A Word from Nelson Bell on His Retirement

To my dear church family,

My gratitude to Highland Park Presbyterian Church goes back to 1973. At first,
I didn’t like you. I was almost 11 years old and firmly rooted in Rome, GA when Dad
shared with the family that a church in Dallas was calling him to be their next preacher.
In my mind’s eye, we were moving to a big city, probably to a high rise, where I
would ride the elevator to the ground floor to go play in a crowded city park. About six
weeks later, we moved to Dallas, school started, I made friends and church was busy.
Two years later, I got my first summer job. Highland Park Presbyterian Church
didn’t have any automated sprinklers, but they could hire a 13-year-old boy for minimum
wage. I lugged hoses around the church grounds in the Texas summer keeping plants
alive. That was over 53 years ago. I got a little smarter and the following summers, I
sought jobs with air conditioning and ended up at Highland Park painting classrooms.
Including all my thoughts and feelings into this letter isn’t possible. My memories
and gratitude to this church family hasn’t been limited to these recent years as pastor,
but as you can tell, my memories and gratitude span a lifetime. God used Highland Park
Presbyterian to disciple me through adolescence as I followed Jesus, transforming my life
through Sunday School with teachers like Betty Fulgham & Dr. Will Thompson,
confirmation with Craig Millis, small groups, worship, fellowship and the many, many
relationships.

Much of my growth came from being saturated in the life and ministry of HPPC.
In God’s providence, after SMU, I was hired to serve in the college ministry with Peter
Barnes before going overseas to serve in an international evangelism conference in
Amsterdam. That internship precipitated the open door for ministry. Session began to
take me under their wing back in 1985 with Gloria Box being my elder liaison.
Men like Hugo Schoellkopf, George Clark & Ralph Gaden believed in me and
curbed seminary expenses. Being confident of God’s call to ordained ministry, I was
ordained four years later, serving on the mission field above the Red River in Oklahoma.
In 2004, God led me back to Highland Park after a 19-year absence, where Helen
Garrett participated in my Service of Installation. When I returned, I didn’t come back
empty handed. I returned with my favorite wife, two little daughters and our soon-to-be
born son. It’s been a whirlwind of activity, conversations, meals, visits, joys, sadness,
despair, committees, prayers, hope, plans, vision, coffee – ultimately, life was shared.
I echo Paul’s words from 1 Thessalonians 2:8 “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 

When I think of all the people God brought into our lives, and, how God saw fit to
use us in your lives, I am thankful. I’ve officiated over 200 weddings, about 400
memorials and untold number of baptisms. As a pastor, it has been a tremendous
privilege to see marriages healed, ministries pursued, gifts discovered, health renewed,
comfort delivered, hope restored, lives surrendered, Christian fellowship nurtured, growth
started and achieved, lots of baptisms, vows made and fulfilled, many loved ones mourned
and celebrated, and souls encouraged and strengthened, all through the love of Jesus.
Over these last 22 years, if not also 53 years, I’ve experienced the love of this
congregation and God’s favor. It’s been a joy to be not only a child of this church, but
also your pastor.

To this I would add, God’s not finished with me yet. I am a pastor. That is my
heart. With God’s grace, I have started LemuelMinistries.com, a 501(c)3 and will continue to
pastor, ministering in creative ways as God directs. I continue to serve as Trustee on
The OutReach Foundation, and plan to preach in pulpits where some tired ECO pastors
can get a break. And of course, for the weddings and funerals we’ve talked about, I
remain available upon your request. Additionally, I will seek to be a better fisherman,
woodworker, blacksmith, tinkerer, golfer, BBQer, pickle baller, father and husband.
While my kids are pursuing their nexts steps, Julie and I will be down the road in
Athens. You’re welcome to visit, as long as you leave by 8 pm, before Julie falls asleep.

Your servant, in gratitude to God,

Nelson