One of my favorite novels is "Life of Pi." It's the story of a teenage boy, Pi, who finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with a wild tiger named Richard Parker. The book recounts how the boy and the tiger begin to form a bond with one another, and they come to rely on each other for survival. When their embattled ship finally reaches land, Pi collapses onto the sand, exhausted and starving. Richard Parker jumps out of the boat, stretches his legs, pauses at the end of the jungle, and then disappears into the canopy. As Pi narrates this moment he tells of how Richard Parker's unceremonious departure was the most heartbreaking and overwhelming part of the whole ordeal. He says, "I suppose in the end the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye."

My family and I have been in the midst of a massive transition. For the past few years we have been serving at First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. It has been a wonderful experience. FBC Cape is a place of warmth, grace, love and faith that I have been so honored to serve as pastor. And our time in Cape Girardeau has placed us in close proximity to family. However, my wife and I have both felt God calling us on to a new adventure: July 21 will be my last Sunday as pastor of FBC Cape. On Aug. 1 I will begin serving as senior pastor of Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In these final days of living in Cape Girardeau, I have been overwhelmed with one feeling more any other: gratitude.

Thank you to the amazing, loving, wise, generous and brave people of First Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau. God has used that body of believers to strengthen my sense of calling, to challenge me to love fiercely, and to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit in my life. I will forever be grateful that this loving church honored me with the privilege of serving them.

Thank you to my beautiful, fun and inspiring family. I have been blessed with amazing parents, siblings and extended family. They are not only my family; they are some of my deepest friends.

And thank you to the Southeast Missourian for the privilege and honor of being able to share my thoughts on faith and goodness with the wonderful community of Cape Girardeau.

I would like to leave you all with these words. They are the words of the Benediction that I have delivered each Sunday to First Baptist Church, and they are my prayer for each of you:

May the One who seeks you find you when you fall.

May the One who loves you take delight in your living.

And may the One who sends you, send you now in joy,

For in your gladness and in your grieving,

In your brokenness and in your healing,

In your faithfulness and in your leaving,

The One who made you and redeemed you,

Is the One who keeps you still.

Amen.