5 Reflections on 5 Years

1. I have an answer to Paul's question in Romans 8: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Answer: Every other force in the universe. Church planting is not easy. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. There are many obstacles to overcome, roadblocks to break through, difficult people to love. Thank God, He is for us! It would be impossible without Him. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
   
2. The adage "Where God guides, He provides" is true but I would like to add an amendment to it, "Lack of provision does not mean we're off mission." God has been good to us. He has provided in ways I would not have imagined. He has given to us things that we would have had to take out loans to pay for. Yet there are some needs that have gone unmet. There are some debts we owe. God is able to supply "all of our needs according to His riches in glory" but He has designed the Church to be funded by the freewill offerings of His people. He does not always put the check in the mail to bail out His people. There comes a time when the Church has to step up and meet their needs according to God's plan. We are not off mission; we are at a crossroads, a testing place. It is at this point that many church plants pack it in, become a statistic. It's a place we must pass if we are to be the Church God has called us to be.
   
3. Freedom is awesome! To not be bound to a denominational stance, or a traditional mindset, or Pharisaical leanings completely rocks. To start a church with only the Bible as your handbook and Christ at the head is the most exciting endeavor to launch out on. To dismiss dress codes, crank up the band, and disregard protocol is not for everyone and it is not meant to disrespect where we have come from but to do something fresh and new to reach people who have already said no to the traditional church. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!" Christ has set us free and we love it.
4. People coming to Christ is the most wonderful thing to see! I have not always been excited about soulwinning (this is confessions of a pastor). I've seen to many people pray a prayer and go away unchanged because we have carefully crafted our presentation so that only a fool would say no. But to see someone come to Christ without manipulation but solely on the conviction of the Holy Spirit is beautiful and worth shouting about. I hope that this year we can do more and more shouting.
5. I love to preach the Word of God! It is fun, challenging, exciting, redemptive, therapeutic, crazy, and hard. I want to do this for a long time.