Presbygrow

FROM GREED TO NEED

Pastor is still in the investment going from large firm in Houston to tiny church in West Texas

By Paul Seebeck
Associate for Mission Communications

ALBANY, Tex. – Well, the pay is a little less.”  Trey Little is laughing out loud at the question.  “What has it been like going from senior vice president of a big Houston investment firm, to pastor of a small Presbyterian Church in a tiny town in Texas?   “The first Sunday I preached there were 25 people in worship, and 50 members,” says Little. “I was pretty convinced I’d been called to the church to make disciples, so I immediately starting focusing on – investing in— evangelism and mission.”

In 1996, Little thought he had life figured out.  He was being paid a lot of money to sell fixed income securities.  “I wanted to make money and spend it as fast as I could,” Little’s laugh softens as he remembers what that was that like.    “I thought I was going to retire at 35, to golf, hunt and fish, and buy my kids nice things, take my family and friends on vacations.”   But then what he valued began to change.  Trey and his wife Leslie were members of Grace Presbyterian Church in Houston.    He’d been a volunteer with the youth of the church since 1991 and felt as if he was “kind of going through the motions at work” when the director of youth ministries, Ann Stewart, approached him.    “Have you ever thought about doing this full-time?’ is what she asked me,” says Trey.   “You’ve got to be kidding me’ is what I thought.  They were offering me a position that paid $26,000 dollars. I had a daughter a wife, country club expenses, but I told them we’d pray about it.”

During that time of prayer and discernment, Trey and Leslie went on their first mission trip together to Reynosa, Mexico with a group of middle school students.  The theme for the week was on following Jesus.   The leader of the trip pointed out that in Matthew 4 when Jesus called his first disciples they immediately dropped their nets – left what they were doing – and followed him.
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“The Light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not overcome it.”
– John 1:5

I woke up early the other day to go for a run.  It’s becoming a habit of mine to do this, although I generally loath getting up early (I have always been a night owl).  But as I begin running longer routes, I find myself in the odd position of having to be creative with my time.  That’s tough for me especially since I’ve never been that creative.  So this morning I wake up at 5 am, stumble through our seminary apartment, manage to get dressed and realize that it’s completely dark outside.  The sun hasn’t even thought of breaking over the horizon for at least another hour and a half or so.  As I think about the route I’ve chosen for the day, my second realization is that there are not very many lights on the route. In fact it’s through the park which always seems a little darker than the rest of the world because there is virtually no extra help beating back the consuming darkness.  With no time to scour the house for a flashlight, I find a small key chain with one of those LED lights attached, you know, the ones you get in your stocking at Christmas and then resides in that drawer in the kitchen with all the other odd items with no real place in the home.  Not a big light but it worked.  I hoped and prayed that this little light would at least keep me moderately safe from oncoming cars and other runners/bikers who might not be able to see me or keep me from tripping or having a branch slap me in the face  So there it was, me and this little key chain light versus the darkness and all the unknown that it holds.
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