Pastor of Orlando Metro West

“Wait on the Lord…¹” “I waited patiently for the Lord He turned to me and heard my cry.”² My pastoral career began in Jamaica in 1978, when I enrolled in Caribbean Wesleyan College, (at the time known as Jamaica Wesleyan Bible Institute). Upon graduation in 1982, I was assigned to my first pastoral charge. While there, I started a family, was ordained as an elder, and embarked on my first building project. My subsequent pastoral appointments took me to two other Caribbean islands.

A new chapter began in our lives, as we immigrated to the US in 2000. This was the beginning of the path to becoming a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. Upon relocating to New York, I learned that Dr. Sam Vassel was called by the Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene. I had known Sam a long time, but our pastoral responsibilities kept us in different places and hardly making contact with each other. However, that dynamic changed when we discovered that we were both living in New York.

On various occasions, as Sam and I discussed ministry, he would suggest that I think about the possibility of being a part of the Church of the Nazarene. I did not take too kindly to that suggestion. I had my own reasons and intended to maintain my ground about not being a pastor in the denomination; however, I would attend services at Bronx Bethany, participate in their small group and even preach in their services when asked to.

It was while I was attending a Sunday service that Sam informed me that he would like me to be part of the staff at Bronx Bethany. This was not something I was interested in. Furthermore, I did not think I would be a good associate pastor. I have always pastored alone. After much prayer and consideration, I accepted the proposal and became a part of the pastoral staff at Bronx Bethany. This was in 2003. While at Bronx Bethany, I enrolled in Seminary and completed a Master of Divinity degree.

From 2003 to 2011, the pastoral staff grew in numbers. We became a very strong team. As I grew and my leadership skills broadened, it became apparent to others and me that God was saying something similar to us that He had said to the Church in Antioch in Acts, chapter 13. It is a good thing when people are tuned in to what the Holy Spirit is saying. Everything that has happened points to God’s timing and leading. On March 13, 2011, I was installed as the senior pastor of Metro West Church of the Nazarene in Orlando, Florida.

Just as there were challenges in moving from a senior pastor to an associate pastor, there are also challenges in moving from an associate pastor to a senior pastor. I am finding that the Holy Spirit, who imparts wisdom and gives us courage, is doing that and more for me. I understand what David says in the Psalm about waiting on the Lord. Surely, there were times when I thought my time had come to return to being a lead pastor. However, God always knows more than I can ever know. It is His timing that must be observed. I learned not to jump at every call. Not all calls are for me. I have learned to listen for the voice of God, not just the voice of the people; I have learned to see God’s vision, not just the people’s, or mine. It is quite possible that we can allow our own vision or that of others to eclipse God’s vision.

Everyday spent at Bronx Bethany was more than a day at work. They were days of learning. God knows the right place, the right people, and the right time. It is true that the steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord. I accepted the call to Metro West not knowing the size of the membership or what financial remuneration that was going to be offered to me. As important as those elements are, they certainly are not the most for me. Most importantly is to know that I am in the will of God.

You can imagine that it must mean some major adjustments to make this move to Florida. People have tried to interject the weather factor as a motivating cause. That might be a bit trivial. We know that New York gets cold in winter; we know the population density; we know about the cost of housing and the other factors associated with life in New York. But we have lived there for 10 years. We were not in any hurry to leave. We were not even looking for an opportunity to leave. On the contrary, we did things that indicated we were preparing to stay. It is in pursuit of God’s will that we have accepted the call to be here at Metro West.

So, waiting on the Lord does not mean to be inactive. It means for me to be intentional about my personal development and preparation for ministry. It requires the ability to be proactive and innovative in maximizing the moments. It involves capitalizing on those opportunities that present themselves for equipping one’s self, so that when the Lord opens that door, He will find you ready to step through it. I know I have a lot to learn, but I also know I have come here having learned a lot. Wait on the Lord and learn while waiting.