During the course of my ministry I have had the good fortune of meeting some great people.  I have met some great leaders, some great preachers, some great scholars, but only a few truly great men who were also Godly men.  Today I found out that one of the few of those that I have known has decided to retire from Coral Ridge.  Before the rumor mills start, let me put to rest any kind of statement that Rev. Siegenthaler was pushed out or forced to retire.  He has made this very, very clear.  The decision to retire was made by he and his wife Bertha after much prayer and consideration and he was not asked, forced, or moved out by the new leadership at Coral Ridge. 

With that out of the way, let me tell you a little bit about why I love Ron so much.  Ron came to work at the church shortly after I did, which makes us the two ministers who have been at Coral Ridge the longest (I came in June of 1997 and Ron shortly thereafter).  In all the time that I have been here I have never seen Ron lose his temper despite the incredible pressure that was placed upon him.  I have never seen him act unkindly tword anyone, no matter what they had done to him, and I could tell you story after story of the vicious things that were said to and about Ron as he tried to do what was best for Christ and his church.  No matter what kind of machinations seemed to be going on by those who wanted to cause him problems, Ron always seemed to be calmly waiting upon the Lord with no worries and no sense of hurry or rush.

While I am glad to see Ron get to spend more time with Mrs. Siegenthaler and his son, daughter, and grandchildren, I am sorry to lose him as a partner in the ministry.  I have learned so much from him.  He taught me that no matter what evil may come, God’s people depend upon God and not upon politics; that the desire for revenge is always wrong no matter how much I have been wronged; that waiting on the Lord is never a foolish strategy; and that true sanctification is possible though I doubt that I will ever reach it.  Ron Siegenthaler is the kind of man I want to be when I grow up.

I will miss you greatly Ron.  You were a true friend, mentor, and man of God.  May the Lord bless you greatly as you enter into a well deserved rest.  You will never know how much you have blessed me and taught me and how much richer I am for having served with you.

Your younger, less sanctified, more needy brother in the Lord, May God’s Love be with you always

SamLam