Our Pastor @ FRUCC

OUR PASTOR

The Reverend Phillip Ransom Myers. son of the Rev. Dr and Mrs. G. Harold Myers, was born in Burlington. North Carolina on December 26, 1961. His elementary education was received in the public schools of Thomasville North Carolina and he was awarded his high school diploma from South Rowan Senior High School in China Grove, North Carolina.

His collegiate work began at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1984. During his summer breaks, Rev. Myers served on the staff at Johns River Valley Camp and served as a short-term missionary in Kenya, Africa.

Rev. Myers enrolled in Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1984 and graduated in 1987 with the degree of Master of Divinity. During these three years, Rev. Myers held various positions in local churches. For one year he served as Pastoral Assistant for Youth Ministries at Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, Maryland. He served as summer intern at St. Mark’s Reformed Church in Burlington in 1985. For two years he served as Ministerial Assistant to Salem United Church of Christ in Leola, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1986 he completed the Clinical Pastoral Education program at the N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Rev. Myers was ordained on June 21, 1987 at his home church, Mt. Zion United Church of Christ in China Grove. From June 1987 through October 1993, he served as the pastor of Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ in Concord, North Carolina. His ministry with First Reformed United Church of Christ began in November of 1994.

Pastor’s Letter

In January of this year, Consistory members and committee chairs met on a Saturday morning for a three-hour planning retreat. Having received some feedback from the congregation that our church may need to clarify its focus and mission, members began to discuss what that may be and what it may look like. After a very collaborative process, the group settled on these two mission statements, one longer and one more succinct: (1) Becoming who we discern God wants us to be; (2) Striving to transform our members into Christian disciples who live lives of service. I can hardly imagine any other statements that so clearly declare the theme of Jesus’ teaching, and therefore, the mission and ministry of today’s church.

Far too many people live this life as though it were nothing more than a passage-way to the life hereafter. For sure, we all find great hope in the promise of eternal life, but what about this one precious life granted to us on this earth? Although John 3:16 states that “God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him might have eternal life,” the gospel of John also reports Jesus declaring, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10).

When we read through the gospels, we find that Jesus was far more concerned with what happens here and now, as opposed to the hereafter. Throughout his preaching and teaching, in the midst of nearly every personal contact, behind every healing he performed, Jesus sought to unleash the potential within every spirit. This, I believe, was Jesus’ motivation in proclaiming the kingdom of God. As God’s ambassador, his mission was to help persons embrace the life God intended them to live.

As a community of Jesus’ present day disciples, the church would do well to understand its mission as an extension of our Savior’s commitment. We are called to offer an “extravagant welcome” to all who cross our paths, no matter where they are on life’s journey. We are called to extend them the unconditional forgiveness and love we have experienced in Christ. And we are called to serve our community and world, offering hope and restoration to those who are frightened and broken.

Understanding Jesus’ mission in this way lies at the very foundation of my ministry. Whether I find myself preaching, teaching, counseling, or leading, I seek to motivate and inspire others to develop a lifestyle dedicated to serving God and the world. Mindful of the creative spirit that God instills within our souls, I love helping others tap into this hidden power and watching them “bloom and grow.”

Early last year I came across these lines written by the late Pope John Paul II: “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term, yet ... all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life. In a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.”

And then later in the year, I discovered a more playful version of this same idea offered by the actor, Danny Kaye: “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”

As we continue to live and work together as the body of Christ, may we join together in discerning who God desires us to be. May we help all God’s people discover the “masterpiece” they are. May we celebrate one another’s gifts and throw all the paint we can on the canvas of life. And may God give us wisdom, strength and inspiration for the journey.