Pastor Rick to fill pulpit at Ashland
By JESSICA BERNHARDT
Staff writer
Most people in Marion know him as Pastor Rick. Now people in Ashland will refer to him as that also.
"I've always been Pastor Rick," said Rick Branson.
Branson will leave Marion after a little more than 20 years. The past five of those years have been spent as an associate pastor at Eastmoor United Methodist Church and Burdick United Methodist Church.
His last day at Eastmoor was June 1. His last day at Burdick will be June 29.
In January 2000, Branson started his journey at Tabor College, Hillsboro. In the spring of 2003, he graduated with a bachelor of arts in youth ministry. In the fall of 2003, he began attending St. Paul School of Theology. He obtained his master's of divinity degree in May of 2008.
Branson said he drove up to the Kansas City area and stayed with his sister a couple of days each week depending on his schedule.
"I never thought I'd get my master's. I never thought I'd go to college," said Branson. "That's what happens when God gets a hold of you. Or when you start listening. Probably both."
When Branson first walked into Eastmoor he knew he was going to enjoy his tenure there. "They're the congregation that, when I came in with an earring and ponytail, they didn't care."
During his time there, he was the senior high youth pastor and preached one Sunday each month.
While at Burdick, Branson preached three Sundays a month. He said, "Burdick considers me 'their' pastor. It's such a strong little church that will be there forever."
Ashland is about four hours southwest of Marion and is comparable in size. "We visited on Monday. It's not a whole lot different than Marion," said Branson. "We felt comfortable right off."
Membership at the Ashland United Methodist Church is about 220 with a 120 average attendance. "It's well attended compared to other churches in town."
Along with the excitement that comes with moving to a new place is a feeling of sadness.
"It's kind of exciting, kind of scary, and kind of sad. We're already receiving cards and letters from the people there. There are a lot of mixed feelings about going."
Branson said he could have said no when asked to move to Ashland and was tempted because of their family. "They all live around here."
While Rick was busy with school and being an associate pastor, it left little time for him and his wife, Khrista, to be together.
Khrista has worked at St. Luke Living Center for the past 18 years as activities director. Rick said, "The scariest thing is that it will be just Khris and I. But I think that's a good thing after being apart so much."
Rick attributes a lot of his success to his wife. "I can't say 'I', I've got to say 'we' because I couldn't have done it without Khris."
While in school, Khrista's paycheck was what helped support both of them. Rick said, "She's supported us. She's been there every step of the way. I'm blessed."
With the difficult decision to move or stay upon them, Rick said he thinks a lot of good can come out of it, but it's painful. "After crying and praying and talking we realized God had done so much for our ministry that he's not going to stop just because we move. He's got a plan for us."
Rick said Khrista is ready for a change. "She's excited that we'll be doing all right and she won't have to work full-time." He said she plans on pursuing her hobby of horses.
"If a job comes up she'll do it, but she'll probably never work full-time again. But she doesn't want to not never work again — that's not her goal."
The church has no expectations of either Rick or Khrista. "They don't expect her to come in and want to do everything."
With a new home, church, and friends, Rick has a few goals in mind. "I want to pastor better. You can't come home with four books to read, two papers to write, a sermon to prepare and still be effective at pastoring. I don't ever want to be a bishop — I just want to pastor until God's done with me."
He also wants to be a better husband. "A huge goal is to work on our relationship."
Not only does being a good pastor and having a good relationship satisfy Rick, but he wants to lose weight. "I haven't taken care of myself through this whole thing. I want to take better care of myself."
Rick believes that God blesses people when they do things they're supposed to be doing.
"I know Khrista feels left out because the focus has been on my ministry and my school. But there was no way I could've done it without her. It's not my story — it's our story."
