Looking Back, Looking Ahead!
Written by Jim Holland (July 2014)A little over ten years ago, I was looking for an assistant. St. Patrick was a new church plant which was growing and it was time to get some help. I thought I knew who that person would be because he was graduating from seminary and was available about the time we were hiring. In fact, I hadn’t really given much thought to who my new assistant would be because he had previously worked at the church and we had talked for a few years about working together. So, in my mind it was just a phone call, a little haggling over money, and Scott Lowe would be back in Collierville.When I called Scott to seal the deal, much to my surprise Richard Reeves (another guy I had discipled years ago and another good friend) had made my assistant an offer he couldn’t refuse - to help him plant a church in a place that I couldn’t compete with - Colorado. I confess that I was mad enough to spit at Richard and Scott Lowe both. But you can’t stay mad at friends you have discipled and done ministry with for years, so after putting sufficient guilt on Scott for playing me to the left, I asked him for recommendations for an assistant. He didn’t hesitate a second. He said, “The guy you need to hire, who is way better than I would be and you know him, is Brian Henson.”Brian Henson. I let that name roll around in my mind and tried to visualize him working for me. When I got off the phone with Scott, I did a mental review of what I knew of Brian Henson. Scott told me he was brilliant, way smarter than him or me, funny, had a great wife, and would be a good fit at St. Patrick. I had no idea if he was smart, theological, or could do ministry, but I did have a picture of someone who was a character.My first memory of Brian Henson was at a summer ministry in Florida called RYM. I have been a part of this ministry for thirty years now. I have seen people come and go. There are always new guys who take the stage for a year or two and like Andy Warhol says, they have their “fifteen minutes of fame,” and are gone. So I am watching the stage as this lanky new guy steps up. I am sort of disinterested until I hear him open his mouth and start to speak about something called “Redneck Moments.” Both the accent and the subject matter told me this was not your usual guy. As I listened to him speak I knew that accent as being most likely from the “Boot Heel” of Missouri and as I heard him define such terms as, “frog strangler, cutter, wet mules, cat head, etc.” I was intrigued.So taking Scott’s advice, I called Brian and after a few conversations he came to Collierville. After spending time together, I was so impressed, I told him, “You come work at St. Patrick and if you don’t become a Presbyterian while you are here I will help you plant any kind of church you want.” So, ten years ago this summer Brian and Erika moved to Collierville and have, in the time they have lived here, woven themselves into the fabric of St. Patrick and into the fabric of our lives. Their fingerprints are all over this place. They will leave a huge hole in our hearts when they leave.I have never worked with anyone as long as I have worked with Brian and to see him leave makes me want to throw up. Yet it is what he and I have dreamed of for the past few years. When we planted this church fifteen years ago one of our core values was that we would be “…a church that plants churches.” The reason for that is because the fastest way to reach the world for Jesus is to plant new churches. Brian is the beginning of that dream. I confess I wanted him to plant one near us so that we could still hang out, but God has other plans.People ask me, “What will it be like to not have Brian?” and that is a good question. But I think what people are really asking me is, “Who will do all the work that Brian does when he leaves?” That is a fair question and the Session has addressed it by hiring Jay Brownlow part time to do all of Brian’s administrative duties and by having Session members and church members (for the short term) helping out with Brian’s pastoral duties. But when people ask me that question, what I am thinking is how much I will miss our friendship. When one of your best friends in the world moves away, it does hurt. So what will I miss when Brian leaves? I will miss our conversations and prayers each morning. I will miss our road trips. I will miss his wise counsel. I will miss laughing at his humor till I hurt. I will miss having someone around who has an almost photographic memory. I will miss the hours of conversation about everything from Cardinal Baseball to high theology. I stop there because I risk becoming maudlin and sentimental, but you get the picture.On the other hand, Brian is a disciple of Jesus and a continual learner of Jesus, and the stewardship of his gifts demands that he fly the coup and stop being an offensive coordinator and become a head coach. Don’t we want to send out the brightest and the best among us? If, as we say, “this is not about us,” then we will rejoice because a Jedi is about to move to Texas and take the field! Brian planting a church is a Kingdom Win! Brian Henson is my hero!I am comforted by that thought and by knowing that we at St. Patrick are going to have a front row seat to watch and participate with Brian and Erika as they plant a church. So join us Sunday night July 20th as we give them a party they will never forget!