Following God...

God is awesome! If we will listen, He will direct and guide us in our daily lives. This past week God led me and my family into a new arena of ministry.

Several weeks ago, Pastor Rob asked me to consider becoming the campus pastor for Southbrook: Monroe. We recently started a church campus in Monroe with the goal of reaching that community for Christ. A great group of people have been meeting there already for several months. I began to pray about it. Nancy began to pray about it. We visited the campus on a Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to preach live (the teaching is primarily by video). We left that Sunday pretty sure in our minds that this was not where God was leading. But I just couldn't let it go.

For various reasons, Nancy was not comfortable with some of the circumstances, and how they would affect our family. Fair enough, I totally understood. But I still just couldn't let it go.

We wrestled some more with the idea. We prayed some more. Pastor Rob invited us to dinner after a Saturday night service to talk about it some more. The message at church that night was "You're an Idiot." We were asked to consider 3 questions:

1) In what area of mnistry have I become dangerously secure in my own knowledge and abilities?
2) What faith risk is God calling me to take?
3) What painful decision have I been avoiding?

Pastor had shared these same questions several weeks earlier at our staff retreat. I had already begun wrestling with them. Nancy was now faced with these same questions. On the way to meet with Pastor Rob, Nancy said "I felt like I was supposed to stand up in the service and say 'OK, I get it, we'll do it!'"

And so - God moved our hearts, change our thinking, and called us to take on the challenge. We are excited to be in this position. Yesterday the service was just amazing. From the worship, to the message, to the buzz of excitement in the air. There are quite a few challenges ahead. There are a lot of unknowns ahead. But there is also a great group of people committed to see this thing happen in Monroe.

We are looking forward to seeing God work in and through Southbrook: Monroe.