Yesterday at church, we had our first new member join in my tenure. I was really excited because I am a believer in church membership as a statement of "I'm here, I'm committed to your mission and want to do what I can to help" but also because of who joined. The new member was my husband, Kevin.
To some of you this may not sound like a big deal. It seems pretty customary that a spouse would be a member of their partner's church, right?
In this day and time, getting "two for one" is not always the case. There are tons of interfaith clergy marriages. I know clergy who are married to a person who doesn't do the God or church thing at all. I think it is fine if the spouse of a pastor doesn't come to church. I mean, you are only actually paying the pastor to come . . .
Yet, I feel lucky that in my situation, Kevin is a Jesus-loving kind of guy who believes in the church. He grew up in the Baptist tradition like myself but has come to be the strange "different kind of Baptists" like those found at Washington Plaza and other like minded places. He cares about the relevance of the church in an age when so many people think the church is unnecessary.
But yet, Kevin and I have never gone to church together on a regular basis. While I served as an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg, Kevin continued in leadership at Calvary Baptist Church (the place that actually connected us to each other originally). While it would have been nice to have seen Kevin at church on a weekly basis, we both felt like we were best used at different places.
However, the whole conversation changed when I received and accepted the call to pastor at Washington Plaza. Without my asking him to, Kevin volunteered that he'd like to transfer his membership to support me and the congregation I was so passionate about building up. While it would be hard for him to leave his roles and friends at Calvary, he felt this was the best thing for us.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed and even more excited yesterday when it was all official.
Washington Plaza folks, you need to know that you have a gem in your newest member, Kevin Hagan. Though it will take him some time to adjust to this whole "pastor's spouse" thing, in due time you might find that you like him more than even me. He is a compassionate and wise soul that really does want good things to come to the Plaza. He looks forward to feeling even more at home with the congregation in the days ahead.
Know that Team Hagan is glad we are here and that we are here for the long haul!
