Randy Richardville: Who is going to replace Pastor Boone?
“… (ask not) for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” ~ John Donne
Pastor Heather Boone recently announced her plans to leave as the lead pastor of Oaks of Righteousness Christian Ministries and president of the Board of Directors of Oaks Village, the nonprofit arm of the church. Since her announcement, I have often been asked who(m) was going to replace her and I have prayerfully pondered the proper answer.
I currently serve as Executive Director of Oaks Village, so obviously Pastor Boone and I have discussed the leadership of both the church and nonprofit. From those discussions, one thing has become abundantly clear to me. There is no one individual replacement for Pastor Heather Boone at either Oaks Church or Oaks Village; it is simply impossible to replace the founding pastor of an anointed ministry such as Oaks. Pastor Boone is one of a kind.
Heather Boone and her husband, Britton, moved out of their comfortable home in Dearborn, Michigan to live in an abandoned building with the homeless of our community. The beginning of the Oaks of Righteousness Christian Ministries was a warm place for about 30-35 homeless people to sleep on mattresses during the coldest times of the year. Pastor Boone and Britton dwelt among the suffering, hungry and unhealthy, answering a call to comfort, feed and heal the broken and broken-hearted of our community. Since that time, a former church, parsonage and elementary school were purchased and to meet the needs of the community, including free health care, daily recovery meetings, warm meals, food boxes and spiritual guidance. In addition, Oaks Village owns and operates a free Montessori-type preschool and the only grocery store in this section of town. Hundreds of homeless men, women and children receive shelter, food, clothing and other necessities annually. Thousands of non-homeless people also receive help from Oaks’ various ministries.
When Jesus of Nazareth began his earthly ministry, he quoted the prophet Isaiah, chapter 61: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Jesus then closed the book and told the audience scripture was being fulfilled in their midst that day.
I do not believe it was an accident that Jesus ended his quotation of Isaiah mid-sentence. He wanted us to read the rest of Isaiah’s passage so that we would understand that the ministry he announced in the Galilean synagogue needed to be completed just as his reading did; mission is ongoing. Not coincidently, the rest of the passage speaks specifically of symbolic “oaks of righteousness” planted for God’s glory. There is little doubt that Pastor Boone and Britton are plantings of the Lord. People like this are exceedingly rare.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19), his work here on Earth was not discontinued. In fact, he stated very clearly that whoever believes in him will do greater things because he went to the Father (John 14:12-14). Obviously, Pastor Boone moving on is different from Jesus’ ascending into Heaven, however it is still the work of God’s church to continue the ministries God has started through her.
We have all heard the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.” At Oaks Village, we believe that all of humankind are God’s children. Our ministry is directed toward those that are hungry, sick, unclothed, without shelter and spiritually starved. We also believe that the gospel is best presented by action. We would rather be a sermon than hear one. Furthermore, if it really does take a village to raise up God’s children, what does it take to raise (and maintain) a village? A village, specifically Oaks Village, is not raised nor sustained by any single pastor, leader nor board of directors. A village, quite simply, is raised and maintained by the community to which it belongs. Specifically, the community of believers in the city and county of Monroe.
It is important to understand Oaks Village is a centripetal mission ministry. Unlike the more familiar centrifugal mission model, believers are called into a community rather than sent out to other communities. The apostle Paul moved into Corinth, dwelt among the people, learned their culture and customs, and lived the gospel as well as preached it there. Believers are called to see and hear what God is already doing in each community and join in the work. People that are called to be part of helping transform people’s lives usually leave changed themselves.
Most believers in this community attend a church on Sunday, but the real work of the church happens Monday through Saturday. Jesus said that “sheep” and “goats” would be separated not by what they believed or preached, but by what they did or did not do. The needs in this community are real and go far beyond the basic physical requirement for survival we all have. Addictions and the exacerbation of mental health issues have added to the necessary service requirements for survival. The impact of these issues was multiplied by the pandemic and our greater community is understaffed, underserved and in need of crisis stabilization. Please consider being the hands and feet of God where the needs are raw and real, often approaching desperation.
Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” I believe if you are reading this, there is no coincidence and please consider this an invitation to join the ministry here at Oaks. From the meager warming shelter with 30-35 people, the shelter has grown to temporarily house 500 men, women and children per year. There is access to clothing, food, health care, childcare and a neighborhood grocery store. We are truly doing God’s work and need to build a long-term, sustainable beacon of light for the greater community. Pastor Boone will never be gone from this work. Her faithfulness to God’s calling should be continued into the next generation and beyond by the believers in this community. If you have been given ears to hear, does the bell toll for you?
— Randy Richardville is executive director of Oaks Village.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Randy Richardville: Who is going to replace Pastor Boone?
