A Fond Farewell to the Waller Family
By Eric Landry
In late 2015, I called Bryce Waller from California to talk about Redeemer. The potential for a call to serve the church as the new senior pastor was becoming more and more certain and I wanted to talk with someone who knew me and the church. Bryce had been filling the pulpit at Redeemer on a regular basis after David Cassidy left for Tennessee. He would drive up from San Antonio where he worked at the iconic restaurant Lisa’s father had started and for Redeemer Seminary’s extension campus. For almost two years, Bryce was a faithful expositor of God’s Word to Redeemer. Some even wondered if perhaps he should be considered for the open pastoral position. I reached out to him because Bryce and I both attended Westminster Seminary California. Even though I finished several years before Bryce, we knew one another and had many mutual friends. Bryce had the same education and embodied many of the same ministry commitments and philosophy I had, so I knew he was the one I needed to give me the inside scoop!
That conversation was the first of many, and when Jack Smith announced his intention to retire, I knew the time was right to seek out Bryce as a potential successor to Jack’s ministry among us. I met with Bryce and Lisa at their home in San Antonio. As we talked about the church, their ministry interests, and our hopes and dreams for our families, I knew we needed them at Redeemer. I was grateful when Bryce responded positively to the session’s call to join the staff as an assistant pastor and shortly thereafter the congregation called Bryce to be an associate pastor.
Bryce has been more than a “staff pastor” overseeing specific ministries. In many ways he has been a kind of co-pastor with me. He is deeply involved in the shepherding work of the church, regularly fills the pulpit, lends his wisdom and insight into strategic planning, and has overseen some of our more recent efforts toward ministry in our local community. He works closely with our missions committee, the Congolese refugees, and is the primary point of contact for our visitors and new members. Both Bryce and I had experience as church planters, so we’re used to tackling a number of different jobs all at once. Bryce has done it all with grace and skill.
Together Bryce and Lisa have exercised the kind of hospitality often commended in Scripture, but that is rarely seen in practice. Many of us have been the recipients of their kindness, including the small group that met in their home. Lisa lent her own skills in interior design to make one of the houses we own across Alexander a comfortable place for interns, guest musicians, and members who need a temporary place to stay.
Almost from the beginning of our time working together, I told Bryce I didn’t expect him to retire as the associate pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. As someone else on staff mentioned to me recently, it seems like this is the right time in Bryce’s life and ministry to consider making a move into a new role. Although the details of that new role are still being worked out at the time I write this, I am excited for what the Lord has in store for the Wallers. Soon, a new church will be able to benefit from their gifts for ministry and their love for Christ, and in turn that church will be able to help mold and shape the entire Waller family as they grow into the image of Christ.
Saying goodbye to faithful co-laborers in the Lord is a sad but expected facet of modern ministry. Along with all of you, I am grateful not just for the more than four years of ministry Bryce has had with us as a pastor here at Redeemer, but also for the nearly two years of ministry he exercised here even before being called as a pastor. Now, as the Wallers depart, we send them out with our blessing.
Bryce will preach his last sermon on April 24. Immediately after each service, we will conduct a brief congregational meeting to “dissolve the pastoral ties” between Bryce and Redeemer. The presbytery will act later that week to ratify this decision. The Wallers’ last Sunday will be May 1. Please plan to spend a few minutes with them in the courtyard between services to express your thanks and wish them God’s blessing in all their future endeavors.