In his final sermon as senior minister of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Rasmussen compared life’s trials to waves washing away a sandcastle, urging a choice between despair and perseverance.
Rasmussen announced last November that he would transition into an emeritus role. Diagnosed in 2020, he told the congregation that by 2024 he began noticing “a noticeable change in my energy level,” which contributed to his decision to step back from full-time leadership.
“Buckle up, because in your life, you're going to have a lot of things that are going to get walloped by some kind of wave,” he said. “You can either cut and start crying and run, or you can simply reach down and pick the shovel up and get to work with whatever remains. But that really is your choice."
Reflecting on decades in ministry, Rasmussen told the congregation that one enduring lesson stood out above all others: that change, apart from God, is unavoidable.
“If I've learned anything in ministry, it is that every single thing save for God is transitory,” he said. “Everything changes. There's always an ending. Everything ends."
His successor, the Rev. Matt Tuggle, is set to assume senior pastor responsibilities as Rasmussen moves into his emeritus role. Rasmussen described the transition not simply as a conclusion, but as an opportunity for renewal.
"Life is full of endings. But the beauty of life is that every ending is also at the same time a new beginning,” he said. “They come together. They're on the same platform. ... Every ending is a new beginning. It just depends on how you look at it."
The sermon, which concluded HPUMC’s “Final Four” preaching series, looked back on Rasmussen’s more than 25 years of ministry at the church. He began serving at HPUMC in 2000 and stepped into a preaching role in 2001 at Cornerstone, the church’s contemporary worship service.
A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Rasmussen is a fourth-generation United Methodist minister. Under his leadership, Cornerstone expanded significantly, eventually drawing weekly attendance of about 2,000.
He also led efforts to revitalize the Munger Place Church UMC satellite campus and spearheaded fundraising initiatives to expand contemporary worship and construct a new family activity center at HPUMC.
After becoming senior pastor in 2013, Rasmussen also took on leadership roles beyond the congregation, serving on the Methodist Health System Foundation Board of Trustees and the St. Philips School and Community Center Executive Board.
