Remember the Way
A Healing Ministry for Hurting Ministers and Families
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
"You shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." (NASB)
who:
Church pastors and wives seeking counsel and encouragement after being hurt by a church through forced termination or other conflict.
This ministry is for pastors as well as their wives, because we have found that there are such limited resources for minister’s wives who are standing by their husbands through trying times.
why:
We have walked through the heartbreak of forced termination in our own ministry career. We are familiar with the confusion, faith-trying circumstances, and lack of confidants and counselors during this time. We want to help others regain perspective, direction, and power in ministry.
We are here to help as you seek a path back to doing God’s work God’s way.
Our Story
We are Barry and Kathi Holcomb - welcome to Remember the Way Ministries! Our journey in ministry includes an experience common to many pastors and their wives who faithfully serve the local church. After serving as a pastor of Alabama congregations for twenty-two years, we experienced a forced termination from the church where I (Barry) was the pastor. I had not committed any immoral act worthy of dismissal, yet we found ourselves with two options - resign or be terminated. The experience was painful and life-changing, affecting our entire family. We now believe the Lord allowed us to go through that season to transform us.
I first heard the Lord speaking through Deuteronomy 8:2-3 as I prepared for an extended period of prayer and fasting. I assumed He was confirming my anticipated fast by reassuring me that He allowed His own to experience hunger. What I missed was the critical message that God was preparing me to be humbled.
The Father indeed allowed me to be humbled and hungry, and through it taught me the importance of trusting His Word when I could not find my own way. I often wondered if God remembered where I was or if I would find my way back to fruitful ministry. It took seven years of “wandering in the wilderness” for me to see how He led me every step of the way. I kept returning to Deuteronomy 8:2-3. God assured me that I would someday remember the way He faithfully led me through this wilderness walk with its questions and struggles. In 2019 I did re-enter vocational ministry, accepting the call to pastor Calvary Baptist Church in Belmont, Mississippi.
Maybe you have found yourself in similar circumstances. Perhaps you wonder if God will help you remember the ways he has led you in life and ministry. If so, we can help!
Remember the Way exists to encourage ministers and families who have experienced this painful journey through termination from ministry positions or other tumultuous ministry circumstances. We believe that joy in ministry can be recovered, and Remember the Way specializes in assisting pastors to gain a “healed perspective” of the church and its members as they seek to re-enter gospel ministry after being terminated or forced to resign.
RECENT THOUGHTS
Waiting for Our “After That”
There is a notion that when God calls one to leadership in ministry, that calling negates opposition and personal trial. But, God has been using trial and opposition in the lives of His children for some time now. Such tools are the building blocks to transformed hearts and effective ministries.
From Hungry to Humbled
In the summer of 2011, I sensed the Lord leading me to enter an extended period of fasting and praying for my church. At the time, I was the pastor of a First Baptist church in a county seat town in north Alabama. My family had moved there in 2008, all the way from South […]
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
"You shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." (NASB)