A NOTE FROM MICAH HOLMES

Hello friends!

I (Micah) am the new middle school pastor at BCC. My wife (Angelyn) and I have spent the last two years serving as Program Directors at Twin Rocks Friends Camp on the Oregon Coast. We graduated from George Fox in 2014 and married in 2015. We have two cats (Boba and Jango Fett), deeply enjoy games and friendly competition, love exploring nature through camping and hiking, and we unashamedly claim Taco Bell as one of our favorite cheap meal dates! We look forward to growing in relationship with you at BCC!

Returning to the “Valley” from Rockaway Beach has felt like a comforting and joyous return home but the past few months have also contained significant personal and spiritual processes with which we have both wrestled. We moved to the coast with the hope and expectation that we would spend the next 10-15 years there. We planned to put down roots, engage meaningfully in our work and ministry, buy a house, and intentionally invest in a community that was important to us. God had other plans in mind for our future and trusting Him through this season has brought a reminder and a lesson to the forefront for me.

A reminder of peace and stillness: As Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith would say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” When the plans we have for our life do NOT come together, I quickly find myself emulating the disciples in Matthew 8:24-26. The storm, the fears, the anxieties rage and I shake Jesus and cry out, “Lord, save us! We are going to drown!” In the midst of my frustration, that comes on the heels of my moments that lack faith, I am grateful that God is patient with me and protective of me in his rebuke. Jesus rebuked his terrified disciples, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and suddenly there was a great calm (Matthew 8:26). The words of Matthew 8:26 and Psalm 46:10-11 resonate with me and serve as a reminder to be still and at peace in the knowledge that the wind and the waves obey Him, His plans remain unthwarted, He is with me, and maybe my role requires fewer bids for control and more stillness in the knowledge that He is God.

A lesson in humility: Before serving at Twin Rocks, I was a middle school pastor for five years, and while I loved it, I got caught up in the thought process that if I was “only” a middle school pastor for much longer, I would fall short in my self-comparison to the success and career progression my peers were experiencing. I felt that I needed to make a career move. Two years later, I found God nudging me to explore a middle school pastor role at BCC and my first thought was, “God, isn’t this a step backward in my career?” God used the following moment to guide me toward the most humbling and abrupt confrontation I’ve ever had with my pridefulness. In the midst of my concern with progression, achievement, and recognition, God has been setting the stage for me to go on a journey with Him to teach me about humility and the service he desires from me. I am grateful that God is patient and gentle with me in his instruction.

I’ll leave you with the hope that you find a moment to be still and at peace in God’s presence today, and this prayer from Brother Lawrence which encourages us to worship and serve humbly wherever we find ourselves.

“ Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I’ve not time to be a great saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee, or dreaming in the dawnlight, or storming heaven’s gates, make me a saint by getting meals, and washing up the plates. Warm all the kitchen with Thy Love, and light it with Thy peace; forgive me all my worrying, and make my grumbling cease. Thou who didst love to give men food, in room, or by the sea, accept the service that I do, I do it unto Thee.”

Peace,

Micah Holmes
BCC Middle School Pastor