Keith Wells is the Real Deal

I did not know much about Keith Wells when I first started attending Bethany Church.  I was too interested in a college student named Tammie to pay him any mind. I knew he led us in worship, and as he did, he worshiped.  I knew the church had stood by him when his wife made the choice to leave. I knew he wore his wedding ring long after she left because, despite all the pain involved in the breakup of his marriage, he had made a covenant commitment to his bride and he would not be the one to sever it. I knew he held on to hope there would be reconciliation and the relationship could be restored. I also knew he loved people and hugged a lot. This was all I knew in the beginning and in some ways it told me all I would ever need to know about the man. 

In Keith, I saw a man who worshiped God with his whole heart.  I saw a man who was willing to hope and trust, even in the darkest of circumstances. I saw a man who was willing to remain faithful long after most of us would have removed the ring from our finger and moved on with life.  It was a powerful example to a young man who was still learning what it meant to follow Jesus and trust him with his whole heart.

                                                                                                                                                                

After graduating college and finding a job hard to come by,  I was offered a chance to make a little money working as the handyman at Bethany.  If you have ever worked a job like this you know how it lets you see the attitude and character of those who are above you.  You quickly find out who is arrogant and who is not.  Keith was not.  There was nothing I had to do in my job which Keith was not willing to do himself.  Like the one who was willing to get up from the table and wrap a towel around his waist and wash the feet of his disciples, Keith’s identity was so securely anchored in the Father's love there was nothing which was beneath him.  He knew who’s he was and this knowledge gave him the capacity to serve without reservation.  

Years later, I would watch him lead worship in the service with great delight and an hour later find him caring for the physical needs of one of his adopted sons, with the same enthusiasm.  In one instance, he stood before a congregation.  In the other, he was behind the closed door of his office. He approached both opportunities to serve as an act of worship.  Watching him live like this was both instructive and beautiful.

After I moved into an administrative role at the church, we went through a summer of transition.  Four staff members left in a very short period of time.  It was the first time I had experienced such change.  I did not know how to walk through it.  I invited Keith to lunch and asked him how he weathered such storms.  He told me, “Ronnie, I do not serve any man.  I honor the leadership God has placed above me, but I keep my eyes focused on Christ. He is the one I serve and follow.”  Keith was not giving me the “churchy” answer; he was sharing with me the perspective with which he ministered.  I knew when I heard it; I needed to make it my own.  I was privileged to watch him live this out for 28 years as a congregant and fellow staff member.  In the process, I discovered Keith was the real deal.

It was not too many more years before I was given a position at the church where I was responsible for the staff.  How in the world could the former handyman hope to be able to exercise authority and responsibility over Keith Wells?  What I found when I moved into this new area of service was how supportive Keith was to my leadership, and how gracious he was in allowing me to lead.  He was patient with me as I grew into my role.  He supported me.  He encouraged me.  He would listen to me and point me back to Jesus when things got heavy and burdensome.  While we did not always agree, we were able to walk in unity because our relationship was not born out of our roles and responsibilities.  It was centered in Christ’s love and the interdependence we shared as brothers and members of his body.  These were things Keith modeled and which I grew into.

The day leadership told the staff I was being let go was a very hard day.  After staff meeting, I went back to my office.  I was feeling lost and rejected.  Keith followed me.  He closed the door behind us and embraced me.  We wept.  He affirmed me and spoke belief over me.  He admitted his confusion in the circumstance and told me he would never choose what was happening.  It felt good to hear someone say it and know they meant it.  He then called me, as my brother, to put my trust in Christ.  Jesus was the one to focus on, not on the circumstance.  This message had been Keith’s gift to me throughout the years, and because of the consistency of seeing him make this choice in the hard circumstances of his life, in that moment it had power.

When I heard the news about Keith being let go I went to his house.  He was not home, so I camped out on his front porch and waited for his arrival.  I wanted to follow him into his house, close the door behind us, embrace him and weep.  I wanted to speak words of affirmation and belief over him.  I wanted him to know I was with him, just as he had been with me. 

When Keith and Barb finally arrived home, we embraced on the lawn and then we went inside.  We talked for hours.  We did shed tears, but there was also laughter.  I was able to speak belief over him. I affirmed all God has done and will continue to do through him.  When I finally left, however, I had the oddest feeling. I had come over to encourage and lift up my brother, and somehow I left feeling as if I was the one who had been encouraged and lifted up.   Somewhere in those hours of conversation, Keith had imparted to me once again the hope and trust which has been such a constant part of his life in Christ.

I was given a copy of the letter which had been sent out to the congregation.  It said leadership felt they could no longer employ two worship leaders and they made the hard decision to let Keith go.  This was hard for me to wrap my mind around, because I never thought of Keith as a worship leader.  Yes, I know he led worship at the church for over 40 years, but I still never thought his primary role was putting together a service.  I have always thought of Keith as a pastor, who happens to lead worship.  His imprint on the body was always so much greater than the service he led on Sunday, no matter how good it might be.  

Keith’s true gift to the body was as a shepherd who cares for its people as Christ would.  He creates communities where everyone was welcomed, accepted and loved.  In being part of one of these, you tasted what the Kingdom is meant to be and what a leader who is entrusted with a portion of the Good Shepherd’s flock ought to be. As a leader, Keith models a life of commitment, grace, service, humility and intimacy with Christ.  Because of the way he serves, the communities he creates, and the character he demonstrates I honestly do not think it would have mattered what role Keith played on the staff. In any position he would manifest the love and compassion of Christ, lead people to grow in their experience and knowledge of Jesus, and encourage their growth into his likeness. This is what every pastor should strive for.  It is what I see in Keith. It makes him valuable.

I am a better pastor and follower of Christ for having watched him and serve alongside him. He helped me understand that being a pastor was a calling not a job, and caring for the people in the body of Christ was not a burden but a great joy. Watching him, I saw what it looked like to ground everything you did in love.  I also learned to look to Jesus in every circumstance and to find joy in him.

For all these reasons and so many more I celebrate my pastor, mentor, brother and friend. Here is to you Keith Wells.  I stand with thousands of others in declaring our admiration for the man you are, our gratitude for how God has used you to help us become more like Jesus and above all else, our affirmation that in you we see the image of Christ. In you I have always seen the traces of the sacred.

P.S. If all this were not enough, Keith also makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever.