All in!

Today I taught my last message (at least for a while) at LaGrange FCOG.  I taught a message called All In!  It's funny, I shared three personal stories that have taken place as part of our transition to Pendleton.  One of the stories, I told three times, and I was overcome with emotion each time.  It's the story of the day we finally made the decision that we couldn't "not" begin this new church in the Pendleton area.  I was prompted that day by the story in Mark 10:28 when Peter says to Jesus, "Lord, we've left everything to follow you."  Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, whatever you have left behind will be given back to you in greater measure, and eternal life in the age to come.  IN that moment, that day we made this decision, I knew exactly what Peter felt when he made this statement to Jesus.  

Long story short, it was an incredible experience for me, this opportunity to share with our church the why's of what we're embarking on.  And I also think we were able to ask other people to inquire of God what His "all in" for them is.  I gave everyone who came this morning a poker chip, probably a first for our church.  But my hope is that everytime they see World Series of Poker on ESPN as they flip through the channels, or everytime they hear about someone playing cards, or every day they carry that chip in their pocket, it will be an ongoing reminder that God is always asking to know and follow through on whatever our all in is right now!  

We also had our second to last youth night tonight.  I don't know if this makes sense or not, but I truly am beginning to hate Sunday nights, because I love them so much.  Sunday nights have been a joy for me for the past few years, one of the best experiences of my life.  There have been weeks when the students were not here, but usually those have only been a weekend at a time.  So I'm sure the first weekend we don't have high school students at our house will be a little odd, but not that bad.  The 2nd weekend I will be a train wreck.  I just love being with these guys and ladies so much, and the thought of not being a regular part of their lives is something I just can't think about tonight without really losing it.  I can't express how blessed these guys have made me feel over these last months and years.  I guess I won't fully understand it until it's gone! 

Waiting

The scriptures tell us that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up on wings like eagles.  They shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not grow faint.  

These last few days and these weeks to come really ought to be strength renewers.  We wait to hear about our house offer we made on Friday.  We wait to see if Carlotta will find a job, and if she should find a job even for a while.  We wait to see when we're going to move.  We wait to see who's the next family member to call worried that we're going to be homeless or destitute.  (Thanks for your concern though)  

When you're a doer, waiting is some of the hardest stuff of your life.  But... they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  So as we wait, we ask for God's patience.  This all is a part of just building our trust in Him and suprisingly, I'm not feeling stressed about it.  I've rather decided to just try and enjoy it.  Enjoy the shaping, and the molding and the waiting.  

When was the last time you enjoyed the waiting? 

Decisions, Decisions

I think sometimes we all think that even though certain things happen in certain patterns for I don't know... centuries, that somehow we'll be the ones who beat the system.  Now back in reality world, we recognize the same things that happen to everyone else will probably inevitably happen to us.  As it relates to moving... somehow I guess we thought it would be easier because we're so excited about where God is guiding our journey.  I forgot how nuts things get when people move.  It was that way 9+ years ago when we moved to LaGrange.  It was that way 7+ years ago when we moved across town.  Now, we're buying a house in a market that is very difficult for most, but a complete blessing for us.  We don't have a house to sell, and it's a complete buyers market right now.  So we have lots of options.  I think just like our relationship with God, sometimes we want to feel like there is only one right path in the whole universe and so we just have to figure out that one and things are okay.  But in reality, I think God is big enough and complex enough and broad enough that He can lead us to great good down multiple roads, just so long as we know those roads don't lead toward sin.  I have a feeling that's how this house thing is going to shake out.  None of these houses is sinful.  They're just different.  And they cost different amounts.  So, while we're seeking God's ultimate best decision in this matter, I have to hope and believe that the Kingdom of God doesn't rest completely at a tipping point based solely on this decision. 

In other "they said it would be this way news" I have yet to step one foot into our new location as a "local."  (It's all been drive in experiences at this point.) And yet I find myself being so busy just thinking about everything that needs to be done.  I've heard people say you'll never be busier in life than starting a church.  And I think you're never more busy in life than when you leave a church you've been at for a long time.  So... 1+1 equals a little mental chaos right now.  Which is why (just like my predecessors have coached us) that prayer team is the first team you begin to recruit.  

I'm sure I'll post more later (and part of this exercise is to get me more into the journaling habit) but for right now somehow, even in the midst of the nuttiness that's swirling around us, I still feel pretty peaceful in my soul that God is still in heaven and the world is not coming apart this afternoon.  Tomorrow.... well we'll just have to let that take care of itself.  These moments however continue to affirm that Jesus speaks the words of truth that carry us in a way no other possibly could.

The Promise of Isaiah 60

Anytime you feel the Holy Spirit directing you to obscure passages, take special note.  When we ask God to calm our souls, to take control of situations that in our own strength will crush us under their weight, I know He takes those prayers seriously.  And so as I ponder everything about a new church start that wakes me up early (okay early is relative but earlier than usual for me) I read the words this morning of Isaiah 60.  I know this is a passage where God promises to restore Jerusalem, not literally just the city, but restoring the place where His presence will be felt among His people.  In essence, the place where His presence was not, now was becoming again a place where God was going to take up residence among the people.  This taking up residence was more than just Him hanging out with them.  The blessings of God's presence among these people was going to initiate the outpouring of other tangible blessings such as they had not seen since they were exiled.

Here is what God is going to bring to them.  (I believe God is saying this for us as we start a new faith community in Pendleton)  

1. I will bring you people.  (verse 4)  God is prompting people to gather together in the place where He will dwell among them.

2. I will bring you resources (verse 5)  God will give us what we need to accomplish the building of a community where His presence will be made real.

3. I will adorn my glorious temple (verse 7)  This isn't just a gathering of people; when we gather in His name for His purposes, He will be there among us.

4. In favor He will show compassion (verse 10)  This one we claim most, for it's God's mercy and His compassion that we want to extend, but it's also His mercy and His compassion on us that even allows us to consider, much less be successful, in an endeavor this huge.

5. Your gates will always stand open (verse 11)  The opportunities for ministry will be continual, and so we should be prepared as a community to always be prepared to live out the way of Jesus for those who need all that He has to offer.

6. We will radiate the light of Christ that is within us.  (verse 19)

7. All your people will be righteous (verse 21)  We are made righteous as Christ who holds Lordship over our hearts is given ever increasing Lordship over every area of our lives.  We become more and more like Him in our actions, not just in our desires.

8.  They are the shoot I have planted; the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor (verse 21)  This is God's thing.  Everything we do is to display His glory and His work in our lives.

9. The least of you will become a thousand...I am the Lord: in it's time I will do this swiftly.   (verse 22)  I'm not sure how to take this verse, so I'm going to let this one linger with me for a while. 

I know these are just some connections I made with this passage as it relates to what's going on in my own life.  But I also believe that God hears our prayers, and He knows what's been stirring in my soul this morning.  One of the things this verse has reminded me is that this is God's thing, and we're His partners.  I have to keep reminding myself of this everyday.  This is NOT MY THING!  God says all through the Scriptures that He will build His church.  My role is to be God's steward and to partner with Him, to be His hands and feet and mouth in the world where He prompts me.  You see all along I think I thought this was just going to be about starting a new church.  When in reality, God's working out a lot of stuff in me, and I think He's just asking us to invite a new community on the journey with us.

Slowly it's all starting to set in...

With every conversation about the new direction  our lives are taking, the reality of the hugeness of this thing sinks in a little more.  Never has a blank canvas seemed so exciting, and so intimidating.  It's getting easier to tell the people that we love about the dramatic shift in our lives, but the hardest conversations are still to come.  I told someone today that these next few days and weeks will indicate just how much people have gotten what we've been trying to say with our words and our lives for these past nine years.  The Kingdom of God is bigger than just you, and it's bigger than just LaGrange.  We hear that and we all nod in agreement, but do we really believe this?  Well, when you tell people that have been part of your everyday lives for so long that you're no longer going to be part of each other's every day lives, because you're moving, and that you still will love them the same and want to still be friends, you just believe God is directing you into something new and faith-stretching and unbelievably exciting, their response tells you (not immediate response but over the next few weeks) whether they really believe that the Kingdom of God is bigger than them and bigger than LaGrange, Indiana.  

I often wonder if the great master artists of history were ever intimidated by a blank canvas.  When you look at a blank canvas, it's potential is limitless.  Somehow you have to get started.  How did Rembrandt create his masterpieces?  I guess they started with the first stroke obviously.  Sometimes, infinite potential makes me very excited.  Sometimes it makes me very nervous.  Right now I'm still a lot of both.  We have to find a place to live.  I've never bought a house before!  We have to setup a budget (30% of the funds for which we don't have yet) for a brand new church.  I don't know how much it costs to start a church.  I mean all the big things and little things.  I guess the next year is going to be filled with a lot of prayers, some educated (by the Holy Spirit) guesses, and right now...I'm not sure what all else.  It'll also be interesting to experience the process of making a whole additional set of friends with people that...at this moment, we've never even met before.

I think this first post would not be complete without telling whoever reads these words that my wife Carlotta is unbelievable.  It's bad enough that I'm crazy enough to follow this calling, but I've always been the crazy one of the two of us.  (She tells our little Camden this all the time, about how crazy her daddy is)  But of all the leadings God has ever given us, she's more excited and crazy about this idea even than I am.  I would never feel God is leading us into something that she didn't confirm, because in most cases, I think that's how God works.  He calls both people in a marriage partnership.  And so even though we go into this with some fear...actually, we're also in this completely together.  And so no matter what happens from this moment forward, that's the greatest blessing God could give me.  

Now, back to some of those hard "we're moving" conversations.  Two down, 300 more to go!