Troy Nelson moved with his young family to Waldoboro in 2013, leaving their careers (he drove for an ambulance company, and she was a nurse) and their tiny town at the base of the Adirondacks. Troy had secured an internship in pastoral training at Waldoboro’s First Baptist Church. After three years as a full-time student and being an intern, the elders of the church hired him to be Pastor of Discipleship and Outreach. No small job, given the size and scope of this church. Today the church has an active congregation of about 160 plus, with a myriad of programs that go far beyond Sunday services and Sunday School. These include: a 2-year pre-school program leading up to kindergarten; Celebrate Recovery 12-step programs for men and women that run the course of the week; weekly youth groups for study and games; Bible study and prayer nights for adults; Wednesday morning food distributions; the Second Chance clothing center for whomever needs whatever with no questions asked, and so on. The church also partners with the Waldoboro Recreation Department in offering pickleball on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. As for Pastor Troy Nelson, he has felt the calling of God since being a child. But his life took other directions on his way there, from going to college, serving in the Marine Reserves, working in construction, working in outdoor retail, meeting his wife and starting a family…all of which he acknowledges support him in the work he does now -- that, and the beauty he takes in while hiking, camping and exploring beaches and tidepools with his family.
Pastoral Ministry may be a calling and a job, but it’s not a punch-in, punch-out shop. There’s a building, there’s expectations, and job requirements as well. And in the course of a day, each day can look very, very different from the last day.
People have heavy burdens. I had a day when some folks were coming in to talk with me. I knew they were going through some troubles. I knew they were struggling. I’d seen their pain and the trials that they were facing. And that weighed on me. So I knew it was going to be a hard day. Well, I arrived at work and in my mailbox was a stuffed envelope. And in it, about 20, 25 cards made by elementary school children thanking me for speaking at their chapel service. They were full of color and drawings. I wasn’t expecting anything like that. And it just lit up my day.
A lot of people here are in crisis. Young families who need housing. They need affordable housing where they can be safe, and where they can experience some kind of independence. And for single-parent families especially. This is great need.
And drug addiction. It’s a plague on our community. I know it’s been here a long time. And I’d love to see people delivered from it. Christ brings freedom from addiction, and He brings it from domestic abuse. Somehow, we need to find ways to bring people to safe places, to get them out of poverty, to be able to provide. I know there are a lot of jobs available, but a lot of folks are not taking those jobs. I don’t know how you do that, but we have to build a reason to go to work. People need to achieve independence through the work of their own hands. Take care of their families. I’m not a social worker but I see the effects of these things on families. And my heart breaks for it.
One of my favorite scripture is: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this, not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” It’s from Ephesians 2:8-10. He is telling us that faith is a gift. Strangely enough, you’re not going to find yourself on the way to heaven by being a good person. You can’t say, “Look what I did.” But the scripture goes on: “We are created to do good works.” This is the distinction: once we come to that place found in Jesus Christ, we do those good works. And we do it with guns blazing. Because we can’t help but serve, we can’t help but give out food, we can’t help but give out clothes, we can’t help but fix our neighbor’s porch. We do whatever is needed. We do them because it’s all part of the new creation we are in Christ.
In Waldoboro there are a lot of hard-working families. And a lot of independence. People are good, stout-hearted Mainers. And I think there is an incredible generosity towards someone they see who needs help. But it is hard for them to receive help. And that’s the dynamic we face as a church, in wanting to share whatever we have.
This may sound negative, but I don’t think we can change society — we can only change individuals. And through that, society changes. But the change needs to hinge on the individual. If one angry and abusive dad comes into the church, hears the word of God, if he sees that he, himself, is not fulfilling the role that God has given him and his family and feels his heart break over that, if he is convicted of his sin and is ready to make that total and complete change –he changes. And he brings that change home to his family. If he still has a family who’s willing to work through that and watch him long enough, then his family changes. If that change is real, then his entire family will be changed. And the futures of his children will be changed. And they will want to be like him now.
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