January 11, 2012

Ruddell Hill Baptist Church

805 Bethesda Road

Batesville, AR  72501

Dear Church Family:

My dear and beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Faith at Ruddell Hill Baptist Church I greet you in the Name of Jesus Christ Our Lord.  I write you this letter to remind you that 2 Timothy 4:2 is where the Apostle Paul told the preacher to “Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of Season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”  I Peter 5:2-4 is where Peter says “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers not by compulsion but willingly,” not for dishonest gain but eagerly.  Nor as being lords over “those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”  We are also told in Hebrews 13: 16-21 “but do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.  Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.  Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.  Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

So why did I tell you about all these Scriptures and what does this mean?  Well, I remind you and myself that the calling to be a Pastor is a high and Godly call, not a call of man or a selfish call.  Eleven years ago on the first Sunday of October 2000 I began serving you here as your Pastor.  It was one of the happiest days of my life.  I met so many wonderful people and the Lord blessed us.  I have always felt a strong and loving support by the Church and tried to be an obedient example for Christ.

Over the years we saw God move in wonderful and miraculous ways.  Our church family outgrew its space inside and out.  God has added over 285 people by letter, or baptism in these few short years.   We created a Mission Statement, web site, and Constitution.  We saw the addition of the prayer garden, parking lots, 4 properties, the two Platt houses and the Blakely and Winkle homes.  God allowed us to watch Him build and pay for the Winkle Annex, which has served this Church well for food, fellowship, fun, the fall festival and worship.  We acquired a new Van, a 24-passenger bus and playground.  We remodeled the offices, and created a new Nursery and Welcome Center.  All of this we have done,  paid cash for and we  have No debt and  we are still moving on.  We have grown to two full time staff, one part- time and a Financial Secretary and one Voluntary for a total of 5.  God has blessed us so much!   We have given and gone and served on Missions all around the world right here from RHBC.  May His Name be praised!  When I look back at what God has done and allowed us to participate in, it makes me weep for joy.  What a blessing to be associated with a place where people have been so blessed and used for the glory of God. 

Having shared all this with you is one reason why this letter is so hard to write.  This past year has been filled with many challenges for me personally and spiritually.  I have dealt with several church inquiries asking us to consider becoming their next Pastor.  One Church from Texas was down to us and one other person.  I just knew that God was not leading us in that direction and therefore, did not worry about it.  In October, after we thought it was all over, another Church, Freeman Heights Baptist Church, called upon us.  The funny thing, like so many of the others, they said we received your resume from a friend.  I never sent my resume out, nor did I know where it had been sent.  They asked us many questions and wanted us to visit and we put them off until we finally went one Saturday, but wasn’t t really sure God was in it.  Then after Thanksgiving on Saturday night, the Chairman of the Deacons and Search Committee called and announced some of them would be present the next day in our service.  Imagine my surprise, and sudden fear of what that might do, as their words washed over me.  After they left they called several times and tried to get us to come in December and we kept saying no.  After I told them it was a busy time and we would be taking a few days off for Christmas and a Sunday off later, they ask if we could come the 7^th and 8^th  of January to Berryville.  We decided since I hadn’t taken any time off, especially a Sunday in over 5 years with the exception of a Revival or Mission trip, we might as well see what God might be doing.

We went to Berryville to visit the Freeman Heights Church and to see if God was calling us or if this was just another opportunity to show our obedience.  Saturday evening after a long day of car trouble, looking around, questions and fatigue, I prayed, “ God I’m willing to stay and serve RHBC for the rest of my life or move, only if its your will.  If you want me to come here the vote must be overwhelming or I’ll know you are not in it.”  We went to church services and right before I was to preach God impressed upon me to change my text and message.  I was now sure he was sending me back to Ruddell Hill; this wasn’t going to be good.  That morning at the invitation, 3 children confirmed their decisions to follow Christ and came forward for baptism, while several others came forward to pray.  Of the 160 people that attended, 129 were eligible to vote during this service.  There were 128 “yes” votes for us to come, and one confused child voted “no”.  All of our questions, fears and concerns being answered, we felt that God had confirmed His will.  We accepted the call of the Freeman Heights Baptist Church to become its next Pastor. 

Today it is my sad and loving duty to submit my resignation to you as Pastor of Ruddell Hill Baptist Church to be effective through Sunday, January 29^th.

It has been my honor, privilege and blessing to call you Friends, Brothers, Sisters and Family at Ruddell Hill.  I have been so blessed to have spent the last 11years with you and pray God’s blessings upon you as you continue to serve Him here in this place.  I would like to leave you with this Scriptural blessing found in Jude 24-25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy.  To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

In His Service

William Alan Brown

 Please join us for a Community wide Reception on January 29th from 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. for a time of love and goodbye to all our friends and Church Family in Batesville.  Looking forward to seeing you at the Winkle Annex.  We will be moving January 31st to Berryville and the first Sunday at Freeman Heights will be February 5th.  God bless you all.