Pastor Rubén Salcedo

At the risk of putting him on a pedestal, I would like to share with you a brief story about our Argentine pastor.  He is a medical doctor who has a full-time job directing a nutrition and health clinic that receives international patients.  He also teaches medicine at the National University of Córdoba.  In addition to this, he is a husband to Glady and a dad to 2 grown daughters.  He also pastors our church, Jesucristo Rey, with integrity, grace, and solid biblical teaching. 

 

The story I wanted to tell you happened last November.  Rubén is big on practicing what you preach and the Bible directs his life.  Last November, he got up to the pulpit and said, with tears in his eyes, that he couldn’t preach his sermon that day because he wanted to be an example to the church.  The reason he felt he couldn’t share his prepared words is because he had offended someone and needed to reconcile with this person before he felt able to speak the words of the Lord to the church.  At first I wasn’t sure I understood right.  He then sat down on a chair next to the podium and one of the assistant pastors came up and taught Rubén’s sermon. 

To be honest, I have no idea what the topic of the sermon was.  I will never forget, however, Rubén’s humility, honesty, and vulnerability as he sat there and listened to the associate pastor preach his sermon.  That was during the morning service.  That afternoon, he reconciled with whoever he needed to and preached the sermon himself at the evening service. 

Pastoring a church in Argentina is a very big deal. When people ask us what church we go to and we respond with “Jesucristo Rey,” they will typically roll their eyes and re-ask, “Who’s the pastor?” Churches are known by which human leads them instead of their particular name or denomination.  We have had some unfortunate experiences with pastors here who are busily building their own personal kingdoms instead of humbly bringing glory to our creator.  Rubén has taught, very loud and clear, that this is not his church.  It is Jesus’s and Rubén happens to be the pastor. 

We have learned so much from him and are incredibly thankful to have found such a God-fearing, Bible-preaching, Jesus-worshipping church body.

Rubén, obviously, doesn’t have time to read blogs and doesn’t understand much English either.  But if he did he would be irritated with me for singing his praises.  So, good thing this is just between us, right?