In an exclusive interview with Charisma Media, author and minister Max Lucado gave an update on Gateway Church after taking on a interim pastoral role with the megachurch as they seek a new, permanent pastor following the resignation of Robert Morris earlier this summer.
Lucado has been a guest speaker with Gateway over the years, and has become acquainted with some of the elders and staff members at the church.
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“My heart was broken like everyone else’s heart’s were broken at the revelation of the scandal that came to light,” Lucado says. “I immediately reached out to the people I know at Gateway who are members and expressed my love and prayers for them.”
Lucado says he was on vacation at the time of the news breaking about Morris, and after he returned they reached out to see if he could speak for one weekend. During this time, Lucado met with some of the elders who asked if he would be willing to help teach for about six months.
“I was invited and so was Pastor Joakim Lundqvist from Sweden, just a delightful man, and he and I are splitting the teaching privileges at Gateway,” Lucado says.
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Lucado also made it clear that he has not left his church in San Antonio, but that he is happy to fly back and forth right now to help out a church in need.
“The church is showing some beautiful signs of health. Here we are, almost two and a half months, maybe three months into this and initially of course, understandably, they were shell-shocked. But every time I go, I sense there’s more energy, there’s more joy, there’s heartfelt worship, and they are being reminded as any Christian is, at some point in their life that we don’t put our trust in a person, a leader or a pastor. We put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that’s what they’re doing. They’re trusting Christ,” Lucado says.
Lucado says renewal will take a while, but that there are early signs of it already happening at Gateway. One of the things Lucado has been doing is seeking the counsel of the elders at Gateway in preparation of his messages. One of the keys that they decided to focus on at this stage in Gateway is the core message of the gospel and the life of Jesus.
Lucado also points out that even in the middle of the hardest trials and tribulations of life, the one thing that will never change is Christ Himself. It is this core of the gospel that the people of Gateway need to keep in mind at this present time.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
