• She has my love, she is my granddaughter, she’s only 7 years old. Born susceptible to infections. Granddaughter Addison. Paid tribute to her when he stepped up to do the Interim ED job.
• Joel had been her pastor, but she has been his pastor too.
• Deut 33:27 first text when he took his last church in Ridgewood 1992, final sermon too. Gave bookmarks to the church, Addison too.
• 250k of us, all our hurt, brokenness, around us, that afflicts humanity.
• As I wrote this speech I dealt with three instances of brokenness.
• What will become of Ukraine? Sudan? Central African Republic? etc.?
• When will the shooting stop?
• What of those whose orientations are debated?
• What of those who believe the life of creation is being shortened, and those who believe it isn’t.
• the nature of humanity makes it difficult to believe that we are still in God’s hand.
• We do well to put our hands in His hands and there we must work together. While we continue working, however, the results are up to him.
• We have been working towards more inclusion.
• The CRC employed 20% people of color and 20% women in leadership positions.
• We’re working to do this across the board and not just at the upper levels. For the first time we didn’t need to have ethnic advisors. With Nehemiah we pray “now, strengthen our hands”
• Progress not success at binational inclusion.
• Binational is a reality worth understanding and a goal worth pursuing, not just to the two nations but as a matter of witness that there is a loving God. Grace has a very strong grip.
• JB paraphrases Paul’s speech at Athens.
• “I have attempted to present this report acronym free”, even us within the system don’t understand all the acronyms that we use.
• We must strive to be understood, even by each other.
• While we live on a small planet, it is a big world.
• Visited 12 cities and made 23 presentations with CRC and RCA to talk about our collaborative work together.
• There are many ecumenical ventures.
• the son of man still holds the 7 stars in his hand and walks among the 7 lampstands
• The CRCNA has added a new word to its vocabulary: experiment. SPACT calls them “new behaviors”. We are truly leaning into the future, not waiting for it to come. We are depending on God to come, not just waiting to see where he shows up next.
• Fundamentally Reframed Ministry Journey: 13 ministry challenges
• The new behaviors are not gimmicks, they are honest efforts to present the good news to the 21st century.
• While we looked, God lead. The wait was worth it and we are better for it.
• Please receive Steve and Darren as gifts from God and pray for them.
• On the collaborative tour I heard that the CRC is for global warming. None of us are for global warming, but all of us are to be good stewards. We should stop arguing about the extent of the former and get busy to address the latter.
• Mentions of Israel and Palestine
• Immigration, not how to label to them, but how to minister to them. The initial response to be a broken heart and not an argument about a broken law.
• A few words about money and membership
• We are funded by ministry shares. These are not taxes, they are shares. They are not primarily for administration, they are for ministry. They are the envy of the fund raising world. It costs less than 1% to process the funds. We are still 15 million dollars short. We have endured little suffering and engaged in less true sacrifice. Are we telling the God from whom all things flow that we cannot endure ministry shares.
• Members: Those who describe those who depart as a hemorrhage. But suppose that instead of just wishing to stop the flow, we consider the news that we know too good not to share and to do.
• When a church decided to consider the people beyond its walls, an elder said “so this is what the church has come to…” JB says “finally!”
• I have come so far in the last three years that it is difficult to let things go.
• Oswalt Chambers when Jesus touches John on Patmos
• God can do nothing for me, until I get to the limit of the possible.
• Underneath are the everlasting arms.

I couldn’t keep up with all of his points and these notes don’t do it justice. You can probably watch it on the Synod webpage. It was a lovely, heart-felt farewell.