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.