good night Gary, and if there is ever more that I can do, please don't hesitate to ask.

Love Ryan, Julie and Aiden Hobson