Pastoral Reflections Rev. Dr. Mike Drake


I write this on the afternoon of August 14. During worship earlier in the day, we had the honor of hearing the Rev. Dr. Jack Haberer preach. And afterward at a congregational meeting, we elected him as the new lead pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown. If you were not able to be there, the vote was overwhelmingly positive, the spirit in the air electric, and the mood at the reception that followed enthusiastic. In this issue of Tidings, you’ll have an opportunity to get to know Jack better through a Q&A exchange he had with editor Rich Laliberte (see page 6). Jack is a person of compassion, commitment, and courage, and I’m excited that he has decided to join this congregation as it looks to the good future God has for it.


Jack’s presence is the result of a search process which spanned a number of months. Troughout that time, the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) met weekly on Monday evenings, and spent countless hours outside of those meetings reading information forms from prospective candidates, listening to sermons, visiting candidates in their home churches, and so much more. Te total hours they worked at this task, which they shared at our congregational meeting, was in the range of several thousand. I can imagine that somewhere in this lengthy process, they may have experienced “search fatigue,” and it would have been tempting to cut corners, to “settle” for a particular individual in order to “git ’er done,” as Larry the Cable Guy might put it. But the timetable the PNC was working with was not one for them to set; it was God’s timetable. Even though they could not clearly see their destination, they believed that God is faithful and they remained committed.


Te members of the PNC were: Peter Dent, Larry Deal, Rick Ensley, Chuck Hess, Beverly Kerch, Afaf Khoury, Jane Long, Will Newbegin, Shannan Ott, and Deborah Palmer. When you see them, thank them for blessing us through their dedication to this work to which they were called and elected.


Some of you may have felt a similar restlessness as you waited for this pastoral search to conclude, and now that it has, thought to yourselves, “I'm glad that’s done.” But of course, in all honesty, it’s not! Our history over 185 years as a congregation has always been one of listening for where God is leading us, discerning a direction, stepping out in faith, and arriving at a new place in life and ministry, only to realize that this is only a stopover on a longer journey. It is not the end. It is just the next step into a future only God knows, as that process of discernment and action plays out over and over again. To be willing to travel there is an act of faith, as we believe that God is a good God and has nothing but the best in store for us.


So where will this new chapter in our history carry us? Who knows! But in faith, hope, and trust, let us be willing to be led there, by the power of the Spirit at work in us and in our midst.


“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with


hope.” —JEREMIAH 29:11


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