Pastoral call from the gospel of mark

Dear Beloved Church Family,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we enter the fourth week of our journey through the Gospel of Mark, I am reminded that the pulpit is the place where my greatest joy and my deepest reverence meet. I ascend to proclaim the Word with gratitude and holy anticipation, yet also with a weight upon my heart—a trembling responsibility—because what is spoken is the Gospel itself: the living Word whose power shapes, confronts, and transforms our lives. My prayer is not simply that we would grow in biblical knowledge, but that each of us would be encountered—gently yet firmly—by the living Christ, and that our lives would be reoriented around Him.

Mark’s Gospel does not permit us to remain comfortable spectators. From its opening pages, Jesus calls ordinary people with an extraordinary command: “Follow Me.” This is not an invitation to religion as usual. It is a summons to leave behind old identities, misplaced securities, and self-centered purposes, and to walk the narrow and costly road of the Kingdom. There are countless churches in the world. Yet the question that must never cease to trouble us is this: What kind of church truly delights the heart of God? Alongside it is a question I must continually ask myself: How can I serve God and His people with greater truthfulness, humility, and faithfulness? When such questions are no longer asked, the church quietly loses its soul. It becomes a place of comfort without conviction, activity without obedience. And the pastor —God forbid—becomes a manager or a business merchant rather than a shepherd of souls. The Gospel of Mark confronts us precisely here. It reminds us that Jesus did not come to be admired, but to be followed; not to be used, but to be obeyed. In Mark, discipleship is costly, often misunderstood, and rarely applauded by the world. Yet it is the only path that leads to true life. To follow Jesus is to learn the way of the cross before the crown, the way of service before glory, the way of surrender before resurrection power.

My dear brothers and sisters, the road ahead of us is long—but we do not walk it alone. We walk behind Christ, who goes before us, calls us by name, and patiently forms us along the way. My prayer is that our church would never become a place of comfort without conviction, but a holy community of disciples—men and women being transformed by the Gospel and reflecting Christ in how we love, serve, repent, and hope. As your pastor, I want you to know this: I am still learning, still wrestling, still praying to serve God more faithfully tomorrow than I did yesterday. And I ask you to walk with me—not as consumers of religious goods, but as fellow disciples under the same Lord. May the Holy Spirit use the Gospel of Mark to awaken us, to warm our hearts, and to anchor our lives in the true purpose for which we were created: to follow Jesus Christ with all that we are. Love you RockSpring Church!

With dedication to following JESUS!

Rev. Dr. Won D. Kim

The Lead Pastor or RockSpring Church