“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35
When Bob and I took our first little church 35 miles outside of Huntsville, Texas, we had no idea of the lessons we would learn from our new family of faith. We grew up in Houston and this church was in a town of 250 people. Our home church, First United Methodist Church, at one time had been the largest Methodist Church in the world. Here we were at 18 and 19 living in a tiny town, with many years of college and a whole lifetime of learning ahead of us. We were to be married in 7 months. In addition to that, Bob was the student pastor, and I would soon be their “first lady.” We wondered how our congregation could look to us as their spiritual leaders since we were so young. Trusting us as such seemed natural to them, and they welcomed us with open arms. Quite often we would have members stop by with fresh produce from their gardens, meat from their farms, dinner, or baked goods. They were proud to share what they had with us, and we were very grateful for those gifts that helped sustain us during those lean years.
In the months before we were married, I lived in the dorm at Sam Houston and Bob had an apartment nearby, but we were in Richards for the weekends. Our parsonage was on the same property as the church, and I would spend the days with Bob, but I had a standing invitation from two families to spend the nights with them. Oh, the stories I could share about those nights! I did the happy dance when we got married and I finally got to move in for good.
On our last Sunday in Richards, the chairman of our Administrative Board, Hillman Ury, called us both up front and said, “Bob and Marsha, we know that one day you’ll be appointed to some great church on some big boulevard, and when you do, we hope you’ll remember us.” As we moved from Richards, we left with hearts full of gratitude for all the people who taught us so much and loved us unconditionally, as God loves each of us. That was the most precious gift we could have received.
We were moving to another small church that we could serve on the weekends while we lived in Dallas during seminary days. But what we realized was, that while we moved on, Richards was already loving their next student pastor. What a blessing it was for us to have spent such a special time with these dear people at the very beginning of our marriage and ministry. They truly embodied the love of Christ in raising part-time student pastors, and theirs was a sacred calling!
Marsha Long, Director of Hospitality Ministry
