Resignation

Today I officially stepped down as pastor of First Church of Lebanon. I have accepted a position with the Free Will Baptist International Missions Department and will be relocating my family to Nashville, Tennessee within the next couple of weeks. My transition is quick, simply because of the nature of my new position and the launch of a new campaign at the end of this July (not much time to get things rolling).

As one might imagine, this has been an extremely difficult decision. One thing I’m learning through all of this is that the older you get the harder “faith steps” become. Because the older you get the more stuff you have in your life that is impacted by your decisions – children, home, contacts, friends, family, you name it.

We have been privileged to invest six years of our lives leading and challenging the people of First Church to grow in their personal relationship with Christ and to make His name famous throughout the world.

As we work through this transition faze we greatly appreciate your prayers. Relocation means we have a house to pack up and sell. At the same time, we are trying to find a place to live in Nashville. Not easy while saying goodbye to friends and moving to a new city to tackle a Goliath of a ministry task.

Sunday Thoughts

*Taught four straight days at Boswell this week. Love teaching these 4th & 5th graders! They are eager to learn like fresh clay to the artist’s hands – I’m thankful for the opportunity to impact their lives.
*The extra work load is extremely hard – this will only last another couple of weeks – then I will begin to finish up some of the classes which will give me more time for ministry work. Trying to squeeze everything in is burning me out – but necessary right now to impact lives and make ends meat.
*I am so thankful for what God is doing in my oldest daughter. She is growing stronger in her faith each week – not a popular thing in this town at her age. Praying for her impact in a very dark school.
*Kassidy’s Upward team is really coming together. The competition has been light but they are still learning so much. Kassidy is really catching on to the game – she has some raw talent and a ton of determination. Now’s the time to develop it.
*Klaire is talking more and more. She still has her three-year-old moments or meltdowns. Even so, the girl is such a blessing and miracle to have in our home and hearts.
*Had an amazing date day with Julie on Valentines Day. Took her to Ocean’s Zen – an Asian Bistro in Springfield. It’s one of our favorite date spots because the food is simply off the wall. I’m so blessed to be married to this incredible woman. I melt when I look into her eyes.
*Our church is in a weird season right now – somewhere between the Transitional Season and the Malaise Season. I don’t like it. We can’t stay here long. I can’t figure this out right now. Maybe I’m not supposed to. So, I’m praying for God to give discernment and guidance – to help us focus completely on Him.
*Our current sermon series on Prayer is rocking my world all over again. Hoping God uses it to challenge our church to truly become a body of prayer warriors for Christ!
*This coming Sunday I will be speaking on Fasting – then challenging our church to enter into a 40 day fast beginning on Tuesday, March 3rd. Can’t wait to see what God does in our hearts during that time.

Sunday Thoughts

• My faith is being stretched right now. It’s hard to explain but God has me in a place of waiting on Him. I’m not good with waiting – very impatient – but working on it.
• Heavy work schedule this week with teaching 24 hours at the local Elementary school. I’m loving the time with these students – they are bright and eager to learn – truly makes me miss kids ministry.
• Had an awesome weekend – Friday night we went out for Pizza with our girls. I love our time together as a family.
• Kassidy’s Upward team played Saturday morning. I also took Klaire to the game because she forgot to sleep in! She sat on the bench and helped us coach the team – and she loved it. Not sure that she will be much on sports though – she spent most of the game brushing her hair with her pink hairbrush! Kassidy continues to develop in her skill level and understanding of the sport. I love to watch her play.
• Saturday night I took Julie out on a date to Gary’s Place – it’s an Italian restaurant in town – and has great food. I’m extremely blessed to be married to my best friend. My wife is amazing.
• We mailed off support letters this week for Karlee. She has been selected to a summer mission’s team and needs to raise some funds. I’m blown away by how much she has grown in Christ over the past year and can’t wait to see what God does in her life this summer.
• This Sunday I started a new sermon series called “Prayer.” I’m going to take this series through six weeks – one of those weeks I will deal with fasting and challenge our church family to join me on a 40 day fast that will lead us up to Easter.
• The message yesterday was very simple and practical – and yet God used it to challenge me to spend more time listening in prayer. He gave me a freedom yesterday as I spoke – it’s hard to explain – but there is nothing like the Holy Spirit guiding you through a message like that – I’m blown away that God allows me to do this. I’m looking forward to the next several weeks and praying that God will break through hardness in hearts and allow us to see Him change more lives in our midst.
• Our attendance was down a bit in the second service – not sure why? The worship was spot on – loved the first song and Mitchell’s solo just before I preached. We continue to pray for God to send us more musicians for the band – especially a drummer.

Sunday Thoughts

 

*It was one of the most difficult weeks I’ve experienced in a long time.  Let’s just say the devil was fighting and all Hell broke loose on many fronts.  I’ve learned this is typical just before God moves in a big way.  So, I wasn’t all that surprised with the things we had planned for the weekend and then the fact that I’m leaving for a mission’s trip in one week.  God pulled me through – He always does – it’s just learning to lean on Him that isn’t always easy.

*Saturday night was a blast!  I love seeing the kids all dressed up – we had a lot of new people – and it was great to just hang out with so much of the church family.  At one point (while standing out in a field next to an old barn – waiting to scare the beepers out of people) I looked up and noticed the stars in the sky – I worshiped Jesus right on the spot!

*Sunday morning was a huge day – one big service instead of two.  Our goal was to pull everyone together for a time of Celebration and Vision Casting – which included a plan to hire InJoy Ministries for a Capital Stewardship Program.  The service has to go down as one of the longest I’ve been a part of – almost two hours!  But, it was amazing.  We had a ton of new faces – the “Changed Lives” video was great – the prayer time – and everything else just seemed to flow – there was a new level of excitement in our people.  The response forms gathered at the end of the service were overwhelmingly positive in following the leadership’s recommendation of entering into a campaign with InJoy.  God is going to stretch us even more – I can’t wait to see how He is going to move!

*Our ladies bible study presented Cassie Lane with over $2,000 for her adoption from Ethiopia.  All the money was made on a Fried Pie fundraiser! 

*We had a special guest with us on Sunday morning as well – Donnie McDonald, one of our missionaries to Japan was here – he was able to share and lead us in prayer during the service – it was great to hear about his ministry and to spend time with him.

*We had 14 in our small group last night and we focused on making a difference in our community through loving others.  The group decided to collect as many coats as possible over the next week to two weeks and give them out through a few of the schools.  Let us know if you want to help or if you know someone who needs a coat.

*I’m looking forward to the Africa trip – but dreading leaving my family – the thought of being away from them for over a week and not having the ability to communicate is killing me.  My wife and daughters are so amazing - I'm blessed! 

*I’m not sure how to say this – but I see God doing mighty things in our lives and through First Church – it’s only the beginning – my heartbreaks for those who can’t see it or refuse to see it.  Following Jesus requires giving up our way for His way – I still struggle with that as well.  We must keep our focus on Him – it’s all about changed lives for Jesus!

Sunday thoughts

• I had a difficult time wrapping up my sermon for part 3 of "Kaleo."  I truly believe it was a lot of spiritual warfare going on.  Some weeks are a real struggle - but in the end I felt God using me and speaking through me.
• I spent a couple days home with Klaire because she was sick.  It hurt me to see her not feeling well and yet I loved the time with her - we seemed to bond a little more during those days - she's still a big time mommy's girl.
• On Thursday I prayed for God to open a door for me by providing a family for me to reach out to and help.  He did.  We received a call at the church around 11:30 - it was a family of three - dad had just been laid off from Copeland and they needed help with the electric bill.  They met me up town at the utilities office - pray for them as God works in their heart.  Giving is truly much better than receiving!  
• Julie's parents, Jim and Carleen came out on Thursday night to hang with the family and to help with the fundraiser on Saturday.  It's always great to visit with family and have them around!  I don't think everyone feels that way about their family - sad.
• I think Klaire gave me some kind of bug on Friday - I even stayed home from the football game - just felt real bad - like I had been hit by a truck.  Thankfully, I felt better by Saturday morning.
• Demolition began on our new Youth Center.  We had ten guys hitting it hard for about 4 hours of hard work.  It's going to look amazing!  Our teens deserve it - they have been waiting a long time for this.
• Our women's bible study group met our home on Saturday and prepared over 1,500 fried pies for the adoption ministry.  Cassie Lane is currently in the process of adopting a little girl form Ethiopia.  I couldn't believe how many people came out to get the pies made.  We are blessed to have some incredible people in our church!  Huge props go to Julie's parents for making this one happen!
• Sunday was a great day with new people in both services, one new member, and many people making decisions to "follow Christ" by sharing their faith with their friends and family.  I can't wait to see how God is going to use this in our people's lives.
• The highlight of my day was teaching the 201 CLASS last night.  We had ten people go through the class!  It's amazing what God is doing in people's lives.  I love it.
• This next Sunday we will be Celebrating God's blessings in our church and the vision for the next several years - it will be one big service at 10:00 am.
• Can you believe it - we will be celebrating Klaire's 3rd birthday on Tuesday.  

Sunday Evening Thoughts

Week one of the Daniel Fast is under our belt – we are praying for God to tear down walls in our church – to touch hearts – for lives to be changed – for people to become fully committed followers of Christ.  It has already been an amazing journey and the reports from those who are participating are inspiring.

Our Wednesday Evening programs continue to grow and gain momentum.  We had over 50 kids this week!  I can’t wait to break 100!  God is working in our kids and teens and I am loving it!  I am also blown away by all the adults who continue to serve and impact the lives of our kids.

Friday night we took the Kassidy and Klaire to the High School football game to watch Karlee (our oldest daughter) march in the band.  Of course I love watching the football game as well – but watching our daughter perform in the band is the highlight of the evening.  The band is fantastic and they work extremely hard each week.  I’m thankful for such a great program.

Saturday morning we had a workday at church.  The place needed a good cleaning really bad - plus we needed to haul out a dumpster load of trash from the basement which is in the process of becoming a children’s center.  I’m incredibly thankful for the thirteen people who came out to scrub and shine things up.  Many hands make light work!  Thank you so much for all the hard work!

Sunday services went well although our attendance was down.  I attribute it to the rough weather overnight.  Ike hit us hard dumping over 4 inches of rain and causing a lot of flooding.  I know that I missed out on a couple ours of sleep because of the storm.  And yet for those who made it out – the worship and time together was worth it.  I’m so thankful for our staff and volunteers who help present the Gospel each Sunday! 

We kicked off a new series Sunday called “Hold Your Tongue.”  This week we dealt specifically with “Complaining.”  I’m humbled at the number of hands that went up admitting that they do complain.  Mine as well.  That is the first step to allowing God to change our hearts.  Oh what a powerful thing the tongue is! 

Small Groups began this week and the preliminary numbers are great.  We had 15 adults at our home last night and 11 teen/kids.  I have to say it was one of the best small group meetings we have ever had.  We did what was called a “sermon based” small group.  This meant we basically looked at scripture from Sunday morning’s sermon and discussed how to apply it to our lives.  I believe in home groups more than ever and can’t wait for our next one!

Sunday Evening Thoughts

As I sit back and reflect on Sunday there are a ton of thoughts going through my head. Some good – some bad. Here goes;

• My started at 5:00 am as usual – I had minimal things to do before heading to the church. I have to learn to give more ministries away and find people to train in these areas. This will allow me to have more time to focus on the message and pray for the services.
• I’m thankful for less stress today, especially before the services. Having the staff and volunteers that God has blessed us with is wonderful and a huge blessing.
• Our services went well. The message was well received even though I knew it was a hard message to give. I am frustrated that our attendance has been what it was at the first of the month. Somehow preaching on the bible may not be as popular as preaching on angels and demons.
• We had 69 in the first service and 98 in the second service. I’m praying for God to bust the door wide open on both of these – for the crowds to exceed 100 in each service.
• Once again the worship in both services was spot on. I’m praying that our people will catch on to true worship – and worship as God would have desire us to worship – in spirit and in truth. I’m praying for our worship to come alive!
• Once again we had new faces! Churches grow when the attenders reach out and begin to invite and bring their friends – I’m praying for more and more and more!!!
• I’m thankful for the people that told me the message hit them and that they needed it. I know it’s not about me – but I do love to know that what I’m doing is making an impact.
• The message from yesterday may be one of the most important one that I have shared. If our people will just fall in love with the Scriptures – this community will change for the better! Far too many Christians rely on the church/pastor to spoon feed them every week rather than spending the time really studying and applying God’s word.
• Big thought from the message – APPLICATION. Study of Scripture without Application is death!
• Still praying for people to move during the invitations – for people to give their life to Christ – I’m addicted to changed lives!
• I’m longing for the day when Christians will stop sitting in the back of the church – and move to the front – simply wanting more from God – to worship more – to desire to learn more.
• I’m extremely pumped about starting our new small groups. We are literally going from 2 small groups to 11! It’s biblical – we have to do it. I’m thrilled at the people who are signing up!
• Had a great lunch at Quizno’s – The Beef Dip is Fabulous and I loved eating with a large group of friends from church.
• I got to mow the lawn yesterday – listened to another great message by Francis Chan http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/ I wanted the lawn to look good before the reception at our home. Time on the mower is therapeutic for me!
• Klaire went home with Jon & Becky after lunch. It’s good to have friends – and even better to have friends that your kids love!
• I loved how my wife and daughters jumped in and prepared for the reception. I’m way blessed with the most incredible wife and daughters.
• The reception was more than we could have imagined! We had nine new people to First Church come over and the staff families. The house was full. People were connecting. God is moving in people’s lives and our church is having an impact! Thank you Jesus!
• The food at the reception was off the wall! Steve brought some hot wings that more than cleared my nasal passages and Julie made the best chocolate cake I have ever put in my mouth – it almost made me cry! So, I had a second piece!
• I even got to enjoy a little bit of football as the day closed out. Watched a little of the Cowboys and a little of the Bears.
• I’m loving “Twitter” and the connection it has given me to other pastors and believers around the country.
• I’m thankful to God that He loves me and has called me to pastor.

Sunday Evening Thoughts

Sunday Evening Thoughts

 

It was a good day at First Church!  Honestly, you never know how a holiday weekend will go – some years the attendance is up and some years it’s down.  For us, both services were down some.  And yet, the second service had a several new families!  Here are some of my thoughts from the day…

 

• The worship in both services was incredible!  Mitchell Cooper continues to show his love and passion for Jesus and leading people to worship in Spirit and Truth.
• We had several new families visit in the second service!
• Our church will grow the fastest when our people fall in love with Jesus and follow His command to reach the people in this community. 
• We had two exchange students in service today – one from the Ukraine and one from Spain!
• No decisions yesterday – we are praying for broken hearts and changed lives.  It literally breaks my heart to not see people move – you can see the hurt, pain, emptiness, etc etched across their faces – as a pastor it hurts.  I know Jesus is the answer – I so greatly desire to see people open their hearts to Him.
• Part 2 of our sermon series TXT “Is the Word of God Reliable” was a great study for me and so important for our people to know and understand.  To truly live out the word – to truly appreciate the word – you need to know why we believe it is true, accurate, infallible – and you need to know how to express that to others.
• Next week, TXT 3, will be so important for everyone – you need to be there.
• Pastor Stan from Franklinton, LA – contacted our church asking for help in wake of Hurricane Gustav.  We are beginning the planning stages of taking supplies, chain saw crews, etc. down to the coast.  Stay tuned for more.
• Our staff is embarking on something new – a Daniel Fast!  We will begin next week and fast for 21 days.  If you’re interested in joining us let me know.
• I drove to Springfield to visit Frieda Hays, she’s doing well.  Dan Clark and Bob Moore were also there – I love these guys and am so thankful for their leadership and love for Jesus.
• Got home by 8:00 and loved having the rest of the night off – we watched an incredible movie “August Rush.”
• Can’t wait to rest with the family on Monday!