I am Robert S. Owens, a retired Presbyterian (USA) minister, but most people in the churches I have served have called me Pastor Bob, undoubtedly because my first priority in ministry has always been pastoral care. When I retired as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu, I only retired from a job, not from ministry. Since my first retirement I have completed nine interim ministries, and now that I’ve retired for the third (and final) time, I was considering a new way to continue my commitment to the ministry of the Word. It is my hope and prayer that this blog, allowing me to share gleanings from more than sixty years of ministry, will help other believers to grow toward maturity in their faith and perhaps inspire seekers for spiritual truth to become followers of Jesus. I will follow the seasons on the Church’s calendar, but my intent is to gather up life lessons learned during my personal journey with Christ, including insights that might encourage others in their efforts to live a life pleasing to God in both character and conduct.

For those who might be interested in knowing a bit more about my lifetime of ministry, I have served both small and large churches in Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, Hawaii, California, and England. My years of interim ministry have been both challenging and fulfilling. I am now committed to making the most of the rest of my life by not only looking back, but looking forward to the future with conviction that the spiritual gifts God has given me should not be buried, but used in new ways of continued ministry through this medium. Any wisdom I may share is not of my own making, but a gift from God to enhance the spiritual life of others.

Other than the work of ministry, my greatest joy comes from my marriage of 65 years to my beloved wife, Norma, the blessings of family life with our five devoted children, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a host of friends in the United States and abroad. I personally hope to grow better as I grow older, and want to be able to say at my life’s end on this earth what the apostle Paul said before his departure, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.”