A sad duty

Most of my work as pastor is a joy. I love what I do, most of the time. That said, when I have to lay a friend to rest, like we did today with Luther Ray Doughty, it's a difficult and sad duty.

Luther Ray was one of the first visits I made when I got here. He and I became fast friends, esp given that he reminded me so much of my dad. I never told him that, a fact I wish I could change. As Luther Ray's health deteriorated, the once strong, independent man who loved to fish and mow his yard got to where breathing was difficult. When I saw him last on Friday of last week, quietly I asked the Lord to let him come home. Mercifully, the Lord answered that prayer the next day.

Luther Ray's passing was sad and a difficult part of my job - but made much easier in knowing he's no longer suffering and no longer sick - he's at home with the Lord and all the other fishermen. Please pray for his wife, Lorraine, his daughter, Cindy and his son, Todd as well as their families.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SBC Meeting #2 - June 14 2023

 Beloved friends, yesterday's optimism evaporated in the New Orleans heat today.  I had hoped for a few things today and, sadly for me, most of them broke the wrong way in my view.  The lone bright spot was Dr Bart Barber who did a masterful job handling the tough duties and managing the clock.  In spite of that,  it was a deeply saddening day for me.  Consider with me why. An amendment - known loosely as the "Mike Law Amendment" - had been given to the SBC Ex Committee months ago declaring the role of pastor to be limited to men.  That's already in the Baptist Faith and Message so I didn't think much of it.  Surely we won't take it as a litmus test for fidelity to the SBC - that's a creed and last I checked we Baptists are non-creedal people.  Or were.  I had hoped cooler heads would prevail and the "Mike Law" amendment would fail.  After all, the Exec Committee put it forward but did NOT recommend it for approval.  This motion declares there sh
Read more

SBC meeting - June 13 2023

 Friends, today was not the day I expected and I mean that in the best possible way.  I came into this meeting believing much of what I had read online to be an accurate portrayal of where Baptist life really was.  I was wrong.  We aren't nearly as angry or narrow as I feared.   Our friend Dr Bart Barber was re-elected in a resounding vote - 67.5% to 31.5%.  I didn't see that coming. The spirit of the meeting was pleasant, even jovial at times.  I didn't see that coming. The people who came seemed genuinely happy to be here.  I didn't see that coming.   There's still work left to do and there are questions left to be answered tomorrow, but this was a really good start.  And I'm glad it came, even if I didn't see it coming.  
Read more

Home

I'm home and it's Saturday morning.  I woke up - no surprises here - at 4 AM.  Jet lag takes a couple of days to dissipate.   So this is where I'll end my travelogue.  Already I'm back to regular pastor life.  I'd been in the house about 20 minutes when I got a call that one of our deacons had lost his father-in-law.  I left for the hospital immediately.  I knew my associate pastor could handle it, but that's not a job I wanted to give away.  Later today (I hope), I'll post some pictures from our adventure.  Thanks for reading this nonsense and for walking with me along this path.  The good news is our adventures don't end just because we're home.  My prayer for this moment in time is that I'll recognize the power of THIS moment as I did while I was traveling. 
Read more