Longing for home

Grace in motion
Back to school week.  Can you imagine what the kids were feeling?  Probably a mix of excitement, fear, anxiety, and anticipation.  Especially those going to school for the first time.  Kindergarteners and college students.  Many had no idea what they were walking into.  They never experienced anything like it before.  Their parents could have prepared them, their friends or siblings may have primed them, but they still had to walk away from their familiar home and into a world previously unknown to them.

If I had to guess, I would bet that how those kids felt about half way through their first day is probably how we feel right now.  We’re excited, yet guarded.  Busy, yet lonely.  Home, yet homesick.  We have been in our new home in our new city for one month.  God has taught us much during this time.  Far more than one blog update should contain.  But one lesson, or should I say longing, stands out above the rest. 

We weren’t created for this world.  We were created for a world that displays the unhindered and uncontaminated beauty of God.  We were created to engage in relationships that feel like family.  We were created to invest our lives in work that challenges and energizes us while helping others and ultimately bringing glory to God.  That’s not the world we live in. 

But through what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we have the potential of hearing the echoes of that world now.  And because of His promise in His Word we can live with the confidence of that world being restored – soon.  It’s the space between that’s challenging.  The space we all live in.  While many challenges await us in the space, God has given us all one great gift of grace to fill the space with purpose and joy.  And we find it in the church.

One of the metaphors God gives us to understand the church is “family.”  When we receive Christ we are adopted into the family of God.  We are told to treat other believers as brothers and sisters.  People are only to lead in the church when they prove they can lead in their home.  All of this points to a spiritual, perhaps even mystical experience that God makes tangible through the church.  This is what we are feeling right now by its absence. 

We have friends here.  Good friends.  Friends that have been incredibly generous and hospitable.  We have been welcomed with open arms by several churches.  But there is something so deep and powerful about covenanting with a local church that no other community or mission can even come close to.  Being in covenant with a local church is a blood bought gift of grace.  It’s what we were designed for.    

The closest I can get to describe what we’re feeling right now might be the difference between dating and marriage.  When a couple’s commitment level is at “dating” (even if they act like they’re married in every other respect) the people in that relationship constantly feel like they’re auditioning.  Even if there’s love, admiration, respect, and all of the good things that can encompass a relationship, the commitment level of dating simply cannot match that of marriage.  Because when a couple gets married, God says He makes them one person.  He does something spiritual and intangible, yet incredibly real, that is next to impossible to describe.  The audition ends and the covenant begins.    

It is this union, an unbreakable spiritual reality that Jesus says exists within the church.  We loved the local church before we came here.  But now that we don’t have one, because we’re in the process of starting one, we long to be married again.          

  

Planter’s Progress

So what have we been up to this past month?  Oh, not much.  Kristy has gotten our entire family settled in our new house.  And I don’t just mean that the boxes are put away, she’s decorated the majority of the house and painted several rooms.  Having a new house to decorate has been a real treat for her!  

I have preached at three different churches, officiated a wedding, and met with more people than I can count.  Due to the generosity of our network of churches, in the past month over 2,000 people in Milwaukee have heard our dreams for this new church.  I have also begun interviewing several people who are interested in joining our launch team. 

Beyond this, Kristy and I both have been able to make some great connections with our neighbors.  We’ve had play dates, dinners, gone golfing, and just hung out with so many people.  It’s astounding that when we walk around our block we greet and are greeted by name. 

Finally, God may have opened up a door for us to serve.  Through a series of connections, we were invited to provide the volunteer horse-power needed for one of the elementary schools in the city to run a program that will reward kids for anti-bullying behavior.  This school has had their music, art, and phy-ed departments cut.  These kids don’t get to play kick ball!  But now, on every Friday afternoon of this school year, our new church will go to Hampton Elementary and offer those classes to the kids who are “fighting the good fight” against bullying.  What a gift to be able to live out the image of God in this city!  I can’t wait to see what God does with this!      

Next Steps

The primary focus of our work for the next several months will be building and training the launch team God gives, sharing the gospel with who God allows, and serving where God opens doors. 

PLEASE PRAY that God would give me administrative grace to serve potential launch team members well.  (I’ve already stood two people up.  Argh!)    

PLEASE PRAY that God would give me relational grace to fully engage in all of these conversations so that God might use me to help people discern where He is calling them to serve. 

PLEASE PRAY that I would be wise in training and equipping those who God calls to join our launch team.  There is much work to be done, and it can’t all be done at once. 

PLEASE PRAY that the team and I will continue to build relationships with people who do not know how much God loves them – yet. 

PLEASE PRAY for our opportunity at Hampton Elementary School.  I don’t know what God is doing with this, but I do believe that Hampton is where He is calling our church to serve this year.  PLEASE PRAY that we would serve with excellence and compassion so that the 100’s of people who are connected through this school would see the majesty of God through our minor efforts. 

PLEASE PRAY that God would give us a name for our church.  In comparison to what’s going on, this is small.  But we need a name, obviously, and the one we pick we’re stuck with.  Please pray that I don’t mess that up! 

Thank you all for joining us on this journey.  I thank God that we get to do this with you all! 

 

Fear versus Faith

Grace in Motion

What motivates you?  What keeps you up at night?  Gets you out of bed in the morning?  What captivates your heart so completely that you compromise other goals or values to achieve, preserve, or prevent it?  One of the most powerful motivators in the human experience is fear.  Unfortunately, I had never given much thought to what my greatest fears are and how they affect my life. 

Most people are willing to admit “surface” fears, or common fears.  Some may even be willing to admit deeper fears, the kind that may not seem shared by most people.  But few are willing to engage in the open heart surgery of dissecting how deeply their fears affect their lives.  I know that I’m not!  Actively probing the areas of your heart that are so sensitive, so painful, so tender that you would prefer to compromise other values or goals than face these fears – that is the kind of crazy step that few people take until circumstances force them to.         

This is the path that God, the Good Shepherd, has brought me to in the past few months.  At our small group a few weeks ago, Kristy shared that she felt like I was emotionally distant from her. Her heart desires to have a marriage that feels like a friendship, where we enjoy each other and talk freely, openly, and deeply – just because. 

There’s a part of my heart that for reasons I don’t fully understand yet, God doesn’t have full control over.  For years I have been afraid of my marriage falling apart.  Now, I must clarify, Kristy has done nothing to cause this fear in me.  This is on me alone.  But boy is it on me.  Out of fear, I try to protect myself.  I close off emotionally.  Out of fear, I don’t invest in my bride as I should, afraid that one day I’ll be made out to be a fool.  I’m afraid of getting hurt.  So I pull back.  I protect myself. 

Paradoxically, this kind of self-preservation causes the emotional distance in a relationship that contributes to many marriages falling apart.  So by trying to protect myself, I’m actually advancing the circumstances that lead to the very thing I’m trying to avoid.  I thank God that He took the initiative to lay my heart on His operating table, a step that I would never take on my own initiative. 

One thing that fear does is expose our idols.  John Flavel says that the strength of our fear is directly proportional to our love for this world.  When I can look at a situation with so much fear that I would say, “God if that happens, I can’t be faithful to you,” that reveals that I am worshipping some other god.  In my marriage, when I instinctively choose to protect myself instead of entrusting myself to God by being faithful to His commands, then I’m telling God that I know better than He does.  That my will, my desires, my heart, my hurts are more important than His glory.  And that is a very scary place to live. 

Beyond this, I believe that God has been preparing my heart to cling to Him as we leave the church that has become our family.  The last few sermons I preached at Faith Community Church elicited more compliments and criticism than I have received in some time.  In general, this is an issue leaders must deal with.  Some people love your ideas, some hate them, and some just want to use you to advance their own agenda, whatever that may be. 

From so many angles, my heart is being pried open by the hand of God and He is teaching me to trust Him.  Am I going to feel better about myself when people loft praise in my direction?  Am I going to feel worse when they sling criticism?  Am I going to protect myself from even the potential of pain?    Jesus alone offers our souls rest from all of these pressures. 

Whom shall I fear?  What shall I be afraid of?  At the cross, the God of heaven abandoned the greatest Treasure in the universe to rescue my soul from the pit of despair.  Not only that, but He did this while I was still His enemy.  If God is willing to sacrifice His son for us while we were His enemies, how much more will He lavish His grace on us now that we have been adopted into His heavenly family? 

Will I be puffed up by the praise of people?  Because of what Jesus did for me at the cross, God looks at me and declares I am an ambassador, a spokesman for the King of the universe!  Why in the world would I settle for such a low goal of hearing people say, “good job,” when I have the potential of hearing God tell me on that Day, “well done, enter my joy.”

Will I get crushed by the criticism of the crowds?  I AM guilty!  People can only criticize me for what they see.  And what they see is only the tip of the iceberg of one messed up heart.  And at the cross, Jesus absorbed my guilt, fully paying the penalty for my sin.  What’s more, He rose from the grave and placed His Spirit within my heart, renewing my soul and rearranging me, from the inside out.  As John Newton said, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Oh the freedom that only comes from the cross!  What can compare to living a life surrendered to the glory of God!   

Planters Progress      

The last two months have been an emotional whirlwind filled with the painful joy of closure.  Both Kristy and I served during a worship service at Faith Community for the last time.  We served at Faithworks, our church’s mission trip to our own town, for the final time as well.    

Beyond this, I have been working to transition out of my pastoral responsibilities at Faith while getting all of the logistics of moving worked out on the Milwaukee side of things.  Other than this, we’ve continued to pound the pavement raising support, as we’re still not fully funded AND we have been given a great opportunity to set up this new church on sound finances.  An extremely generous donor has agreed to match all gifts contributedto our work funds before September 30th, up to $30,000!  Through this extravagantly generous gift, God could set us up to be an extravagantly generous church, right off the bat!    

Next Steps

The next month is going to be busy for us.  On Sunday we are going to be commissioned by our church family.  After this, we are hosting an event to share the vision that God has given us for Milwaukee.  This Sunday will be a long, emotional day. 

On August 1^st we’ll be picking up our Uhaul and on the following day we’ll be signing the papers to close on our new home in Milwaukee. 

Then over the next five weeks, I’ll be preaching at four different churches on four different Sundays.  On the one Sunday that I’m not preaching, I have the privilege of coming back to New Richmond to officiate the wedding of a fantastic couple.  It is simply a joy to marry kids that used to be in your youth group and have grown up to be young men and women who love God. 

Thank you so much for all of your support!  As you can see, there is much going on and much to pray for.  We can’t do this without you!  And even if we could, we wouldn’t want to! 

Beautiful Shadows

GRACE IN MOTION

The shadows will take your breath away.  The simple echoes will stop you in your tracks.  The slightest touch will make you lose sense of time.  This world is not our home.  Everything we experience here is a shadow of a Reality.  It’s an echo of a Voice.  It’s a slight touch from a Person.  I caught a small glimpse of this glory when we moved out of our home and into a new one. 

Moving is not fun.   Especially with three little kids who cannot understand why they will no longer be able to play on their swings or draw on their driveway.  So Kristy and I did the best that we could to shield them from seeing us taking down their beds, hauling out their rocking chairs, and packing away their clothes. 

Kristy distracted the kids while I took apart what made up their bedrooms and hauled it over to the home that we will be staying in until we relocate to Milwaukee.  An extremely hospitable and generous family is allowing us to live with them as we transition.  And more than allowing us to live with them, they are making us feel like their home is ours. 

When I walked into what would be the kids’ room, I saw that it was thoughtfully decorated with pictures like this, one for each little heart. 

On our bed was a note that read, “Welcome Home.”  These little touches stopped me in my tracks and for a moment, made me loose sense of time.  Because this was a shadow, an echo, a touch of Eternity. 

Jesus said that He was going away so that He could prepare a place for us.  I cannot even fathom what we will see and feel when we walk into our new home on the New Earth, Heaven!  If even the shadows are beautiful, how much greater will the Reality be?  If Jesus made this majestic universe in six days, how incredible will the New Earth be that He’s been working on for over two thousand years! 

This is what we are here for.  This place is not our home.  As we prepare to transition away from what has become our home and family, God is allowing us to feel these great truths.  We weren’t created for this place.  We weren’t created to say goodbye.  We were created for glory.  To experience, enjoy and proclaim the glory of the One True King!  I cannot wait our faith becomes our sight! 

PLANTERS PROGRESS  

May was a crazy busy month.  In one 10 day streatch, we traveled over 600 miles and transitioned our family into four different homes that included staying with three different families.  And God’s amazing grace carried us through every step of the way. 

We spent the first week of May in Milwaukee.  During that time we hung out with our launch team, took prayer walks through our target neighborhood, and explored the city.  I was also able to preach at Woodridge Community Church, put a framework in place to partner with several churches during the launch team phase of the plant, and meet with many individuals who are interested partnering with us to see God raise up a new church on the west side of Milwaukee! 

When we returned to New Richmond, things didn’t slow down.  We packed up and moved out of our house.  On May 14^th, we closed on our house!  Yay God for wrapping that up!  And then on May 15^th we had our offer accepted on a new house in Milwaukee.  Talk about a whirlwind.  God has been moving mountains this month. 

That following weekend I had the privilege of preaching at Faith Community Church in Hudson.  Their elders graciously allowed me to share our church planting dreams with their church and even open up the door for us to develop more partnerships with more people. 

We have also been still pounding the pavement with raising support.  And God continues to stir up a heart of generosity in people.  To date, we are at 83% of our support.  Praise God and thank you to all of our faithful and generous partners.  I am humbled and amazed by how supportive and generous so many have been. 

Crossing the 75% mark was our last hurdle with support at this stage of our work.  Now, from our denomination’s perspective, we are able to move on site.  From our church’s perspective, though, we still have some things to wrap up.  But if everything keeps on progressing as it has, we should be able to relocate in August. 

Because we have crossed the 75% mark with support, we move into a different category of support needs altogether.  To this point, we have simply focused on raising our salary.  But we also need to have on our radar all startup funds and operational expenses.  I won’t be able to determine what those needs are until we are on site, so it will no longer be able to provide an accurate percentage.  Because of this, I will no longer be providing a percentage update with our support level.           

NEXT STEPS  

For the month of June I am going to try to “downshift.”  One of the concerns that our elders had about us planting is that I don’t have a “second gear.”  I’m all or nothing.  I either run 100 MPH, or sleep.  Over the course of this next month, I’m going to try to simply remain faithful to fulfill my job description and continue to raise support, but not run at the back-breaking pace that I have for the past several months. 

Kristy and I would really like to have the flexibility in our schedule to be able to spend some time with the people we love here before we transition to Milwaukee.  This won’t happen by accident, so we are going to try to be intentional to leave well. 

Thank you all for your support.  Thank you Jesus for caring us through.  Thank you God for being faithful to your Word!  We can’t do this without you – and we wouldn’t want to!  

Stand Still

GRACE IN MOTION

They must have felt ground rumbling beneath them.  The cries of new born babies must have pierced the thunder of the hooves as mothers would try to comfort their infants while they raced along.  The elderly must have been filled with terror as they struggled to keep up.  The feet of the young men must have been throbbing as they ran out in front of the group to see where to turn next, only to find an impenetrable sea of water before them and Pharaoh’s army behind them. 

What thoughts would have been racing through your mind if you were one of the Israelites fleeing the army of Pharaoh as you escaped from Egypt?  What fears might have filled your heart?  Would you have prayed?  Ran?  Fought?  Complained? 

Can you imagine what it would have felt like to be Moses?  You are leading over one million people.  And they are all absolutely freaking out.  Fearing for their lives.  What would you tell them?  Here’s what Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”   (Exodus 14: 14) Those were the last words the people of Israel heard from their leader in that moment.  They listened.  And then they saw God part the Red Sea.  God fought for them, they only had to be silent. 

In many ways, this is how the past month has gone for us.  You know, power hungry kings from Egypt trying to enslave us.  Ok, so we don’t have the same extent of challenges nor have we seen the same extravagance in provision.  But we have had challenges.  And God has provided.  And we have only remained “strenuously resting” in His care. 

I don’t know why my heart won’t stay rested.  Something deep inside of me wants to prove my worth by what I accomplish.  And yet, when I’m only valued for what I do, it feels cheap and disrespectful.  Like I’m being used.  What a mess is the human heart?!  I don’t know why I try to prove my worth by my production.  I don’t know why I think that I need to pick up the slack for God. 

On October 19^th, 2001, my life was changed forever when I surrendered to Jesus and received the gospel.  I did nothing that would have compelled God to give Jesus my punishment on the cross so that I could receive His reward in heaven.  And yet, that was the great exchange.  It was in that act of surrendering that I was given life and it will only be in continual surrender that I will experience God’s grace. 

Too often I can forget that I need to rely on the gospel – today.  I need God’s forgiveness, today.  Not just 12 years ago, but 12 minutes ago.  It is by receiving the gospel that we are saved and by applying the gospel that we are sanctified.  And that, being sanctified, formed into the image of Christ, that is God’s goal for our lives. 

It has been so good to simply rest in His grace.  There is no question that Kristy and I have been working like crazy.  But we haven’t been driven by anxiety.  We’ve been working with all of the strength that God provides, trying to be faithful to rest, date, play with the kids, and so on.  You will not believe how God has provided as we have rested in His care!

PLANTERS PROGRESS

God has moved some crazy mountains this past month.  First, the deal on our house FINALLY went through with the bank!  We have a closing date set for May 16^th.  Our house being sold is nothing short of a miracle.  The bank approved a non-typical short sale.  The buyers have hung on for over eight months since first making their offer.  It’s incredible!

While it is great that we sold our house, it does present a bit of a challenge.  We don’t plan to relocate to Milwaukee until August.  And no one in town would rent to us for just a few months.  BUT, one family from our church extended to us the incredibly gracious offer of letting us move in with them for the summer.  Please pray that we don’t drive them nuts! 

And that’s not all!  In the past month we have also received commitments from three families who are going to relocate with us.  Ross and Cathy Phillips, Taylor and Elise Simpson, and Josh and Sarah Lange have all responded to the call of God to transplant their families to Milwaukee to plant a new family of families, a church, with us. 

But wait, there’s more!  Ross was offered and accepted a new job.  He starts August 5^th.  Taylor was granted a transfer to Milwaukee.  He can work out the details and transfer at any point.  And Josh has some leads that he is currently following up with. 

And if that wasn’t enough, you may not believe where we’re at for support.  We have been so humbled by the generosity of people.  It is overwhelming to be so loved, cared for and supported by so many people.  To date, we are at 71% of our support.  At 75%, we have the green light from our denomination to relocate.  This train is getting ready to run!

NEXT STEPS

The craziness that has become our life will not stop in May.  I will be preaching at Woodridge Community Church on the 5^th, Cedar Creek Community Church on the 11^th and 12^th, Faith Community Church in Hudson on the 19^th, and then I’ll have the privilege of preaching at our home church on the 26^th and 2^nd of June. 

We’ll be in Milwaukee the week of May 5^th and then need to close on our house and be completely moved out just a few days after we return. 

As you can well imagine, it’s a bit overwhelming to look at the calendar right now.  Please pray for us.  Pray that God would give us the grace to keep pressing on.  Pray that we would rest in His care and not try to force things.  Pray for the other families that will be moving with us.  They face many of the same challenges that we do. 

And please pray for our kids.  This is starting to get really hard on them.  Kristy has been doing a fantastic job getting the house packed.  Which means that our kids have less toys and less familiarity on a daily basis.  Just this past week, Ania, our youngest, said, “but this is my house.  I don’t want to leave it.”  Kristy told her that God was giving us the chance to get the house ready for another family to enjoy it.  Ania just hung her head and said, “I just want to be alone.”  Her little two-year-old heart is breaking.  

Please pray for our kids and pray that we would be sensitive and able to point them to Jesus through this move.  We’ve been praying consistently with them that God would use the pain of leaving our home and church family to show us that our real home is with Him.  And when we are in that place, we will never have to say “good-bye.” 

Thank you for your support.  We couldn’t do this without you!!  

Strenuously resting

GRACE IN MOTION

Knowing the end of the story makes all the difference.  If you know the end of the story, the suspense is lifted.  The characters’ anxiety seems either silly or vastly underestimated.  When reading the Bible, I often find myself judging the characters wondering why they couldn’t just trust God.  Take the story of Jacob for example. 

God tells Rebekah specifically that Jacob will be the heir of the promise He made to Abraham.  Rebekah’s anxiety about God’s ability to fulfill that promise seems somewhat reasonable.  Jacob was the younger twin brother, so culturally; he should not have been the heir.  His older brother should have.  But while her anxiety seems reasonable, if you know the end of the story, her actions seem ridiculous. 

She schemes and deceives.  She lies and weaves her boy into her web of faithlessness.  Why do that when you know what God has promised?  Why take the short cuts?  Why try to accomplish for God what He has promised to do?  Why try to do God's job?  Why am I just like her? 

For the past several months I have been running at a crazy pace.  An unhealthy, workaholic pace.  I knew my workload was putting added stress on my family but I didn’t realize the extent until I stopped for one day.  And on that day, my four-year-old son absolutely clung to me.  When I sat down, he jumped in my lap.  When I walked away, he literally hung onto my leg.  But my two-year-old daughters responded in the exact opposite way.  When I tried to hold them, they cringed and cried for mom.  Now, I may not be very bright, but even I could tell that this wasn’t healthy. 

A few days later I was scheduled to take a week-long trip to Milwaukee.  The weather man told me that Highway 94 from Minneapolis to Milwaukee was supposed to be covered by a blizzard of snow.  So I sought some counsel to help me decide whether or not I should still make that trip and leave my family for the week.  By God’s grace, I stayed home.  And it was the best week my family and I have had in a long time. 

Since I was scheduled to be out of town, my calendar was clear.  This allowed me to simply work a normal-ish week.  And it was incredible.  Within a few days, Kristy’s heart began to open back up, Elijah let me walk from room to room without clinging to me, and JoJo actually started asking for me to be the one to put her to bed at night.  Oh how good it felt to be a part of my family again! 

I believe God allowed us to learn a very important lesson.  He has called us to plant a church.  He has promised that He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.  He has called me to serve Him as a pastor, but not only that, as a husband, a father, a friend, a neighbor…. See, I need to be faithful to fulfill all of the roles that God has entrusted to me, not just the ones that seem most pressing or most exciting. 

I do not know how this story will end.  I do not know if our effort to plant a church will end in a screaming success or an embarrassing failure.  But I do know this.  Jesus promised to build His church.  I can demonstrate that I really believe that this is His work, not mine, by being faithful to fulfill all of the roles that He has entrusted to me.  In focusing on church planting less, I may not meet all of my goals. But I am committed to this – doing the best I can to make sure that my kids grow up with a dad and that my wife has a husband.  And as I do that, then by God’s grace, I will be faithful to fulfill my other roles as a pastor and a planter. 

PLANTER’S PROGRESS

We had a good, encouraging month.  I was invited by my good friend Israel Haas to present our story to his church planting team in Prescott, Wisconsin.  Kristy and I were also able to host an evening meal for our church family.  After the meal we shared the process that God used to bring us to this point as well as the dreams that He has given us for the city of Milwaukee.  It was a great night.  We had to set up extra tables for people and food and both kept on coming.  Overall, around 140 people joined us that evening. 

God has also continued to provide financial support for this new work.   We are currently at 48% of the support that we need.  We are humbled by the generosity of people that has brought us to this point! 

Perhaps the biggest thing that happened this past month is – we just may have sold our house!  As it goes in real estate, it ain’t over till its over, but it seems like we are on the home stretch.  The bank has reportedly signed off on the short sale, and now we’re just waiting for the paper work to go through.  We should be closing on our house in the next four to six weeks! 

NEXT STEPS   

Along those lines, if God allows us to close on our house, then we’ll need to pack up and move out…to somewhere in New Richmond.  We can’t relocate to Milwaukee until we’ve received 75% of our support.  Also, I have a couple of classes I need to wrap up to finish my master’s degree, which was one of the steps our elders wanted to me to complete before we transitioned. 

Toward the end of April Kristy and I are scheduled to go to the Exponential Conference.  Exponential is one of the largest and most beneficial church planting conferences in the country.  Faith Community is sending Kristy and Epikos and the Milwaukee LEAD team is sending me.  Pretty cool that we are being sent to this conference together, and that, by both of our networks. 

Other than that, we will continue to raise support, serve New Richmond and FCC, and try to be a family.  Thanks for your prayers and support everyone!  We are grateful that we get to take this journey with you!   

Worlds Collide

GRACE IN MOTION

It was a perfect winter day in Wisconsin.  Beautiful snowflakes gently fell from the sky on a warm afternoon that made for the perfect snow to sled, build snowmen, and enjoy God’s grace.  So Kristy and I got the kids bundled up and headed to our church to sled and play in the snow.  As we watched our happy kids playing on the quiet, serene campus of Faith Community Church, we tried to soak in every moment, knowing that those moments in this place have an end date that is approaching all too quickly.  And the world that we are walking into is drastically different. 

We were able to spend last week in Milwaukee.  We arrived earlier than we had planned on, so we had some time to burn.  We thought it would be a good idea to stop at Chucky Cheeses’ to let the kids run.  It was clear pretty quickly that we weren’t in Kansas…er…New Richmond anymore!  The place was packed, the music was loud, the crowd was diverse.    

Two weeks ago we were sledding by ourselves in wide open spaces, and yet loved by so many people.  The next week we were crammed into Chucky Cheeses’ with tons of people and yet not known by a soul.  This process is an absolute collision of absolutely different worlds.  And that’s scary.  But God is faithful and His promises are breathtaking. 

During the middle of our week in Milwaukee, Kristy got sick.  Flu-like sick.  Sick on the day before I had several meetings lined up with key people.  So now here we are, away from our support network, needing to have important conversations with people, and staying at someone else’s house.  I thought this was going to be a disaster.  But God is bigger than our biggest trials!

Unbeknownst to us,  we just happened to be staying with professional grandparents!  They’ve seen this before.  In fact, they’re currently serving with a missionary organization to provide soul care to the missionaries.  They open up their home consistently to care for missionaries who are home on furlough.  So when Kristy went down, they stepped up! 

Kristy went to lay down in the afternoon and didn’t get up until the next morning.  So Randy, Linda, and I handled the kids for the rest of that day.  And it was the best evening we had there.  So much so that by the time we started to get the kids ready for bed, I wasn’t even reading the bed-time stories.  The kids were all piled up on Randy’s lap reading “Harry the Dirty Dog.”  It was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ and a confirmation of just one of Jesus’ promises. 

Perhaps the most challenging part of our journey to this point has been facing the reality of leaving the church family that we have grown to love so deeply.  Kristy and I have wondered so many times if we would ever experience community, love, and friendship like we have here.  It seems impossible.  And we have no way of knowing what the future holds.  But we do know what Jesus has promised. 

“Jesus said to them… everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”

And so we step out in faith, holding onto the promise of God.  I believe that God gave us just a small glimpse of His great faithfulness this past week.  I can’t wait to see what He has in store for the weeks to come!    

PLANTERS PROGRESS

On February 17^th I was able to preach at Woodridge Community Church.  We were very encouraged by our time there.  Many approached us asking questions about us, the plant, timing, etc.  A few even said they would be interested in helping us get started!  We were very encouraged. 

I was also able to have a Q&A time with the elders of Waukesha Bible Church.  That was an encouraging time as well.  The elders had many, great questions and it seemed like we were able to spend enough time together to feel good about developing a partnership. 

And I cannot fail to mention what a rock star my wife is!  While I am running around going to all these meetings, my wife is doing the hard, thankless, unseen work of caring for our kids.  This is no easy task with a four-year-old and two two-year-olds.  And that, in the middle of transition and unfamiliarity.  I am so grateful for my bride.  She by far has the harder job and she does it with grace and joy! 

God continues to provide lavishly.  We are now at 44% for support!  God has brought us over a huge milestone as we are now able to begin to invite people to consider moving with us.  We are so humbled by the generosity of people! 

NEXT STEPS

Things aren’t going to slow down for us next month.   On March 3^rd I’ve been invited to present our church planting plan at a launch team gathering for Torrent Church in Prescott.  We will also be hosting a vision event at FCC on March 10^th.  This will be a significant event as it will allow us to share our hearts with our church family and provide them with an opportunity to partner with us going forward. 

Then I’ll be in Milwaukee the week of March 18^th.  The Milwaukee LEAD team wanted all the pastors from our denomination to meet and engage in a prayer walk through our target neighborhood.  I’m anticipating God doing big things through that prayer time. 

I will also be meeting with the elders of a key partner church to discuss how we can work together to start this new church.  This is great church led by faithful men.  I’m looking forward to seeing how God leads us to partner! 

Thank you so much for your partnership with us.  I thank God that He is allowing us all to do this together.  Your prayer and support means the world to us.  We cannot and do not want to do this without you!  Thank you!   

Beyond my grasp

GRACE IN MOTION

Aren't you glad that we worship a God who is beyond our ability to understand?  Aren’t you glad that we worship a God whose love runs deeper than our greatest failures? 

Lately I have been caught up in the paradox of trying to work with all of the strength that God provides.  How exactly that plays out, I have no idea.  Much like I can’t understand how God cannot be contained by the universe, and yet dwells within our hearts through faith in Jesus.  There is much about God that I cannot wrap my mind around, and I’m glad that we will have eternity to try!    

One of the unfortunate by products of raising support, for me anyway, is that so much of my attention can be self-focused.  I spend so much time telling people about me.  I tell people about what God has done in my life, what I believe He’s called me to, and ask them to join my team.  It is so easy to twist this thing and make it all about me.  And when that happens, the consequences spill out onto the rest of my life.    

Recently, my wife arranged an incredible surprise to celebrate my birthday.  She invited old friends of ours from college to spend the evening with us.  She arranged for a nice dinner out followed by a night filled with football.  It could have been perfect.

The evening could have been filled with joy, love, and good memories.  But I just didn’t let that happen. Being around a friend from college, I spent the evening acting like I might have in that stage of life.  Arrogant, self-centered and inconsiderate.  So much so that when Kristy asked if I wanted a piece of the birthday cake that she made for me from scratch, I said “no, you know I don't like that kind of cake” in front of everyone.  Argh. 

Thank God that I have such a forgiving wife!  And thank God that He lets us see little glimpses of our sin and feel some of the pain that our self-centered love can cause.  Through this God has made it perfectly clear to me that He is going to be the One who will plant this church!  And He has also made perfectly clear that He loves me like crazy.  Literally like a crazy person!

Who else would continue to pursue us when we so consistently push them away?  Who else would offer themselves up to pay for the price that our mistakes have cost?  And yet, this is exactly what God has done for us on the cross. 

In order to extend free grace to us, Jesus paid the eternal price of our sin.  It is in this crazy love that we now stand.  It is because of this crazy love that I can joyfully say with the Apostle Paul, “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake...But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Praise God that His love and mercy surpasses our comprehension!  Praise God that we get to stand in that love – forever – and extend that love to everyone around us through the gospel of Jesus!

PLANTERS PROGRESS

God has continued to stir in the hearts of people to lavish incredible generosity on us.  To date, we have received 34% in pledges for the support that we need to relocate. 

On December 28^th, Kristy and I went through a second church planter’s assessment.  This time with the Acts 29 Network.  On January 5^th, I received an email detailing our full recommendation by our assessors!  We are extremely grateful for the time we were able to spend in that process.  Our assessors offered us great perspective and demonstrated authentic care as they asked probing questions about our ambitions for our church plant as well as questions about the health and stability of our marriage. 

We have also received some encouraging news on the sale of our house.  It’s not a done deal, by any stretch, as we needed to pursue a short-sale.  However, the bank has requested information demonstrating that we have been officially called to relocate to Milwaukee.  Please pray that God would give us favor with the bank.  

NEXT STEPS

February 4 – 6, I will have the opportunity to attend the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference.  I am anticipating that this will be a time of significant of refreshing as I’ll be able to connect with leaders that I have been serving with over the past several years as well as the leaders that I will be serving with in the years to come. 

I have been invited to preach at Woodridge Community Church, just outside of Milwaukee On February 17^th.  I have also been invited to present our church planting plan to Waukesha Bible Church on February 24^th.  So Kristy and I will be packing up the fam and spending that week in Milwaukee. 

Other than that, we’ll continue to raising support. Once God brings us past the 40% mark of our support, we will be able to begin processing with people the potential of God calling them to join this work. 

So there are big things in store!  Please continue to pray that God would advance the Kingdom in our hearts as He moves His work forward at His time!  Thank you all for your prayer and support!  We do not want to do this without you!