Phil's Word to the People of Tenth

Let me join in the congratulations. Wheaton is deeply blessed to have as its eighth president a man of Phil's integrity, caliber, and godliness.

If you have not yet seen it, below is a video of Phil addressing the congregation at Tenth on Sunday:

http://vimeo.com/9622279

It is a wonderful example of a pastor tenderly leading his flock.

I thought tonight about something Jonathan Edwards once said in a sermon about pastors:

"Useful men are some of the greatest blessings of a people. To have many such is more for a people's happiness than almost anything, unless it be God's own gracious, spiritual presence amongst them; they are precious gifts of heaven. . . . Particularly, I would beseech and exhort those aged ones that yet remain, while they do live with us, to let us have much of their prayers, that when they leave the younger generations, they may leave God with them."

Phil is not an "aged one," but as he moves from Philadelphia to Wheaton, he leaves his congregation with the presence and comfort of God.