Christmas Eve Services

We held a Christmas Eve service at the Fort Miller church at 3:00 pm. We held it this early because some of our congregation cannot drive after dark and it starts getting dark about 4:30. There were about 15 people there with one person attending who was probably not a believer. A person in our congregation put together an audio visual presentation that involved some audience participation but also included movie clips and special music. My sermon was about light and dark and we ended the service with a candlelighting. The service went very nicely. I am not sure if it was 'worth it' in terms of maximum impact for time invested, but my gut is that it was valuable to do something well on Christmas Eve. It was another 'win' in the healing process of this church.

At Chestertown we saw the same audio visual presentation, the same sermon and the candlelighting ceremony, but it was all different. More people sang, there were kids and teens laughing and running around and we did the candlelighting in a circle. At the end of my sermon I asked for people who needed God's light to drive out their darkness to look up at me so that I could pray for them - five people indicated that they needed God's light. This is one of the first times there has been any kind of spiritual response at either church. Pastor Jon was able to deliver Christmas gifts to a needy family while the kids were at the Christmas Eve service. Both churches were involved in providing these kids with a very nice Christmas. This service was definitely 'worth it'.

It feels like I am called to do what is right and healthy for these churches whether they really respond or not. There is something to just following the correct procedures with excellence no matter what the response. My sense is that both of these churches have had times in their past where a pastor tried something like a Christmas Eve service and they became discouraged by the results so they slowly stopped trying. I think that consistently reaching to the congregation with love and truth will gradually affect them and those who they touch.

We are going to begin Bible studies at both churches in the new year. Fort Miller is not used of studies like this, they have responded very well to the one study I led. I am going to offer this next study during a daytime and an evening. My sense is that I need to be reaching to where they are right now and that in time they will reach to where others are too. At Chestertown we will be offering an evening Bible study. This church basically grew out of a Bible study five years ago, so it is part of it's DNA, but through the parade of pastors and leaders over the past years the concept of spiritual growth and evangelism through Bible studies has been lost. This might sound strange, but at this point in the development of these churches it really does not matter how many people turn out for any of these studies. It matters that we are offering an excellent opportunity for these congregations to grow in the Lord. Even if they do not attend the studies they will hear back around about how we led the studies with love and excellence and about the truth that was shared from God's word.

Merry Christmas! Pastor James

Update

Hello everyone, I'd like to update you about the two churches where Joan and I are ministering. This summer we had about 20 people per church and we had a low Sunday of 15 and 17 people (low in several different senses of the word!)

We have decided to switch our focus to developing families, teens and children in both churches. We have had events like Backpack Blessing, Friend Sunday, meals, Trunk-N-Treat, youth events, and - just yesterday - a Candy Cane Festival. It seems to be working. Both of the churches are growing.

The Fort Miller church is averaging nearly 30 people and the offerings have been very strong for that many people. I have held a couple of weekday Bible studies that were designed to help adults to grow in their understanding of God, the Bible and themselves. We are still not getting many children and teens at this church, but I can tell that God is setting the foundation for an influx of younger people. We all have to be on the same page about why we exist before God can send young familes who need God's love and need a solid, caring church family.

We have gained some wonderful people over the past months, most notably a couple who were missionaries in Brazil for several years. They just left the field a few months ago and they are re-acclimating to the US and to cold weather! They are being a wonderful help.

Please pray for a man in his mid-20s who is making some decisions about the direction of his life. He has been coming recently and there is great potential to reach to other young families through him and his family.

Chestertown - Wow! What a trip! It has seemed that this church was on the verge of closing many times. This summer we made some changes in the signage out front, in the children and infant areas, in the care and upkeep of the building, etc. It has been a long time since someone really cared for this building and the body of believers who meet there. The church is only five years old but it has been through multiple pastors and church bosses in that short time. The remaining people were skeptical about me and Pastor Jon. There was almost a palpable sense of fear and distrust. I took it personally a few times, but the Lord was leading me to understand that they had been through hurt and disappointment several times and their pain was not going to go away in a matter of weeks.

We have tried to consistently minister with compassion, firmness and honesty to each person we came in contact with. We have held the events I listed above and each time we accomplished something together you could tell that we were growing from the inside out. There was greater energy, greater trust, greater hope. This church has had 40 people three out of the past four Sundays. There are children running around all over the place and growing group of teens. It seems like God has his hand on the what is going on here.

Please pray that we will keep our eyes focused on what God has for each of these churches. Thanks for praying. James

Change in Blog Focus

This blog began as a personal journey about the changes that were happening within Joan and me as we were being led from Horseheads, NY to the Albany, NY area. Once I had settled into the churches where I now minister (Fort Miller, NY and Chestertown, NY) I noticed that the focus of the blog needed to change to be about what God is doing in these churches. I struggled with that change because it meant that I would be writing for people who are not in the churches I am currently pastoring. I would like to be able to share about what God is doing in the churches and in individual lives. But to make this change I kind of feel like the people in these churches need to not read about themselves. I am not going to share names or private info, it just seems like it would be better if people were not reading about themselves.

I have struggled with this refocusing for a couple of months and yesterday I finally decided to make the change. It frees me up to share freely from my heart. I have removed the links to this blog from the website for the churches seewhatgodisdoing.com and the only people who will really be aware of this blog are those of you who have signed up to read it.

I have been writing regularly about the churches in emails to various people so I am going to do an initial blog post that will kind of catch up to this date. I will tell you this - God has been doing some awesome things in the churches and in lives. I am excited about the opportunity to give God glory through this blog.

Learning Curve

What a tremendous experience these past months have been. I thank God for putting me in these places to hear, feel and see what has happened. Only God's perfect plan would make sense and his plan does make sense. He has led us from a thriving church in Horseheads, NY - to the dream of planting a church in a city setting - to pastoring two small, struggling rural churches. What a ride this has been. For a while I felt underwhelmed because the vision seemed to have shrunk along the way. I found myself pining for something else. Over the past weeks God has been whispering to my soul that I needed to stop looking elsewhere and I needed to be where he has sent me. I have had a divided heart much of the time I was here, because I was wondering what was next.

Over the last weeks I spent time with several people in these communities - I heard their stories, asked them spiritual questions and shepherded them. I began acting like I was here because God sent me 'for such a time as this' (Esther 4:14).
All around us

• there are lost people who need a Savior
• there are children who need to know that someone loves them
• there are couples who need to know about forgiveness and love
• there is confusion about what it means to be a Christian
• there a people who are being lied to by the evil one and they have no joy
• there is the need for a Godly church to rise up and be a light to a community
• there is an opportunity for souls to find hope here on earth and for eternity
• there is a chance for believers to step out of their comfort and into God's plan

What an opportunity! The chance of a lifetime to be useful in God's hands.

I Should Have Been More Specific When I Prayed

I have been praying for a while that we would get a drummer in the church. Well, I figured the odds of someone coming to the church who was a drummer were pretty slim. This past Sunday I mentioned this in passing from the pulpit and after the service a young man approached me and said that he was a drummer and that he would love to help out. I could tell by the kind of person he was that he would be great to work with. As we talked I found out that this was only his second time in church, but he knew that he wanted God to have his life. Then he said there was one problem, he didn't have a drum set right now.

Immediately I thought that I should have prayed for a drummer with a drum set! I should have been more specific when I prayed. Well, now my prayer has changed - I am praying that this young man will meet God through Christ and that we can find a drum set. If you are praying with me, I would prefer an electronic set with digital sound if possible.

Of course, I am kind of joking (and I am kind of not joking). I believe that God has his hand on this young man with or without drums, but I wonder what might have happened if I had had more faith and I had prayed for more. Hmmm.

Renewed and Refocused

I have taken a few weeks away from blogging and I will explain why below. I am going to be writing regularly again. The focus of the blog will be upon the steps and processes God is leading me and the churches through as we seek to become healthy again.

Why did I not blog since early August? Honestly, I was depressed and I did not feel that I had anything worthwhile to say. I hit an emotional lowpoint a couple of weeks ago when I began to question why we had left a very solid church to come to two struggling congregations. It seemed that nothing was working in the churches or in our personal lives. I could hear the evil one saying that these were my options 1) quit, or 2) accept mediocrity and limp along like this. I knew that neither of these options was right but it just seemed like we were banging our heads on a wall over and over again.

I have spent the past couple of weeks seeking what God would have for me to do spiritually, emotionally and physically in relation to the churches. I feel that God has given me a new set of marching orders and I need to be acting up His lead on a daily basis.

1) PREACH THE WORD - regardless of what else happens in a church I can control whether the Bible is being preached each Sunday. I can control whether I am being true to God's word without mixing my personal preferences in. God has made it plain that I must do my very best to present sermons that are interesting, informational and Biblical. I am endeavoring to do that very thing. I am continuing to post my sermons to the seewhatgodisdoing.com website on a weekly basis.

2) STRIVE FOR THE BEST, BUT ACCEPT WHERE WE ARE - I had become accustomed to a certain level of professionalism and possibility in my previous church. I have struggled because there was just no way these two churches could be like the previous church. I kept wishing that we would magically transform into a different kind of church. God has told me in no uncertain terms that these churches will not change overnight and I need to stop living with that expectation. These churches will change gradually (sometimes almost imperceptibly) and I need to rejoice with each step we take. I cannot push us to be more than what we are capable of, but I cannot accept for us to be less than what we can be.

3) WE NEED TO BE HEALTHY - This starts with me. I have to be right before God emotionally, spiritually, physically, etc. Then I can preach and teach with authority about being a healthy church and healthy congregational members. The old saying says 'You cannot lead someone else where you have not been yourself.' So the strange paradox is that as much as the church needs me to help them with their issues, questions and struggles - I have to allow God to help me first and I have to set aside time and energy to be the best I can be as well. This is a challenge but it is worth it for me, my family and the churches.

4) WE MUST BECOME MORE STABLE BY INTRODUCING SUCCESSFUL INSTABILITY - Both churches have been through several different church leaders over the years - pastors, worship leaders and church bosses. As these church leaders have changed the churches have split and fractured repeatedly. Those who remain have been left with a tremendous sense of instability and distrust in new leadership. In fact, several people have not even come back to church since I began ministry there. It seemed as if I was just one change too many for some people.

I really sense that we have to strive to take steps ahead in ministry and facilities, even though these changes inherently bring further instability. But as these steps are well-planned, well-executed and successful the churches will sense greater trust and stability. The basic struggle is to introduce just the right steps forward, at just the right times, so that there is healthy, stabilizing change.

5) THE HOLY SPIRIT - Everything I have written about above comes down to me following the leading of the Holy Spirit, personally and professionally. We cannot afford for me to operate out of my own ideas or my own ego. We can end up being growing, healthy churches that are focused on souls, and the key is whether I am listening to God's leading through the Holy Spirit. To be that kind of leader I have to be in the Word, in prayer and right in my attitudes and actions.

Thank you for taking a few moments to read about where we are and where we are going. I hope that this blog entry will help you to be able to pray for us in an informed way.

The Body of Christ

Ephesians 4:11-16

Synopsis:
True spiritual leaders lead the church to have a 'how can I help' attitude, which leads a church to maturity that is evidenced by the freedom which comes from speaking the truth in love. This church sees itself as a body with Christ as the head. Each part is different and valuable and they are all being directed by the head.

Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it (...) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

SPIRITUAL LEADERS

In verse 11 we see that God has called some in the church to be spiritual leaders - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These roles in the body of Christ come with much responsibility, few rights and little earthly reward. As I was writing this sermon I remembered how God called me to his service. I remembered the feelings of inadequacy and fear that the evil one kept throwing at me. I relived some of my moments of failure where I have not lived up to my calling and I have lived in fear or pride or doubt. I thanked God for his faithfulness to me in spite of my humanity. The question that resounds in my head is - 'Why would God choose to use someone like me?' Yet, regardless of my questions the simple fact is that he has clearly called me, he is equipping me, he is guiding me and as I follow his lead, and he will continue to use me to lead others to know him. Paul was entertaining these same kinds of thoughts when he wrote

1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Jesus made it plain to his disciples how they were called into ministry

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-- fruit that will last.

As I was preparing this sermon I had the overwhelming sense that God was calling or would be calling someone who would hear or read this sermon into his service. I really wrestled with God about whether I should include this statement in my sermon and I complete peace that someone who will be touched by this sermon needed the confirmation that God was calling them into the ministry. (Repeat John 15:16)

* * *

Paul told the spiritual leaders he was developing that they needed to watch over both the flock they are given and themselves

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Spiritual leaders are also held to high standards by God and the church.

Titus 1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless-- not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Listen to the apostle Peter's beautiful description of the role of spiritual leader in the church. Shepherding - willingly, care-fully, faithfully . . .

1 Peter 5:1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-- not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

THE 'HOW CAN I HELP' ATTITUDE

Notice that as the spiritual leaders listed in verse 11 are all fulfilling their call before God they will be affecting the church as a whole. As we see in verse 12 God's people will be prepared for works of service and the body of Christ will be built up. Then we see in verse 13 that unity, knowledge and maturity will follow.

A healthy church will have spiritual leaders who are called by God and are calling upon God for wisdom and direction. That healthy church will focus on preparing the members in that church to reach out to others. When Paul talked about the church being prepared for works of service he knew that the happiest people, the most fulfilled people are caring for others - believers and unbelievers. They have an attitude that says 'how can I help?' They wake up every morning and say 'Dear Lord, how are we going to touch someone's life today?'

I have watched as the 'how can I help?' attitude has spread like wildfire throughout a congregation and to other churches. Church members were reaching out to their neighbors, to others in the church, to strangers, to people in the grocery store and people were noticing something unique in their attitudes and actions. People want to know what makes you tick when you are loving them with your actions before you love them with your words.

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

THE MATURE CHURCH
When the church is mature, understanding God and following his leading then we will be childlike in our faith, but not childish in our actions and reactions.

Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Childlike not childish

Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

As mature Christians we need to know what we are about so that we are not blown about by different ideas and different questions. We need to be firmly rooted in our faith and growing (set my feet firmly on the ground); we need to be looking to God for our guidance and hope (turn my eyes upward for few moments); and our arms need to be wide open to the needs of those in the church and around us everyday (spread my arms out and bring my gaze down to the eyes of the congregation). Do you recognize someone else who was firm in his faith, looked to his heavenly Father for direction and reached to those around him?

THE BODY OF CHRIST

Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Paul says that instead of the instability and wishy-washiness that he talked about in verse 14 we need to speak the truth in love and we need to act like a body that works together, grows together and goes together.

It appears that the answer to immature and childish faith is speaking the truth in love which will cause each part of the body of Christ to grow and become stronger.

Well, that sounds pretty simple doesn't it? If the body of Christ would be strong and vibrant by just speaking the truth in love then why are so many churches struggling? Why are so many churches weak and ineffective? Why are very few churches winning souls to Christ? It is because we tend to speak the truth without love, or we speak lovingly without telling the truth. To actually speak the truth in love we have to care so much about a person, we have to be so broken about their pain and confusion that we tell them the truth that will set them free.

Speaking the truth without love = hurtful words motivated by pride and causing pain

Loving without speaking the truth = enabling powerless words motivated by fear and causing confusion

Speaking the truth in love = powerful and compassionate words motivated by what is best for the other person and leading to health and wholeness

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Speaking the truth in love brings freedom to both sides of that situation. The person who is speaking has a clear heart and conscience that they have said what the other person really needs to hear. The person who is hearing what is said is free because now the truth is laid out before them and they can make decisions based on reality rather than uncertainty and confusion.

True spiritual leaders lead the church to have a 'how can I help' attitude, which leads a church to maturity that is evidenced by the freedom which comes from speaking the truth in love. This church sees itself as a body with Christ as the head. Each part is different and valuable and they are all being directed by the head.

Ministry Update

Dear Prayer Team,

Thank you so much for your prayers. We are doing very well. Our family is settling into the house and we are beginning to explore the area around us. This afternoon we are going to two family festivals that are being held near us.

Ministry at the churches is definitely taking shape. I can sense God giving me more direction and focus as each day passes. Our attendance is just about the same 25 or so at Ft. Miller and 20 or so at Chestertown. The offerings are averaging about what they were before I came. I held vision casting meetings at both churches last Sunday (7-26-09) and they seemed to be very well received. There were children at both of the meetings and we are redesigning our Sunday AMs to be 'kid-friendly'. I am especially excited about the children at Ft. Miller. They definitely understand that children and teens are essential to their long-term existence and vitality. We are beginning Children's Church at Fort Miller this week because it is going to be a need beginning this week. We re-established Children's Church at Chestertown last Sunday.

On Thursday morning we had a prayer meeting at Ft. Miller with 7 in attendance and that afternoon I worked with 2 Chestertown teens on helping to lead worship this coming Sunday (wow, lots of energy - I could barely keep up with my guitar). Thursday evening we had 15 at their Thursday night prayer and Bible study. Definite signs of life there. There seems to be a good buzz going around about the new direction the church is taking. Both churches have a yard sign that tells what time the services are being held. This is temporary until we can find a more fixed way to display the service times.

* * *

One last update item and prayer concern. There will be a work team coming from another church the week of August 17th. We have established three kind of projects for them to help us with - Definite Projects, Possible Projects and the Faith Project. The Definite Projects are needs that we have raised funds for already and we have most of the resources on hand. These projects include some clean up, making the nursery and children's church area acceptable for new families, installing some doors and windows and some small exterior cosmetic work. The Possible Projects are repairing a back exterior wall which is rotting because of a drainage issue (and fixing the drainage issue), replacing the new sign out front, and make a long dark hallway brighter and less scary. The Faith Project is to put vinyl siding on some or all of the building. These last two kinds of projects can only happen if we are able to purchase more supplies. Please pray with us about these possibilities.

In Faith,

Pastor James

Next steps in ministry

As I mentioned in my previous post this past Sunday night (July 12, 09) was pretty challenging. Earlier in the day I had done my first circuit with the churches I am pastoring now, and I was sitting considering what had happened and wondering what to do next. It is pretty evident that the churches cannot continue on with only 19 people at their services. All kinds of ideas began to rush in and out of my head - different ways to try to attract attenders, ways to help the churches become healthy, questions about whether I was capable of being what these churches needed me to be, etc.

As I was spinning ideas and questions I realized that, on my first day, I had already hit the wall, ouch!! - that was pretty quick. I felt paralyzed by the amount of need, and my inability to meet that need on my own. In my mind I vacillated between faith and fear for quite a while. Then quietly and slowly I began to remember that God had called me to this ministry and that all He needed was for me to be obedient to His leadings. A strange and unreasonable peace began to sweep over me. This was God's ministry, and if I stayed true to what He led me to say, think and do He would be glorified through my efforts. The results may not be understood by those in the churches, in the district, or in my personal life, but that is not the issue. The issue is if I did what God told me to do - period!

I called the family together, we went for a walk along the Hudson, and then we loaded in the car for a sightseeing ride near the Vermont border. We saw some beautiful lakes, wildlife, vacationers and many other wonderful sights. At one point in the ride we came to the top of a hill and I realized that we could see the Adironacks on our left and the Green Mountains of Vermont on our right. We stopped and just stared in awe at what God had created. We were so small in the vastness of His creation. He had created such order, beauty, detail and majesty. As I sat there I was reminded of my conversation with God earlier that evening. I am simply a small part of what God is doing in the world. My role is like a rock on a mountain or a tree in a forest - seemingly insignificant but extremely valuable if done right and added to the efforts of others.

Finally Settling In . . .

Thanks for all your prayers. Our lives are finally settling down and we are settling in to our new home and our new ministries. Joan and I are tired of seeing boxes, moving boxes, packing boxes, unpacking boxes - tired of anything having to do with boxes.

Our new home is in a rural setting. The nearest store of any kind is about five miles away, and 'real' shopping is at least twelve miles away. It really slows us down from making any 'impulse' purchases. It is helping us to simpify our lives in many ways, the pace is slower for everything and there are some advantages to that.

Jake has a BB gun, an assortment of knives and chopping tools and he is in country boy heaven. Our nearest neighbor is about a quarter mile away so he can pretty much do whatever he would like in the stream and the woods around us.

Julia is playing with her cousin Sarah regularly so she has not had time to miss her friends from Horseheads - yet. She is outside a lot playing with her cousin and our dog Katie.

We held our first services yesterday morning - first at Fort Miller Wesleyan at 8:30 am and then at Chestertown Wesleyan (Northway Community Fellowship) at 11:00 am. There were 19 people at each service. Jon Wixson came up for the weekend to meet everyone and he participated in the services. Jon and I shared a skit under the name "The Sons of Thunder". The services went well and I was encouraged to find a warm welcome from both congregations.

In my next post I am going to share about the emotions I went through Sunday evening. It became evident right away that the Evil One wanted to knock me out, but God is good and good things are coming.

Father, Father Her

Father, Father Her

By James Swanson
Written and sung for Jocelyn on her wedding day, June 20, 2009

I'll never forget the day you were born
I was such a proud father
You were so tiny and frail full of possibilities
Suddenly I felt overwhelmed and scared
How could I care for such a precious life
I asked my father to give me wisdom
So that I could be the father you needed me to be

Father, father her - your love is greater than mine
Creator, keep on making her - in your design
Take her now - I commit her to you
No stronger hands could hold her
Watch over my little girl

The minutes turned into hours,
then days and months and years
you blossomed like a flower
brimming with personality
beauty shining from ear to ear
It became evident that you stand apart from the crowd
To whom much is given much is required

Father, father her - your love is greater than mine
Creator, keep on making her - in your design
Take her now - I commit her to you
No stronger hands could hold her
Watch over my little girl

So we are standing here now
You are on the edge of a brand new life
God has sent you the perfect life-mate
Although it might not always seem that way
Together you'll grow and flourish
Together God will use you to touch lives
You are in your Father's hands now

Father, father her - your love is greater than mine
Creator, keep on making her - in your design
Take her now - I commit her to you
No stronger hands could hold her
Watch over my little girl

Father, father her
Father, father her

Hard to Believe Jocelyn Is Getting Married

It is hard to believe that Jocelyn is going to get married today. What makes it extra hard to believe is that five-year old Julia is running around the house singing, asking questions and being very excited about life. I keep on mistaking Julia for Jocelyn, and remembering Jocelyn as 'Little Miss Big Hair' like when she was a little girl. So in a strange way Julia makes it seem like Jocelyn is still five-years old and there is no way that she is getting married today.

But she is not five, she is nearly twenty-one and she is getting married today. We are so proud of her for who she has been and who she is becoming. We trust that Jon is just the right man for her in God's plan for both of their lives. Jon is an intelligent, Godly, gentle, analytical person who is the perfect complement to Jocelyn's vibrant personality.

Julia's wedding day will come soon enough and by that time I might be confusing grandkids with Julia, who knows. I just thank God for each of our children - Jocelyn and Jon, Joshua, Jacob and Julia - and I recommit each of them to their Father's care.

Specific Needs at the Chestertown Church

The NCF (Northway Community Fellowship) church has some specific needs that need to be addressed. If you know of a way you could help please let me know.

The building has several physical issues - unfinished rooms, exterior siding issues, a new sign out front, some water issues from ice and snow, etc. In mid-August a skilled work team of 8-10 will be coming from the Lisbon Wesleyan Church to spend most of a week working on the church building. There is plenty for them to do as you can tell from the preceding list. We need to pull together a work plan for them and supplies for them to use.

First, we need someone who would help us assess what needs to be done and help us gather the right materials for the workers to use. I would like to start working with this person the second or third week of July so that we are well-prepared for the work team.

Second, the church needs help to pay for the materials. We will know how much our total cost will be after someone helps us to assess the materials we will need. My guess would be that we will need more than $2,000 in materials.

If you can help in either of these ways please contact me and I will let you know what the next step would be.

Email: backinaday@gmail.com
Phone (until June 25th): 607-739-9915
Phone (after July 6th): 518-695-3766

Thank you so much for your prayers . We can't wait to 'see what God is doing' in and through NCF.

Thanks for praying for the meetings!

We had three meetings on Thursday and they all went very well. It was a full day but it was worth it. Joan and I got to know several people from the Fort Miller and Chestertown churches, and we had a great time talking to Pastor Brian Bartow who has been interim pastor at the NCF (Northway Community Fellowship) church in Chestertown for the past four months.

It became evident right away that both churches care about souls and that God is opening up ways for the churches to grow, become more solid, and touch lives. What a great opportunity!

The Fort Miller church will meet for Sunday service at 8:30 AM and then we will travel up to Chestertown and hold a service at 11 AM. During the week NCF has Family Night on Thursday nights and we are hoping to have a weekday late morning prayer meeting at the Fort Miller church. From there we will see where God leads.

Upcoming Meeting

Dear Prayer Team,

Joan and I will be traveling to the Albany area next Thursday, June 11. We will have a meeting at 1 PM with the members of the Fort Miller Wesleyan Church. We will get to know them and they will be able to get to know us a bit. We will also discuss some of the options for the direction of the church and then discuss service time options. Then at 6 PM we will be meeting with the Northway Community Fellowship members in Chestertown. We will have a very similar time with them.

Please be in prayer for these meetings

1) Pray that I will know what questions to ask and what statements to make that will assure them of our dedication to the Kingdom of God and to their church.

2) Pray that we will mutually decide upon service times that work for both churches. This is a really big deal. We desire for both churches to be viable and growing. Since the churches are about an hour apart this will make Sunday moring scheduling very important and tough.

3) Pray that we all sense the presence of the Holy Spirit as we discuss and decide some big issues. When the meetings are done my prayer is that we will all know that God is leading each church in the right direction for this time and place.

Thanks for caring and praying.

Winding Down ... Winding Up

This is such a strange time for us. It seems like we are letting go of a lot of precious people and places right now.

Jocelyn and Joshua are beginning their lives as young adults in Indiana. Jocelyn is getting married and will be in her senior year at Indiana Wesleyan University this Fall. She may go on for Masters work in Indiana and only God knows where He will lead Jon and her in the future. Joshua is graduating from high school in a few weeks and then he is moving out to Indiana at the beginning of this summer to work at Indiana Wesleyan over the summer and then attend school there this fall. We love both of them so much and we will miss them as they begin new lives in many ways, but we know that God has great things in store for both of them. I pray this verse for both of them

"You are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for you to do."
Ephesians 2:10

We are also leaving Horseheads Community Church and many, many people there that we love and care about. It feels like we are letting go of family members in many ways. They have shared our lives and we have shared theirs. They have seen our ups and downs and we have seen theirs. It has been a challenge and a pleasure to minister there for the last 13 years and I thank God for giving me this opportunity. But again I believe that God has great things in store for them and their new Sr. Pastor, Bob Russell. I pray these verses for Community Wesleyan and Pastor Bob

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other".
1 Thessalonians 5:11-13

So some things in our lives are winding down, but some are winding up and just getting started. We know that there are many people we have not met, there are many lives that God will call us to touch, there are places we will go we have never even imagined yet. Our lives will never be the same, but that does not mean that they will be less, just different. We love you all - those we know and love, and those we have yet to meet.

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all".
2 Corinthians 13:14

What makes us 'special'?

I just got home from Wal-mart a few minutes ago and I was blown away by the people I saw there. All different sizes, shapes, colors and types of dress. What I realized is that each one of them wanted to feel special.

• For some of them what made them special was who they were with - their cute little baby, their big strong husband or their spry grandmother.
• For others what made them special was what they were wearing - the 'fast' new pair of sneakers, the halter top that left way too little to the imagination, the fatigues that said 'I'm a man!'.
• And some people were special because of what they were purchasing - the new stereo, eight cases of Pepsi products (must have been a special), the perfect gift for their perfect grandchild, the yellow blouse that will just make them gorgeous this summer.

Recently my wife told me of a lady who stopped by a rummage (junk) sale we were having at our house. She was perusing items and talking to her friend. In a little while her friend said it was about time to go, and she said to her friend "I just want to find that one special item some time today!" She wanted that one special item that would make her special.

Many of us will spend a large part of our lives searching for someone or something to make us feel special. We are already special regardless of our clothing, our house, or our bank account. God made us special. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do."

What makes us special is not what we have - it is what we do for others. Each of us has been given uniques capabilities that we can invest in others. We will feel the most fulfilled and complete when God is using us to touch someone else's life. We were made to do good works which make others feel special and along the way we recognize how special God has made us too.

You are getting so big!

I was at a convenience store a few days ago and as I was standing in line the cashier began to talk to a woman and her son. The boy was about 10 years old and the cashier was remarking about how big he was growing. I watched for his reaction as she was complimenting him. He leaned forward, placed his hands on the counter and went up on his tip-toes as far as he could. He made himself even taller. He was beaming from ear to ear to hear such positive comments about himself. Then his mother began talking to the cashier about the fact that her son plays trumpet in the band at school and they had a concert last night. The mother went on to say how great the concert was and how well her son played trumpet. If he had smiled any bigger I think his face might have broken.

That interaction took less than a minute, then his mother handed him his donut and they headed out the door. I stood there thinking about how incredibly happy and secure he felt in the fact that he was noticed and appreciated. I looked around at the other adults in the store and realized that none of us get compliments about how big we have gotten (we tend to get wider not taller) and most of us do not have a cheerleader who notices our special gifts and tells others about how special we are.

Then I thought, 'why not?' Why don't we dig deep and notice something special about those around us. Why don't we go out of our way to be complimentary to others? Doesn't a 30, 50 or 70 year old need it just as much as a 10 year old? We could leave a trail of smiles behind us throughout our day.

Sample website and prayer request

Sample website - I have been working on a website for the churches Jon and I will be pastoring. It is a pretty basic website that is not ready to be posted yet. Eventually it will be the main webpage and the blog you are reading will be a link off of the main page.

SeeWhatGodIsDoing.com

Prayer request - over the next month or so we will have to figure out what day and time to have the main worship service for both of the churches. This is a really big decision because both of the churches need to be reaching to unbelievers in their area. As we pray and plan about this and other issues we need to be sure that we are doing what is best for those who are in and out of the church.

There are many other things to pray about for both churches - finances, property decisions, short-term health and long-term vitality, etc. Please pray for Northway Community Fellowship and Fort Miller Wesleyan Church as the Lord leads you. Also, as you feel led please pray for Jon and I to have wisdom, patience, peace and boldness.

Clarity of Direction

Joan and I went up to the Eastern NY Wesleyan Headquarters this past Friday and Saturday to meet with Pastor Paul James and the district board of administration. They asked me to pastor at two churches north of Albany on an interim basis while the district is preparing for a church plant in the Clifton Park area. I accepted the offer and we will begin on July 12.

The two churches are Northway Christian Fellowship (a Wesleyan church) in Chestertown NY and the Fort Miller Wesleyan church. Both of the churches have been without a pastor for a while and need someone who will come and help them become solid, healthy churches. There are challenges that are unique to each church and it will be the first time I have ever had to think about two different situations simultaneously (actually kind of interesting).

Jon Wixson, a licensed minister in the Horseheads church, has decided to come along with us on this adventure, and we are hoping that he can be the on-site pastor for the Chestertown church while the Swansons live at the Fort Miller church. Jon is coming on faith - he will need a job and housing. This experience should be great for him, and he will be an excellent stabilizing force for the Northway Community Fellowship.

Our intention is to continue praying and planning for the church plant near Clifton Park. We do not know exactly when that will happen but this interim ministry at these two churches gives us a little breathing room to prepare for the church plant. Our intention is that when we leave these churches they will each be able to support a full-time pastor. This also gives us an opportunity to become more familiar with the area and develop contacts. God is leading us every step of the way.

Jake and Julia (funny)

Jacob is 11 and he is a morning person (for right now, we'll see how the teen years go). Julia is 5 and she is not a morning person. Well, Jacob woke up his usual chipper and talkative self this morning and at one point he was looking in a mirror and he exclaimed 'Am I a genius, or what?' It was silent for a moment and then I heard a little tiny voice call out from under her covers 'what ..."

I love Community Wesleyan Church!

Wow, it felt so good when I wrote that blog title. Because it is the truth. We have developed so many wonderful friends, co-workers, 'grandmas', 'grandpas', 'uncles' and 'aunts' here. It has been a privilege and a joy to be part of what God has done in and through this church in Horseheads, NY. We will miss the church very, very much.

As recently as the past Sunday we saw God moving in lives again. 5 people were baptized this past Sunday and their testimonies of God's forgiveness, healing and mercy left nearly everyone in tears. One of the people being baptized was talking about the church and he said that he was blown away by the love he felt here. He said that he came initially because someone 'forced' him to come, but then he realized that the church had something he did not have and he wanted it. He came to understand that 'it' is the peace and joy of knowing God our Father through his Son Jesus. I have heard that same story dozens of times, what a great testimony!

This past Sunday there were well over 200 people at CWC praising God in song, giving out hugs and handshakes, reading God's word, developing Christian relationships and growing in their relationship with God. What an awesome time, what an awesome place. There is a song that has come to my mind over and over again as I have prayed for CWC over the years.

You are awesome in this place mighty God,
You are awesome in this place Abba Father,
You are worthy of all praise,
To you are lives we raise,
You are awesome in this place mighty God.

That song says what should be happening in every church. The church should be a body of believers where God is lifted up and where believers are committing themselves to God's leading. An unbeliever should leave church in awe of what God can do in lives and what God can do through lives - 'ordinary people who serve an extra-ordinary God'. I firmly believe that CWC is that kind of church and that they will continue to be that kind of church. I cannot wait to hear how God continues to move in hearts and lives over these next years. I love this place!

Meeting this Saturday

This Friday (May 8, 2009) Joan and I will be traveling to the Albany area to attend a meeting on Saturday at the Eastern NY headquarters. At this meeting the district board will be discussing various ways that we could be used in ministry. Eventually we will be planting a church somewhere around Clifton Park, NY, but we might be able to help the district out in some other places along the way. I will post specifics once we have them.

We are very excited about the upcoming transition to the Eastern NY district. I am not saying anything bad about the Central NY district, I have felt very well supported and accepted in this district. It is just exciting to be taking on a new challenge and a new opportunity to be used by God.

In my next post I will be talking about our current church Community Wesleyan Church in Horseheads, NY, but I will just state now that I feel the same way about Community Wesleyan, I have really enjoy our 13 years here and it has been a joy to be part of God's work in the church and through the church.

A few years ago a family came to our church and I was so excited that they chose to join the church. They came for several months and then one Sunday the father came to me and said that they were leaving the church to go help at a church plant in the area. I was really thrown because this did not fit my idea for my church. I said all the right things to him, but inside I was frustrated. He basically told me that Community did not need his family and the other church did. As I struggled through those emotions over the next weeks I realized that I needed to develop more of a Kingdom mindset. The church plant did need that family more than we did and the family wanted to be an integral part of a church's ministry.

Just a few years later I find myself explaining the same thing to many different people about our family. Yes, I love this church, but we sense that there are other people in other places that God is calling us to. Hard to explain, hard to understand, but once God makes something clear there is only one reasonable response. "Here am I, send me."

Assessment Results

We found out that we meet the qualifications to be church planters. The assessment process is over and now we will move on to church planter 'boot camp' within the next couple of months. Boot camp is usually a three day affair which teaches you about how to plant a church. They take you through the process of planning, building a team, developing leaders, advertising, etc. for a church plant. After boot camp we are supposed to get linked up with an active planter to be mentored by them.

This makes it pretty certain that we will be planting north of Albany. There are other steps that need to be taken by the Eastern NY District Board and other committees, but from our side of the deal we are ready to be planters. We look forward to gathering a team of co-workers, developing a strategy, establishing relationship and Bible studies, and praying for God's timing in beginning this work.

Please pray that God's will is understood as these boards and committees meet to figure out if this is the right step for the ENYNE district now. Our prayer is that a church plant could be like a breath of fresh air and a picture of new life and hope. We would want to be 'sent' by district churches that would be willing to pray, plan and partner with us. Hopefully we would be given the opportunity to share our vision and mission with several different district groups and churches. Churches need to plant churches. Hopefully we can be the first of dozens of churches the ENYNE plants in this new millenium.

"Believers have gotten out of the believer multiplication business, so churches have stepped in to multiply believers. This has resulted in churches getting out of the church multiplication business, so districts have attempted to multiply churches. Believers need to multiply believers and churches need to multiply churches."

Tom Clegg in Five Things Anyone Can Do to Help Start a Church
by Phil Stevenson (Wesleyan Publishing House).

Becoming Clearer

Joan and I just returned from Lansing MI at about 1:30 this morning. We traveled out there with Pastors Paul James, Dean Brown and Sam Stovall. It was great to rub shoulders with them on this trip. One thing I am finding about Pastor Paul is that he really enjoys a good road trip. This was my third with him in six months.

The reason we were in MI was to be assessed by a church planting assessment team. They asked Joan and I about three hours of questions about our relationship, how we see the church and God, and how we have ministered in specific situations. We actually enjoyed the process and we can't wait to hear the results.

On our trip we were able to talk with a pastor who is currently ending his second year of church planting near Lansing and we found out that Dean and Paul had been church planters as well. As we talked to them about church planting it became obvious that this was or is a life-altering decision for each of them. It left each of these families more dependent upon God and the body of Christ than ever before. It was a time of growth and maturing for each of them. They described church planting as some of the most challenging and yet worthwhile years of their lives.

If we get the green light to be church planters we would then go to a three-day church planter "boot camp" and be trained in how to make something out of nothing - sounds interesting! Joan and I are both excited about this possibility. Then we would begin to gather our team of pray-ers, give-ers and go-ers. I will post an update once we know for certain whether we will be planting or not.

Riding in the Car with Kids (funny)

The other day I was driving with Jake and Julia and both of them said something that made me laugh.

Julia is 5 and she is sounding out words and trying to unravel the mysteries of letters, spelling, etc. She often says things like "'Dog', 'what letter does that word start with?' 'D-d-d-d-d' - 'D!'" She was sounding out the word 'street' and she said "'Street', 'what letter does that word start with?' 'R-r-r-r-r' - 'F!'" Obviously she has more to learn.

A little later on Jake and I were talking about the fact that we were going to be moving to the Albany area and he asked me if they have lacrosse there. I told him that they do and explained the various options there. Then I said that they have football too.

He said to me 'I hope it isn't vegetarian football". I was taken back a bit and I asked him to repeat what he said, and he repeated, "I hope they don't play vegetarian football!"

I asked him with a little chuckle in my voice, "What is vegetarian football?"

He said, "The kind of football where they don't hit each other." My chuckle turned into a belly laugh.

'The Motions' by Matthew West

I have been hearing a song named 'The Motions' by an artist named Matthew West. For some reason I have only been able to catch parts of the song. Today I was able to hear the song in it's entirety. Wow! What challenging lyrics. The chorus of the song says

I don't want to go through the motions

I don't want to go one more day

Without your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't want to spend my whole life asking

What if I had given everything

Instead of going through the motions?

I guess those words are particularly challenging to me right now because I feel like God is breaking me out of a spiritual lethargy that had overtaken me. I admit that I had become comfortable and I sense that God is doing what is necessary to bring me back to a place of brokenness, willingness and usefulness.

The process of praying, dreaming, questioning and wondering we are experiencing is causing me to see the struggle between my human instincts (fear) and my spiritual understanding (faith). It is as if God is challenging me in the area of faith so that I can gradually learn to live in that realm on a daily basis as a variety of opportunities and decisions come along.

A great man of God said to D. L. Moody many years ago, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”

http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1990/issue25/2510.html

Church planting preparations

Pastor Paul has asked us to go through a church planter assessment process so Joan and I have been filling out spiritual gift tests, talent assessments, personality tests, and applications over the past couple of weeks. It has been quite a grueling process because most of the questions require a lot of soul-searching and transparency. Honestly, I believe that the process has been good for us because it has caused us to take a closer look at what God has given each of us and what God might want to do through us.

In a few weeks we will be traveling with Pastor Paul to Grand Rapids MI where the West Michigan District of the Wesleyan Church has established a church planter assessment center. They will have collated and analyzed all of our answers to the various questions we were asked and they will put us through an interview process that lasts about three hours. After we are done they will compile all of the data and let Pastor Paul know if they believe that we are an appropriate fit for church planting.

Please keep us in prayer throughout this process. Ask the Lord to guide the assessors, Pastor Paul and us. We want to end up in the place and the position where we can best serve the Kingdom of God and the Eastern New York district.

With the understanding that we might be planting a church in the Clifton Park NY area I have begun looking for a solid job since I will probably have to be a bi-vocational pastor in the beginning. We are also looking into housing in the region. Both renting and buying are quite expensive so please pray with us about the right housing situation for our family.

We are so excited to be part of God's work in eastern New York.

Saratoga County NY

Just a quick update. We are going to be planting a church somewhere in Saratoga County NY. This region is just north of Albany and is a high growth area. There are families moving in constantly and new businesses are coming in over the next couple of years.

The church will probably be located somewhere between Clifton Park and Malta on the Northway (I-87) corridor. Over the next couple of months we will need to find somewhere to live and begin the process of scouting out a place to begin holding services. Then over the summer we will continue to develop our ministry team and pursue connections to the community around us.

Please continue to pray for us as we take this step of faith as a family and as a district (Eastern New York and New England).

James

Albany NY

It appears that we will be either planting a church north of Albany, Clifton Park area, or that we will be restarting the Albany Wesleyan Church. I have been having ongoing discussions with Pastor Paul James about ministry opportunities and it seems that we are centering in on Albany as the place that best suits our skill set and our ministry gifts.

This is welcomed news because Joan and I have been feeling led toward Albany from the outset. We just wanted to be sure that we were not telling God or telling the district what to do. When Pastor Paul called to say that his heart was leaning toward Albany my spirit just leapt because I sincerely believe that God has a work for us to do in Albany. I see the many, many houses and many more lives and I can just imagine God reaching to family after family. I can just see kids who hear about their heavenly Father for the first time, teens who recognize their value in the Kingdom of God, and parents who come to understand Biblical principles for marriage, family, finances and relationships.

Last week I came across this scripture and I have received it as God's call upon my life.

'I am sending you to them to open their eyes

and turn them from darkness to light,

and from the power of Satan to God,

so that they may receive forgiveness of sins

and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Acts 26:17b-18

Please pray with us as we move to Albany in late June and July and then take the next weeks and months to prepare for a church to open. We have never gone into this exact kind of situation and we know that we will need your prayer support. I believe that the call God has given us is to invest ourselves in this region long-term. In time I pray that we will be able to sister other churches throughout the Albany region and toward Boston.

Please pray specifically that we and the Eastern New York Wesleyan District officials will have a clear understanding of whether we should plant or re-start.

The ticket (funny)

I was driving along with my four year old daughter Julia and we were having an ongoing discussion about everything around us. We saw a policeman who had pulled a car over for speeding. The policeman was writing something in a notepad and Julia asked me what he was doing. I answered her that he was giving the man a ticket for going too fast and that the man would have to pay money for going too fast. She was silent for a couple of seconds and then she said to me, "Daddy, can he go as fast as he wants after he pays the ticket?"

Missed opportunity at Dunkin' Donuts

I was with a friend of mine late this morning having a cup of coffee and solving the problems of the world when someone interrupted our conversation. I had just said to my friend "if I did not have a job right now, I'd go tomorrow and get one". A young gentleman near our table turned to me with little bit of fire in his eyes and said, "what did you just say?"

I looked at him and said "Are you talking to me? Because I was talking to him" (nodding at my friend).

He responded with a bit of edge in his voice, "I thought it was admirable that you could go get a job right now because I have been laid off for a while."

I quickly thought of several different ways this conversation could proceed and I could not think of any good options. I did not want to get into an 'edgy' conversation so I said again "I was talking to my friend here". The exchange lasted a few more seconds and then we mutually ignored each other for the next half hour.

On my way home a little while later I was replaying the whole scene and I realized that because of my fear and defensiveness I had missed an opportunity to share God's love with a hurting person. I realized that my human thought process tends to value self-preservation and pride. I wondered if I would ever be in the place where I would have responded to that young man from a heart of love.

I replayed the scene again and this time my response to him was "you were laid off, I'm sorry to hear that - where were you working?" And then from there he was able to share about his situation and I was able to be a positive, caring person at this low point in his life.

Dear Father, please forgive me for being so interested in me. Open my eyes to how you are working in the lives of others. Help me never to be motivated by fear or pride. Please help my heart to be ready for these kind of situations. I am so sorry I was not ready this time. Amen

Lord Whatever You Ask

I was driving to Syracuse early yesterday morning to teach a Homiletics course to a group of Burmese ministry students and I sensed God talking to me about 'the future'. I turned off the radio and just tried to listen. What I began to realize is that I had told God 'yes', with preconditions. My prayer sounded a little bit like this.

"Lord, I am willing to go wherever you send me

and do whatever you ask - within these boundaries."

Now, I was not saying it that plainly, I was explaining to God why He needed to understand my boundaries of where I was willing to go and what I was willing to do. I thought that my reasoning was really quite good. I really had myself convinced that I had committed all to God, and that God would totally understood my hesitation in a few areas. God could certainly learn to work around my preconditions.

Well, the longer I sat in that car and listened the more I realized that God needed me to be completely surrendered to his will whether it made sense at the time or not, whether it fit into my preconceived notions of where and what, or not. I would love to be able to say that this was a simple step for me to take and that within a matter of moments I had surrendered my will completely to God, but the truth is that I surrender and then I begin 'figuring it all out' again.

Later that day I was driving back home after teaching and I was going through the same process again - giving in, taking it back, giving in again - when the words of a song I have sung for years came back to me. "Whatever You Ask" was sung by Steve Camp in the 1980s.

Lord whatever you ask, I want to obey you.
To let my heart beat with a servant's heart.
Lord whatever you ask, I know
That you can give me courage to equal the task
Whatever you ask.

God make it plain that I would not have peace in my heart until I was willing to serve God with no strings attached. I have been in ministry for more than twenty years and it was quite humbling to realize that after all these years I still had strings attached to my call from God. I asked God for forgiveness and I had a great time of prayer after that, not about the future, but about who I need to be before my Creator, my Lord, my Father and my God.

I know that a few hours in a car and a song will not totally fix my tendency to 'figure it all out' for God. But I do know that God has made me aware that I was trusting him partially and he wants me to trust him completely. I am praying that this kind of willingness will be what guides me in these next few months of transition and for the rest of my life. Lord whatever you ask...

Therefore, I urge you brothers
in view of God's mercy
to offer your body as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God,
which is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:1

Fear -- FAITH -- Foolishness

Since Joan and I seriously began to consider leaving Community Wesleyan Church we have encountered a lot of fearful thoughts -

• "Where is God leading us?",
• "What will the people be like?",
• "Will they accept us?",
• "Are we in God's will or coming up with our own agenda?",
• "How will CWC do without us?",
• "How will God provide for our needs (and some of our wants)?".

One day I was kind of spinning some of these fearful questions and God led me to a new insight.


As humans we tend to either live in fear or in foolishness. Fear means that we play it safe because we are unsure of the best course of action, or we have been burnt before and we do not want a repeat. Foolishness means that we are throwing reason and caution to the wind and we are going to do what we 'feel' or what we 'want'. Foolish actions come from denying the realities around us - the value of relationships, human and divine laws, social mores, the effect of addictions, etc.


It hit me that these two ideas are on polar opposites on the spectrum of decisions we make. We all know people who lean very heavily one way or the other. We cannot understand how they could be so limited by their fears or how someone could make such foolish choices. So what is the balance between these two opposites? I believe it is Faith. Faith means that we are trusting God to lead us to what is best. God's leading might take us through fearful times, or places that seem like foolishness to us or others, but if we faithfully follow God's leading we will eventually see what God was trying to accomplish in our lives or in the lives of those we affect.

As we read the stories of men and women of faith in the Bible it is obvious that they went through times of fear - Moses before Pharoah, Elijah and Jezebel; and sometimes God's leading seemed like foolishness - Moses wandering in the desert for forty years, Noah building an ark on dry land. We cannot let either of these issues derail us from what God is leading us to be.

FOOLISHNESS - 1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

FEAR - 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

FAITH - Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

So, the Swansons are trying very hard to live in faith at this point in our lives. We have the natural fears that accompany change and we do not want to do anything foolish, but we do understand that God might need to lead us through some tough places to arrive at God's place for us.

In Christian Love,

James

Information About this Blog

My name is James Swanson and I will be the primary blogger for seewhatgodisdoing.com. I have been a pastor for over 20 years and the past 13 years have been spent in Horseheads, NY at Community Wesleyan Church. It is a wonderful church which is located in the Southern Tier of central New York, about one hour west of Binghamton. The church has changed a lot over those 13 years and it has been a joy to watch God change lives on a regular basis. We have grown from about 70 people to a church of over 225 on a Sunday morning. Many people have taken on ministry responsibilities, men and women have been called into the ministry and about seven years ago we were able to build a new sanctuary, Sunday School class rooms and offices. God is so good! It truly has been a joy to be a part of what God is doing through Community Wesleyan Church.

About five years ago I began to sense God leading me to minister in eastern New York. About a year and a half ago I spoke to the Central New York Wesleyan District Superintendent (DS), Rev. Wayne Wager, about this leading and he said he would be praying with me about this possibility. The call to eastern New York has grown stronger and at the end of 2008 my wife, Joan, and I felt it was time to begin the process of moving that way. I interviewed with the Wesleyan DS of Eastern New York and New England (ENYNE), Rev. Paul James, and it became obvious right away that we share a common heart for souls and for the body of Christ.

I resigned from Community Wesleyan in early February and my family will be moving to eastern New York at the end of June. At the moment we do not know exactly where we will be located. There are several possibilities - we are seeking God's guidance and working closely with Pastor Paul to see what God might have in store for us. At this point it appears that we might be most useful in a church revitalization project somewhere in the district. We are excited about the possibility of being used by God to touch lives.

Please pray with us that we would land in the town or city that God has planned for us. And pray that our hearts would be right as we seek that exact type of ministry situation that God has in store for us. Most importantly, pray that men and women, boys and girls would come to know God the Father through Jesus His son, and that we would play whatever role He asks of us in this Kingdom work.

More posts will be coming with further details about the process God leading us through. If you would like to contact me you can email me at seewhatgodisdoing@gmail.com.

In Christian Love - James