WOW…. Yesterday the Judge gave us 15 extra minutes for lunch so I was able to run over to our staff Christmas Party. The last several years we have taken the staff to Outback Steak House for lunch. We are always delighted because usually this particular restaurant is closed during the lunch hour.

We currently have more than 100 people on our church staff, so we feed them lunch and get them a small gift as a token of our appreciation. This year we gave them sweatshirts with “PROPERTY of SHEPHERD” written across the front. Looking back we should have written “PROPERTY of THE SHEPHERD” across the front.

If you had been at our staff luncheon yesterday you would have realized, like me, that these are some of the hardest working people on the face of the planet. They work and serve behind the scenes, many of them you wouldn’t even know. Yet, they serve so faithfully and diligently. They don’t get a lot of applause, and most of them could make a lot more money if they were out in the business world, but they would rather work for the KING and store up heavenly rewards for a future payout.

Would you take a moment to pray and thank God for the many men and women who loyally serve here at Shepherd? I hope you’ll take a moment and just thank the Lord for the team he has gathered to lead us here at church.

STAFF, I LOVE YOU AND AM SO THANKFUL FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

In love,

Pastor Dudley