We’re here. I can finally say that! Ok, I guess I should clarify, because if you know my family, then you probably already know that we’ve been here for about a month and a half now. Well, we’ve been here for a month and a half but we haven’t really been here until now, I think, when I can say that we are finally starting to get here.
That was supposed to be confusing -- a perfect introduction to a blog about how life has been for us at 5,000 ft. so far.
Loading up and coming here felt just like the day before a big vacation or trip overseas. As you fold your clothes and check the ounces of the liquids you’ll be taking onboard, you can explain clearly what you are preparing for, but your mind hasn’t totally grasped it yet. The dumb thing about overseas trips, is that they always seem to end just when the fog is beginning to clear and you are starting to realize where you are and just what you are doing.
Good for us, the fog is clearing and we’re here for the long-haul.
Arriving here on July 6th, I had a job offer at a car dealership on July 8th. Sounded like good money...in exchange for my soul! Even though the next rent payment was looming in my mind, I turned down the 60+ hours a week, thank-you-very-much. It was then that I started using a guiding phrase that I’ve spoken at least 10 times a week since then - “I came here to plant a church!”
While we settled into our new house, I searched hard for jobs. Finally, I was hired by an email marketing company in Loveland to work four 10 hour shifts a week helping both english and spanish speaking customers over the phone. the arrangement works - I have mornings free and 3 days off a week, even though the pay is less than half of the dealership. I don’t care! I came here to plant a church!
The progress of building Pathways Church up for launch is going well. We’ve met several stellar people and are doing our best to build our team before we launch in February of 2012. We are already meeting weekly, and have some spiffy plans up our sleeves on how we can get the word out and begin serving our community over the next few months.
OK so there is this voice in the back of my mind right now saying, “Jeremy, tell them how it really is...tell them!” The entire time I’ve been writing this, I’ve been searching for a way to get beyond the dull updates and talk to you like we are in my living room sipping something and looking into each other’s eyes.
So - Here we go: This is tough. It is break into tears on the way to work tough. It is try to think happy thoughts tough. It is wash my Tom’s more often because my feet sweat a lot when I get nervous tough.
I know that I’m not Daniel standing before the Lions or Jesus heading to the Cross, but for me, the battles I’m fighting right now are stretching the faith and leadership ability which I’ve recently found to be embarrassingly miniscule.
Why should they follow me? How can we build legitimacy as a movement? Am I all talk?
Here’s the good news: In a typhoon of potential insecurities, I am keenly aware that this is not about me. We are driven by a nearly blood-boiling passion to reach people in Fort Collins who have written off the Savior, and have no clue that not only is He relevant to their lives, but he is an endless supply of the Spiritual Water that they are thirsty for. Not least of all, He deserves the adoration of those whom He created.
I’m telling you, I can already hear the testimonies of people who’ve encountered Christ, and I can already see them being baptized in Horsetooth Reservoir. I can hear them worship and pray (in English and in Spanish!), and I can already sense the Spirit of God moving among a family of faith that doesn’t even exist yet.
I honestly can’t predict what the next 6 months will be like. I do know one thing - if you’ve made it to the bottom of this blog, I know you are with us. The words of life spoken over us by family and friends, the leadership advice given by ARC and pastor friends of mine, and the support of churches like Palm Valley, Desperation, Harvest Chapel, and First Christian Church have been a continual source of courage. Thank you - and keep it coming!
We have a long road ahead -- I mean for cryin’ out loud, most days I feel like I could be sick (Like the open sea fishing trip kind of sick), and we haven’t even started the church yet.
In writing this, I can’t stop thinking about you - and where you are, and what you are doing. I have a thought: let’s encourage each other. What passion, or calling, or dream, or project, or idea, are you pursuing? What mountain has God placed in front of you that makes your feet sweat? Tell us about the radical thing that you are doing, or dreaming of doing, that you think could change the world!
Click here to go to the Pathways FB page and share your story with us. Just like you are sitting on the couch across from Rachel and I in our home. Don’t be shy - do it!
Thanks for your love, and your prayers!
Love,
Jeremy, (Who just wrote this); Rachel, (Who is 7 months pregnant and slap me in the face beautiful); Aisha, (Who is getting smarter and taller than your kid); Gabriel, (Who is 100% boy and got his first professional hair cut today), and Carmel (Who we haven’t met yet, and was given the name Carmel by Aisha until we find out the sex on his/her birthday in November!) - Now - go click on the link and share your story!!!
