MARCH 2024 EDITION
THE WOODLANDS METHODIST CHURCH
ADULTS 55 OUTLOOK
+ MONTHLY
COMING HOME by Rev. David Lindwall, The Church at Montgomery and Caring Ministry
It is a great privilege to serve on the pastoral staff of The Woodlands Methodist Church. My wife Stephanie and I feel like we have come home. TWMC was the launch pad for our journey into pastoral ministry. We are Georgians who were transplanted to Houston by Shell Chemical in 1991. Through much of the ’90s, Stephanie and I were active members of TWMC. During that time, I was having conversations with Dr. Ed Robb and a few close friends about God’s calling on my life. By 1999 our family was living in London, England, and God’s voice became too compelling, so I left Shell to attend Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. God began molding us into a ministry family during those seminary years. As I served Methodist churches in East Texas and Montgomery, Stephanie began a 23-year career in education, mostly as an eighth grade science teacher. Throughout our ministry she has served with local missions and will quickly say that “serving” is her spiritual gift. Our older children, Jack and Grace, are products of Children of The Woodlands. Hannah and McKinley, our twins, were born in The Woodlands. All are in Houston with their spouses, one soon-to-be spouse, two grandchildren and two more on the way. They all are expressing their God-given gifts in the way He has called them. As many are aware, I am helping to plant The Church at Montgomery. This is wonderful work. Nevertheless, a central part of my calling is pastoral care, so I am excited to be sharing time with Caring Ministry as Pastor of Caring and Adult Outreach. As I began this journey in 1999, I asked JD Walt, a TWMC pastor at the time, if he had any advice. He said, “Keep your eyes on Jesus.” I was hoping for something more practical, but he was right! Although I have not been perfect, His grace has been perfect with me. For the past few years, I have committed a passage of Scripture to memory, and I write it down each day. My passage for 2024 is this: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV) I’m looking forward to following Jesus all the way home with you.
DON’T FORGET TO SHOW UP by Rev. Chris McLain, Pastor of Caring and Adults 55+ Ministry When I began in the Adults 55+ roll, someone shared a silly, fun and enjoyable book: Unforgettable Senior Moments. Today’s entry was as follows: “In 1984 The Oxford Library Club for Retired Professional People and Others Interested were looking forward to hearing a guest speaker on the subject of ‘Old Age, Absent-Mindedness, and Keeping Fit.’ Unfortunately, the speaker forgot to turn up.” As we continue our Lenten journey, maybe you have learned that you aren’t really good at fasting — you only made it a couple of days or weeks, or you realized your desire was to lose weight instead of getting closer to Jesus. Either way, you may have intentionally or unintentionally “forgot[ten] to turn up.” In Galatians 4 Paul says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6 ESV) Not only does Jesus not “forget to turn up,” but through His eternally triune connection with the Father, He arrives at just the right time with just the right intention. He comes to redeem us and introduce the world completely to the Father. Jesus shows up in the wilderness, in the temple, at the Passover table, in the garden and on the cross. Let’s return the gesture for the rest of Lent and show up too!