"God's Shepherd—Pastor Toby Anniversary & Retirement"
12/11/ 20 Isaiah 61:1-3 Matthew 25:31-40 1 Peter 5:1-4
Today is a day of joy and celebration and a day of tempered with sadness yet filled with hope, as we celebrate our Pastor’s 35th anniversary to the ordained ministry, her 65th birthday, and her retirement from this wonderful church known as New Life At Calvary. Our hearts are filled with joy and our eyes are filled with tears as one chapter closes and another begins.
We feel this way because we know that we have had the opportunity of being ministered to by one of the greatest servants in the kingdom of God, our own Rev. Dr. Toby Gillespie-Mobley, but known in our hearts as simply “Pastor Toby.”
One of the greatest things God has given to us is His Son Jesus Christ, who said of Himself I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for His sheep.
35 years ago, Pastor Toby received the call of God to be ordained and installed as a Shepherd of Roxbury Presbyterian Church. I was present on that day. With God as my witness, I testify that I have seen Pastor Toby at , Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Glenville Presbyterian Church, Glenville New Life Community Church, New Life Fellowship, Calvary Presbyterian Church and New Life At Calvary, time and time again serve as a shepherd laying down her life for the sheep that have been under her care.
One of the most difficult things about trying to choose a passage of Scripture for today’s message, is that Pastor Toby is the living reality of so much of the word of God. So much of what you find in Jesus, she has already allowed Jesus to put inside of her.
She will be the first to say, “whatever good you see in me, it’s because of Jesus working in me.” I can’t think of another person that I know who has lived a life that has been more full of grace and truth than she has.
The passage of scripture I want us to look at this morning comes to from 1 Peter chapter 5. Peter has a word for us as elders, pastors, youth leaders, bible study teachers, life connect leaders and those who God appoints over others in the body of Christ.
1 Peter 5:2 (NIV2011) 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
You know shepherds are assigned to a particular flock. They can look at the flocks of other shepherds and admire them, but when it comes to their own flock, they are ready to do what it takes to protect them, to guide them and to feed them. You will not find a more loyal shepherd than you see in Pastor Toby to her flock.
Jesus once said, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” Pastor Toby has wanted the life that God gives to us to prosper where ever it appears. She worked hard to save lives in their mother’s womb. She worked hard helping mothers with their babies. She raised many a church child right in her own home. She worked with teenagers in need of a role model. She’s been there for young adults trying to find their way.
She’s been there for older adults in need of a friend. She’s been there for senior citizens pouring out her love. She’s been there in the rooms with those who were breathing their last breath before going to be with the Lord. When some people walk into a room they come in saying, “Hey, Here I am,” but with Pastor Toby it’s more “oh there you are.” She consistently seeks to infuse life into others.
She has watched over her flock eagerly going after those who have drifted away. Always ready to receive back the sheep, even the ones who tried to bite her, kick her or knock her down. She’s felt it was more important to get the sheep home safely, than it was to hold a grudge for the wrong that was done. Just like Jesus, she doesn’t give up on you.
Peter adds a comment on watching over the flock. He says, “Don’t do it because you must, but because you are willing as God wants you to be.” It would be very difficult for you to remember a time when you watched Pastor Toby serving without her heart being in it. You’ve never seen her lead a praise song in a dead manner.
She learned from her Mom that love is a part that needs to go into everything she does. One day, her mother asked her to cut up some items to go into a tossed salad. Pastor Toby wanted to be doing something else at the time. So she was chopping and cutting the things like she was angry. Her mother told her, “she was making the salad wrong. She certainly wouldn’t want to eat the salad. It was being made without love in its preparation.” Pastor Toby learned then, “why you do something can be far more important than what you actually do.”
Her life has been marked as a shepherd by a willingness to serve God, not out of obligation, but out of love for people and for Jesus. What has made the difference in her life, and in her ministry has been the Spirit of the Lord upon her.
One day Jesus walked into a synagogue in the town of Nazareth. He stood up to read and the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll until he got to the part Luke 4:18-19 (NIV2011) 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Some people were thrilled with Jesus when he said this. Others said, “wait a minute, isn’t this Joseph’s son?” It was as though Jesus did not have a right to say this.
Pastor Toby when you entered Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary some 40 years ago you were among a minority of women students, and one of three African American women. There were many students who didn’t think a woman could be called by God to become a pastor.
Even after you graduated from seminary, you ran into opposition from others who thought a woman shouldn’t pastor. You even had members of your congregations who didn’t accept you as a senior pastor. But you never allowed any of that to ever rob of your of your call to ministry.
Because like Jesus, you too could declare, Luke 4:18-19 (NIV2011)
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
We have seen you proclaiming the good news to the poor. Every poor person you have run into, you have lifted their heads a little higher. You have taken the time to make them feel significant. You have a left a little hope that they might run into you again.
Your ministry has taken you inside the prisons and jail cells. For 20 years you have driven a few times each year all the way to Columbus to visit and encourage the hearts of the women who have been forgotten by society. You have proclaimed to them, that even though they might be locked up, they were still free to know the love and grace of Jesus Christ and to be changed by his resurrection power.
You have let people know time and time again, God has the power to let them see something better and different for their lives. They don’t have to continue down that road of darkness. They don’t have to stay in that situation. You have always been eager to preach the first Sunday of the New year to let people know, things don’t have to stay the same.
With Jesus, this year could be the year for your life that you’ve been waiting for. No matter how bad off a person’s life may seem to be, you have often said, “where there’s life, there is hope.” Whereas some of us may have declared, that’s it I am through with you, you have given more people more chances to start over than I can count.
You have fulfilled that verse, in 2 Thessalonians 3:13 which says, “brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.” You have earned well the nickname of the energizer bunny. You just keep going on and on and on. That’s why we know that even though you may be retiring from New Life At Calvary, God is a launching you into a different ministry for the kingdom of God.
Peter goes on to say, “not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve.” In all your years pastoring, you have never once complained about your salary. You’ve never moaned during the many years when there was no increase in salary, because your faith and your hope has always been in God’s provision for your life.
It is a great witness to arrive at the completion of 35 years of ministry with your honor and integrity intact when it comes to money. You made up your mind a long time ago that you can’t serve God and money, and so you went whole heartedly into serving God.
When people hear the word pastor, they often think preacher, teacher, counselor, worship leader and speaker. Many do not think of the opportunity to clean toilets, sweep floors, pick up kids, drop off kids, deliver groceries, take seniors to the doctors, buy pizza, iron robes, have kids spend the weekend, lead kids’ choirs, wash dance outfits, direct summer camp, babysitting, house sitting, van driving, line dancing and crime buster. Yet in your willingness to serve as a shepherd, you have done all these things and many many more. Simply because for the kingdom to advance, the jobs needed to be done.
Your eagerness to serve has built us up as congregations and as individuals during the span of your ministry. You have been there for some of the most important moments of our lives. How did you find time to make it to all those prom picture events before our big night? How were you in the stands for our games.
You were there in the stands cheering us on at graduation whether it was for our Pre-Kindergarden Graduation service or we were getting our college or advanced degrees. You were there when our first child was born and the second and the third. You were there when we got married. You were at all those wedding showers and baby showers.
You were there at the hospital when we didn’t know what to expect from the surgery. You’d be there waiting in the recovery room. You were there for us when we needed someone to moderate the tension in our family. You were there for us when we got the news that a loved one had died and what a comfort you were. You cried with us, you laughed with us, you danced with us and many times you were Jesus for us.
Peter went on to say, not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. Few pastors have served with the kind of humility that you have provided in your leadership. But even in your humility, your leadership still shines through. I can remember the liturgical dancers went to dance at another church and you were among the dancers. The pastor of the church didn’t know who you were. But after the dance, you were introduced as Pastor Toby, and the Pastor leaned over to me and said, I knew there was something special about that dancer. No one had to tell him you were a leader. He still sensed it from your presence.
You mentioned at Session what a joy it has been to serve with the Sessions of Roxbury, Glenville, Calvary and New Life At Calvary who were all dedicated to doing what was best for the church. Your leadership gifts played a role in the love and peace that was often at work in those Session meetings. Even in our disagreements, our goal was to build the kingdom of God.
You have truly been an example to us as your flock. You have always forced us to think about how a certain policy or decision was going to affect others. Often times in the military you will hear people say of a general, that he is a “soldier’s general.
That term meant that the general would place the welfare of his soldiers above making a name for himself. You have been a leader who have constantly thought what’s best for the congregation, not what’s best for me. You never sat out to create name for yourself, but have always tried to lift up the name of Jesus. You’ve never wanted to be in the limelight, unless Jesus placed you there.
You have been the example that you were called to be. We can see it the reproduction of yourself first in, Pastor Kellie and now in Pastor Antonia. They both have desired and are desiring to see more of you replicated in their own leadership styles and their compassion for people. The elders, the deacons, and the lay pastors have also modeled themselves after your example.
Even beyond your role as pastor, you have demonstrated what a godly wife looks like in supporting her husband. You have shown us how as a parent we can love our kids and let them go to be in God’s hands. You have shown us how to be the kind of friend, that will lay down her life for another.
You have been example of how we are to care for the least of these in our midst. You’ve been the supreme example of showing hospitality in the home opening your doors again and again to those who have a need. In other words you have shown us what Jesus would most likely look like in each of these roles.
After all that Jesus has done through you on our behalf, how can we not but say thank you. We celebrate the ministry you have given to us. We pray God’s blessings upon your retirement. We are delighted to show a small portion of our love to you through the gifts that will be presented later. But know, that there is a greater reward to come.
Peter goes on to write, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”
Pastor Toby as your husband and as your colleague in ministry, I cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for the tremendous job you have done in touching thousands of people’s lives. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside of you for the cause of Jesus Christ. As a congregation, we commend you for being one of the greatest gifts in the kingdom of God. We thank God, that God loved us enough to send you into our midst to show us what His Jesus Christ is all about. We pray that we have returned your love in such a measure as to have been a blessing to you.
