Faithfulness of God has certainly been evident for us as a congregation and I'm sure for Lawrence and Ashley. It took about a year and a half praying for you guys before we even knew you. praying for you even before we thought you were in the mix. As our search committee faithfully met and prayed and considered different men for this position of associate pastor. And here we are. Here we are. The Lord has brought us together. We're going to be giving you a lot of encouragement today. I can't guarantee you'll get it. this much for the months and years to come. But you're going to get it today because we're so happy and so glad you're here. I'm going to be asking four people to come up here. And I think if you all come up, then we'll save time instead of walking back and forth. And when you're done sharing, you can go sit down. But I want to tell you who they are and why they're going to be sharing with Lawrence and Ashley. First of all, Greg Andrews will be sharing. Greg was chairman of our search committee during the last months when we were communicating with Lawrence. It's very possible that Greg talked to Lawrence more than anybody else did. And so they kind of built a relationship. So he's going to represent the search committee and encourage you. Before I tell you who the other three are, speaking of the search committee, If you served on the search committee through any of the year and a half, could you stand? Because I want to recognize you. So if you served on the search committee during those months, great. Thank you so much. These people invested so much time. So Greg will start out and he'll have some words of encouragement for you. Jeremiah, where are you? Okay, Jeremiah is going to come and as most of you know that a major part of Lawrence's ministry will be to families and young adults in our church. He'll pay attention to the rest of us older ones too, but we've asked him to really minister to disciple, equip, you know, whatever God leads him, our families and young adults. So Jeremiah is one of those and so he'll be sharing on behalf of that group some encouragement for you. And then Debbie Flander is going to be sharing with Ashley, because you're pretty important to this. So she's going to have some words for you. And then Janine also will be coming up. And she has a letter to read to the congregation. And she'll let you know who that's from when she shares. So if those four people could come up and just start with Greg and share your words of encouragement. Really nice to see everybody today. This is a big day. First of all, I just want to say thank you to our committee. We had just wonderful people on our committee. But I will tell you today, I'm really glad we're done. Because it was a big job. It was time consuming. But I think we're all blessed through it also. And I also just want to thank God today. I want to thank God that the Klingsheims are here. You guys have been through so much in this last year, more than you ever thought you'd be through. And here you are sitting amongst us today. That's such a blessing. And thank you for answering the call to come to you free in embarrassed Minnesota. Lawrence, back in February, you called Marlon. I don't know if you remember that or not, but that's how this whole thing started. You answered one of our ads, or you saw the ad. And from that time on, Marlon did a great job of telling you what we wanted out of an associate pastor. And we got together as a committee. And we had a little get-together upstairs. We had tacos and a bag, I think. And that was a wonderful time with you guys. And I think you pretty much had us at hello at that thing. When we were all done and you guys had left, the committee members that were there, we were all pretty giddy about you. And you were already checking off boxes. I don't know if you know that or not. But you were a pastor, already had experience. You were both excited to work with our young people in our church. That was huge. And you knew northern Minnesota. That shouldn't be important, but it was very important. So, and we continued our talks. And then later in March came and you had your diagnosis. And that definitely slowed things down a little bit. But I want you to know, Lawrence, not once in our committee did we talk about waiting six months or a year or anything. We were going to continue talks with you just like we did anybody else. And we're so glad we did. Right? So now we're sitting here today. And as we talked with you, you just kept checking off boxes. You were the guy. You were the guy that God brought to us. And we knew that. You got your call letter in June, I think. June or July. But anyway, so you text me and you said, hey, Greg, I got my call letter, but I need to pray about it and talk and call some other friends in the area. Two weeks later, you text me again. And you said, hey, I want to call you. I just said yes right away. I was on the deck up on Vermillion at our place. And I didn't give myself time to pray about it or anything. And bang, you called. And I was so thankful that you accepted the position. I was like fist pumping and everything. And really, if you would have said no, I may have gone into beg mode. I'm not sure. But anyways, I'm so thankful that you said yes. And then I got to call Marlon. and I got to listen to Janine behind them. She was so excited. But anyways, we're just so excited that you're here. We are thankful. We're grateful. And we're just so blessed that you're with us today. So thank you. I have the privilege and honor of sharing words of affirmation and encouragement for Ashley. Ashley, I wasn't able to go to the Fall Women's Retreat this year, so I didn't get that chance to experience that weekend with you when I know a lot of the other ladies did, so I missed out. However, I've had some opportunities to observe characteristics in you that I so admire. When I've had the opportunity to read your CaringBridge posts over the last many months, I've been amazed at the maturity that you have demonstrated with Lawrence's battle with cancer. As you've given updates about Lawrence's health, I have never sensed that you doubted God's presence in your life during the storm. I know you are leaning hard into our amazing God for strength, wisdom, patience, endurance, and all the other things that you have needed. Whenever I've had conversations with you, you've been engaged, very engaged in our conversation, displaying kindness and caring, even with your four children running around you and holding baby Maggie on your hip. When we were at your lovely home last week, I asked you what your hobbies are. You stated, well, I like to read, but I don't have much time to even do that. Immediately, I thought about the wife described in Proverbs 31. And I don't know you well enough to know if you do all the sewing and all of those things, but here are some things that I know I have observed. You are a wife of noble character. Number two, I know that Lawrence has full confidence in you. You lack nothing of value. You've had to run to work with Lawrence in big ways in your household during a part of the last eight plus months since Lawrence's diagnosis. Number three, you bring your husband good, not harm all the days of your life. I remember how desperately you wanted to see Lawrence the last time he was in the hospital. They almost wouldn't let you in because you had Maggie. You wanted to see your man and you weren't going to take no for an answer. I love that story. Number four, you get up while it is still night. I know that you're up during the night with Maggie. But I'm sure that during that time, your mind meanders and thinks on things that you have to accomplish throughout each day, especially with homeschooling your children, making meals, wiping tears, putting children in brief timeouts. I got to witness that. And coming alongside Lawrence in ministry. We know that you too have a heart for ministry as well, as you shared with us during the Sunday school class this summer. Number five, you speak with wisdom and faithful instruction. Number six, you watch over the affairs of your household. You do not eat the bread of idleness. So Ashley, and I know there's probably many other things that I didn't cover, but you make an excellent wife and a wonderful mother. I still look forward to working with you and alongside you in ministry at our church for many years to come, Lord willing. You shared with me that Pastor Merlin had given you a copy of a book that he gave all of the elders wives a while back. I hadn't read the book for a while, so I pulled it out this week and it reminded me of all of the many joys that come with having a husband who serves in ministry. But it also reminded me of the challenges. Your joys and challenges will be unique to you and Lawrence, and yet many will be the challenges faced by others here. Our young families and young adults are blessed to have you joining our E-Free family, but so are we olders. I'm always amazed at the things I'm learning from people who are younger than me. Working alongside Janine in ministry as pastor's wives will be amazing. I only know that because I get to witness it all the time too. As Janine is a wonderful mentor and comrade, please know that we are all here to walk this path with you, to pray for you and with you, to love you to help you and your family get accustomed to our church and to integrate into ministry. Welcome to the Evangelical Free Church of Embarrassed. We love you already. Good morning, everybody. I don't know if it was a good idea to give me a microphone without a time limit, but it's a joy and an honor welcome you guys and to share some encouraging words and encourage the congregation about Lawrence and Ashley coming. We go back to college. Did you come a year after Ashley or the same year? Same year, OK. But it was my second year that Ashley and I were on a student leadership team together. And I was the chaplain and you were the secretary or treasurer. And so I first met Ashley and got to know her through that. And I don't know, you just ever meet people that you're just kind of like wowed by their maturity and poise. And that was Ashley and definitely someone that I looked up to and I think a lot of the fellow students on campus. And then same thing with Lawrence. We called him Larry back then. And I was actually talking to John Philander I don't know, I knew the search committee was going on and I don't think I seen your name until it came down to three. And I seen that back there on Monday's midnight and I was like, oh, yeah, we're getting Larry. These other folks ain't going to cut the snuff. But I was talking to John Flander and I kept saying Larry and he's looking at me like, who am I talking about? And he goes, oh, are you talking about Lawrence? We're using grown-up names now. OK, yeah. Yeah, Lawrence. I'm Jeremiah, not JJ, if anyone is wondering. And I can't remember if I think I found Tim or someone on the search committee asked if it was OK if I'd say something about Lawrence and who he was. And when we were on campus at Oak Hills, just like Ashley, he was someone that just kind of got to know him and see him and you know I think Lawrence is a little bit younger than me just looked up to him and just wow you know he really carries himself and I was talking to Seth and you know I was telling him Lawrence was in the search committee and just you know he had this maturity you know he was like 19 going on 37 and Seth was like yeah actually you know he probably could have loosened up a little bit And I do look up to Him and respect Him because I still feel like I'm 19 going on 37. So we're getting someone who is faithful to His Lord, His God, and His Savior, His family. He's bringing maturity, experience. A love for the scriptures. You know, Oak Hills is, I would say it's a fairly tough curriculum and coursework. Because we found out, I found out some Christian universities, some of our lower class grade levels were using material in their upper, you know, kind of their upper class levels. So, I always felt good about the education. I got there, as do Ashley and Lawrence. I heard he went on to Gordon-Conwell, which is a fine place to go to school and learn more of the Scriptures and to teach them. So I'm very excited about that. And then coming as our youth and family pastor, I think everyone needs a youth and family ministry, especially... I'm only 37, the rapid change in our culture and, you know, really need someone looking after our kids and helping parents like myself navigate this brave new world. But I was talking to someone about this. You know how scary it is, or can be, sending our kids to public schools and into this world. I don't need to say more about how that is, but someone said, you know what? God chose when our kids are going to be born, and He chose this time and this period. And now God has sent us a family to minister to them. So I take a lot of encouragement with that. And yeah, I'm just super stoked. I got a few more Okies here and I close my eyes and it feels like yesterday, but man, it's already been 10 years since I left. Nine for you guys. That's all I got. I'm just glad you guys are here and I'm glad you got family nearby. You know, going into ministry into a small community that you're not from can be scary. But we got a good community. It's awesome that you're in Babbitt. That's where I'd be if I wasn't at the homestead. So welcome, guys. I have the privilege of reading a letter from the Northern Bible Church, which is the church they came from. Every time I read this letter, I get a little emotional. So I hope I can do this. Dear Evangelical Free Church of Embarras, it is with great inspiration that we, Northern Bible Church of Bemidji, have witnessed your church coming alongside Lawrence and Ashley Klingsheim and their family for such a time as this. Thank you for your example as a church. We send this letter to express our gratefulness first to Lawrence and Ashley for serving and giving of their lives to us, a church. Secondly, we want to reaffirm to you that you are gaining a beautifully gifted family. Of the many truths Lawrence brought to our ears over the last few years, one Sunday morning stands out. As Lawrence hobbled slowly down to the front of the church on crutches, After enduring weeks of chemotherapy, surgeries, and the demands of ministry, we could all see he was weak and worn. Yet he was willing to give again, and he proceeded to share one of his greatest messages, his personal testimony. In his weakness, Lawrence pointed us to the strength of God's transforming power It was a powerful reminder of what love is, seeing people from God's perspective. God redeems our broken lives and churches. We recognize the challenging season of ministry Lawrence encountered while here at Northern, as well as the delicate handling of COVID and balancing opinions of church members. Through it all, we saw maturity in Lawrence that exceeded his years and experience. Ashley is truly a godly woman. She beautifully engaged the women of the church and diligently planned events that brought community and fellowship. Her words were always seasoned with kindness and discernment. She became friendly to all while keeping her primary calling as a wife and mother. We commend her for this. She is to be praised. Lawrence and Ashley are a treasure. Their children are a blessing. And we anticipate God to continue to do great and mighty things through them. As we say goodbye to this young family, and you welcome them in, We sense the enormity of God's global church, God's beautiful idea of gathering believers to worship him. May we be overcomers by looking to Jesus and proclaiming his truth through the word of our testimonies. We pray the Lord will richly bless your church and ministries as you continue seeking truth and pouring it out because of his great love, Ben Caron, Elder Chair of Northern Bible Church. I also have a letter to read to the congregation. And then after I read this, Anthony and Bruce will come up here and join me. And they each have a word for you, Lawrence. And then we will have our commissioning prayer. But this is from Ryan Ferone. District Superintendent of our North Central District of the Evangelical Free Church. Brothers and sisters of the Embarrassed Evangelical Free Church, greetings in the name of King Jesus. I'm writing today to say congratulations on calling Lawrence Klingsheim to serve you as Associate Pastor. I was excited when I heard you were considering him for this position, and I am grateful that he has accepted the call that you extended to him. Pastor Marlon has shared with me that Lawrence's ministry will include preaching, teaching, and counseling, with a focus on discipleship and equipping for families and young adults so they can grow in Christ and reach their peers. I believe he is an excellent fit for this role, and I'm excited to see how God uses him in the years ahead. Likewise, I know you will be blessed by Ashley as she serves alongside him. She's a woman of faith, with passion for Christ, and a love for people. As they come to serve, I want to encourage you to invest in them and their children. Make sure to provide for their needs financially, to include them in the life of the congregation, to welcome them into your community as brothers and sisters in Christ. I am confident you will do this, knowing your commitment to being one another people. Thank you for allowing our district to come alongside you in your process. We love your church. and are always thankful for the opportunity to help. In Christ, Brian Ferone, District Superintendent, North Central District. I'm going to ask Anthony and Bruce to come now. And they have something to share with Lawrence from their hearts. And then I will share with him a challenge. Hi, Rolf. So Lawrence, I've put together Ten different points that I'd like to share with you. And some of it's encouragement, some of it's maybe advice. But as long as you've been in the ministry, it's probably just reminders. So number one, pastors like all of us need good friends. So choose your friends wisely. Find friends you can trust and confide in. Number two, the church will love you, but never as much as your family. They need you more than the church. So learn to say no. Balance and prioritize your time. Number three, protect your time off. God designed us to have time to rest and rejuvenate. You owe it to your family, to yourself, to God and to the congregation as well. Number four, always remain accountable to God's word. Guard your heart from temptations by staying grounded in the word and in prayer. Number five, let God lead. Can't read my writing. He's gifted you in certain things. Use your gifts and let others be responsible in areas where their strengths are. By doing this, you can be assured that his will is being done, not yours. Number six, keep Jesus the center of focus in the church. Number seven, take care of yourself. Your personal health affects the health of the church relationally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And number eight, be honest about who you are. Don't try to meet unreal expectations or be somebody you're not. Be transparent. Someone worthy to follow. Number nine, you'll never make everyone happy. If you try, you'll be unhappy and could be unproductive because of trying to please. And number ten, your calling is to Jesus. That means you're working for Jesus. Don't give in to the pressures people may put on you to do things their way. which may contradict what God would have you do. In 1 Corinthians 15-58, therefore, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. That's a little bit of a different pastor position. You know, it's not a worship pastor. It's not a youth pastor. It's not a lead pastor. So there was a little bit of different things that Marlon was looking for and the search committee kind of put together. Greg talked about checking the boxes. That was one thing when Wielders and Marlon met with Lawrence that as we talked about different things and roles in this position, it was like, yep, he would be a good fit. I just want to share three different verses. Timothy's, which are fitting instructions and reminders to young pastors. 1 Timothy 1 verse 12 says, I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry." So, again, in ministry, as a pastor, as a teacher, He's considering you faithful. He's appointed you. And that's something to give thanks for. And for everybody in ministry and in leadership, that's something to keep in mind for sure. Back to verse 5 and chapter 1 of 1 Timothy, Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. So just that goal as you instruct, as you lead out of love and out of sincere faith. And then 2 Timothy 4, verse 5, leading up to verse 5, it's kind of Paul's summary his instructions to Timothy and how things aren't always going to be easy. He talks about proclaiming the message, persisting at whether it's convenient or not, that there are going to be people that aren't going to tolerate sound doctrine. But then we come to verse 5. But as for you, be serious about everything and do a hardship. Do the work of an evangelist and fulfill your ministry. And certainly hardships can come in many different ways, right? Many different challenges. For sure, you guys have been going through a lot of hardships. But this instruction, as a leader, as a teacher, is that regardless of what's going on, you continue to focus on that ministry and keep your focus on the Lord. So I'd encourage you to do that and keep doing that as you've been. When we pray for you, we're going to let you sit on this stool up here. So I'm going to warm it up for you, OK? I just want to share with you something. You and I will be talking a lot in the years ahead. So this is going to be brief. I want to share a scripture with you, Ashley and Lawrence. But I was preparing for a Bible study Thursday night. We're going through 1 Corinthians, and I happened to come across a verse, and it wasn't a part of what I was going to share with you, but I want to mention this. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul is in Ephesus, and he's writing to the Corinthian church. And he says that he's going to stay in Ephesus for a while. And he gives the reason. And it's interesting how he states it. He says he's going to stay in Ephesus because there is an open door for a great work. And here's what he says after that. He says, there is an open door for a great work, although there is much opposition. And it's interesting that those two things can go together. In Paul's case, open door and opposition. Now, I pray you don't have opposition here, but I know you've had setbacks already. And I just want to remind you that setbacks and open doors can go together. I think there are Christians today who think setbacks mean a closed door. And I think in Paul's mind, they can go together. Just because there are setbacks, the door is still wide open for God to do a great work through us. And so I just want to encourage you, and I hope that we'll continue to encourage you and pray for you as you recover and heal, get your energy and your strength back. And maybe there'll be setbacks, but I just want to encourage you personally that With setbacks, there's still an open door. God's got some great things to do. And we're looking forward to that adventure. And I'm looking forward to being your partner in ministry and your friend and to be able to love and serve this congregation together. But here's my challenge to you. It's from Galatians 5. Paul says, Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you live your life. And then he says later, the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The interesting thing about the fruit of the Spirit, it's all character. It's about character. The Holy Spirit, when we walk by His guidance, produces in us character. And we have these nine fruit. And we know from some of the scriptures that Anthony shared, when you look at First Timothy and Titus, about the kind of man you should look for in church leadership, you have over 20 qualities, and most of them are character. Just very few skills, but it's character. Here's my challenge to you, and it's for me too, Lawrence. Lead with your character, not with your skills. Let me say it again for you and for me, and for Brian, and for anybody in ministry. Lead with your character. not with your skills. You have skills, Lawrence. Every reference we've gotten talks about your skills in ministry. And we're going to see those skills. And God's going to use those skills. But don't lead with your skills. Lead with your character. And may God help both of us keep growing in Christlike character as we serve this church. And by the way, if any of you are crafty and you would like to give a Christmas present to Lawrence or myself or the elders, We would love for each of us to have a plaque to put in our offices that says, lead with your character, not with your skills. So I hope we don't get like a dozen of those plaques. But the point is, any church leader, anyone in ministry needs to be reminded of that. Lead with your character, not with your skills. So that's my encouragement to you. And I'm going to ask you to come up now, mosey on up, I think there's room here. And you can sit on this stool. I am going to ask the six people who shared already to come and join us as we pray for you. So if Lawrence comes, if those six could come. I'd like the congregation to stand with us, and we are going to lay hands on our brother and pray a blessing on him. I'm going to ask Anthony if he would pray first, and then I will pray as we set apart and commission Lawrence Klingsheim to this position, this ministry in our church family. So, Anthony. Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much. for this day, for this chance to get together as a congregation and believers, and we thank you. We just want to give you all the praise and glory for this day, for Lawrence and Ashley and the family being here, for you bringing them to us, and just those answers to prayer, because this came with a lot of prayer. You said from the very beginning that you knew who you had for an associate pastor at this church, We trusted that and we thank you for being faithful as you promised to be when we seek you. And so we just thank you for this day. We give you all the glory and ask these things in your name. And dear Father in heaven, we as a congregation stand before you thanking you and praising you for your direction, for bringing us to this day. for bringing Lawrence and Ashley to this day. And Father, we lift up our brother Lawrence. And Father, in the name of Jesus, we set him apart for his ministry here. In the name of Jesus, We ask you to strengthen him, to lead him by your spirit, to give him wisdom, to give him discernment, show him how to best minister to our families, our young adults. I pray, Father, that we would do our part in loving him and his family, serving them, encouraging them. Father, I pray that you would help him, help me, help the other leaders, help everyone here in ministry to learn to lead by our character. not our skills. Help us to be more and more like Jesus as we lead and as we minister. And we pray that for Lawrence. We set him apart for this ministry. In Jesus' name, Amen. And if you want to say a few words, you can make your way to that mic, Lawrence. You want this or you want to stand? Well, thank you, everyone, for such a warm welcome. These sorts of services, if you've never been to one, are interesting in that they're not your usual worship service, but in a lot of ways they are worshipful in that we're giving thanks and recognizing that even when we don't know what's going on or why things go the way they go, that God has a hand in leading us, in directing us, preparing us for for what's to come. And so it's it's always interesting for me when I when I hear stories about people who didn't quite know how things were going to fit together when my wife and I got married. Her parents were pretty quick to tell me that we've been praying for you since before you were born which All that means is that they were praying for Ashley and for whoever would be brought up as her husband. And so they didn't know it was me and they didn't know what I was going through, but they were praying for me and praying for me regularly. Marlon and Janine said something similar when we started considering the church. They said, yeah, we've We've been praying for you for a long time. Well, they were praying for whoever would be the associate pastor. They didn't really know us, but we've been on their fridge for a long time now with Christmas cards because God does incredible things in ways that we don't expect. And so when we started considering this church, Well, to be fair, we didn't really consider this church at first. I sent a lot of different people this direction. I said, there's an associate pastor position. The pastor's been there 40 years. It's going to be amazing. And a few of them applied and got rejected. And it wasn't until, you know, I started thinking about it, I thought, you know, that sounds like it might be a really good fit for us. And so we started to consider it. I thought, there's probably not a lot of chance that we'd be a good fit. I'll call Marlon. If he says, no, no, no, don't apply, then I won't apply. And he says, well, I'll hand it off to Greg. And I don't think it was all that much long after that. I started getting a lot of emails and phone calls. That's a joke. I wasn't that popular. But it's true. Over the last year, we have seen God lead us through good things and hard things. And I don't think if you had asked us at the beginning of this, if we had any idea how it was going to end. But, you know, as we thought about the church and then we I got my cancer diagnosis and we thought, well, we can't expect the church to just wait for us to figure out what what's going to happen with us. But the church patiently waited. And we walked through some hard treatments and we experienced some hard weeks and some hard months and still prayed, God, if this is where you want us to be, would you just make that clear and abundantly clear? And it's funny, never in the midst of those things can you figure out what God's doing. But when you look back, you ask, how could I have been so blind to not see how everything was falling together? And so here we are in a house that's been provided for us with a church that has been welcoming and loving and caring, even before you've had a chance to really get to know us. And so, you know, as you get together and we give God thanks for the way he's worked and moved, I'm well aware of our experience in seeing how God has led us here And you have your own experience of praying for whoever it would be that God would send for the next season of ministry. And we don't know yet what God is doing or what he plans to do. Why an associate pastor now? But we know that God's in control. We know that he has a plan. And so this is just a recognition of his spirit drawing us together. for his glory. And so we give God thanks and and we worship him and we celebrate and we look forward with anticipation to what comes next. And so thank you for this morning. Thank you for being as welcoming and generous as you've been. If there is any question about whether we were in the right place when we first came it's completely gone. And by the way there wasn't a question then either. That's a figure of speech. So I don't know what's up next. They didn't give me a time limit or any idea of what to say. But if you would, I think it's always good when we gather together to pray. And so if you would allow me to just lead us in prayer together. God, we thank you for today. And it's when we humble ourselves that we realize and are reminded of what Your Word says so clearly, that You love us, that You care for us, and Lord, that it's You making a way for us. And so I thank You for this body, how You've united this body in prayer, looking forward to what You would do And so it wasn't about finding someone who fit one category or one person's list of wants or wishes. But as it's been affirmed to us again and again, it was out of the desire that you would bring the right person that you would use here. And God, in my own life and in our family's life together, We've seen how You have led and guided and brought us to this place. Not sure of what You're doing, but absolutely certain that You're at work. And so God, we don't know what comes next, but we thank You, trusting that You're the one in control, eagerly anticipating what it is You have in store for us. And so, as You've worked, as You are continuing to work, Lord, would Your Spirit lead every step of the way. And may all that comes after this be according to Your plan and for Your glory, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.