Here we Are

Sitting in my mother-in-law’s living room Missouri. The kids are taking naps and Elvis the cat is licking the window while the refrigerator hums away and everything else is silent.

Just over a month ago Rachel and I loaded up our stuff and our kids and headed north on nothing more than a deep sense of beckoning toward something more, and a vision to lead a church that passionately participates in the coming of the Kingdom by spreading the power of resurrection in its community and the world.

Doesn’t that sound great? We’re not there yet. There have been moments over this past month where I’ve felt like I was wandering around in a pitch dark room with my hands flailing out in front of me; my right hand searching for God’s will for my family and my left hand trying to keep me from knocking my head against something. I’ve never been out on a limb like this before. A few days after we arrived in the KC area I got a job as a waiter to keep food on the table (our table, that is). Some days I enjoy the simplicity of serving people and influencing the [very] lost people I work with. Other days I think I must be crazy -- like when I go home with fifteen bucks in my pocket after a tough shift. Add to the equation that Rachel is pregnant - due sometime in November. When we got the news we were thrilled and excited and grateful and stunned and really thinking that the timing couldn’t be more crazy. I don’t even know where we’re going to be living in November.

And all of that is what makes our situation so incredibly wonderful, and something that you may actually want to consider being jealous of!

Rachel and I have been praying seriously about whether God was leading us to pastor an existing church or plant a new one. I love the way that He spoke to Rachel about it. Either situation would present unique challenges, however planting a church in a city far from home is a perilous journey - a narrow path that requires some serious…...guts. According to Rachel, that’s why we must do it! Rachel heard God speaking to her through the book of Zechariah that taking the path of most resistance will result in much glory for God. That doesn’t have to be the rule every time, but this time that’s how Rachel hears it! This is God’s story, not ours. This is His moment to shine. He is at center stage and the spotlight is all over Him and everyone is watching. No one can predict what drama or hardships may come in the acts to follow, but one thing is for sure: At the end of the show the audience will be on their feet. We will be united in breathless awe of our Hero and how He manages to win every time.

So, we continue moving forward! I am in the beginning stages of church planting with ARC, the Association of Related Churches. One of the fastest growing church planting movements in America, ARC basically consists of several hundred churches who work together to encourage, train, and help fund guys like me who are ready to plant. It looks like Rachel and I will head to Little Rock for 5 days of intensive training in May. During the next month, we will also be praying and studying in order to select the city we’ll call home. We will keep you posted! In the meantime, please pray for us. We have an incredible number of huge decisions to make over the next few months. We have an impossible amount of money to raise. I just learned how to spell church plant, let alone do one. Good thing he’s in charge.

And now we give all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Eph 3v20-21