In 1492, Columbus set sail for parts unknown with the Nina the Pinta and Santa Maria. After one month, he landed in Asia. Except he didn’t. What he thought was Asia, was actually the Bahamas.
The last year of my life has felt a little bit like that. I took on the role of interim pastor at B4 Church in Beaverton, Oregon in May of 2023, and this Sunday I will be set in as the permanent lead pastor. This is a space I never dreamed I would land and a role I never imagined I would take on. The journey to this place has been much longer than a year; it feels like it’s been a whole lifetime in the making.
Many people have asked how I’m feeling about this. Female lead pastors are still quite rare, even in a denomination founded by a *woman. And I guess how I’m feeling is: Humbled, honored, hopeful and more-than-a-little intimidated. The leaders who have gone before me at B4 have left big shoes and I can already say: I won’t fill them and I don’t think they’d want me to. I have my own shoes and they fit me, even if they look different. I am grateful, so grateful, for the way God has led me here. It’s a beautiful story that maybe I’ll share sometime.
I have lots of dreams for this church and the thousands of people who call it home, and one personal dream is to share a bit of my journey into this new world as a lead pastor on my dusty, long-neglected blog. I hope it will be encouraging, but I promise it will be honest. Follow along if you’d like and, even better, come see us at B4 on a Sunday at 9 or 11. I’d love to see you and remind you how deeply you are loved by the God who sees and knows and leads us in such beautiful, sometimes-sneaky ways.
Welcome to Not-Asia. These are the shores of God’s choosing, so this is the best place to build.
With hope,
Bo
*Read more about Aimee Sempel McPherson and the history of the Foursquare denomination here.