Christmas 2019

It has now been two and a half years since we transitioned from a lifetime of local church planting and leadership into an itinerant role serving churches and seminaries internationally.  When we started out on this journey, it felt like (and was) another great venture of faith.  We didn’t have a lot to start with except the Lord, but that’s nothing new!  Looking back, it is amazing to see how the Lord has met us.  We are grateful to any of you who have prayed for us.  Please don’t stop.

These days we are investing a lot into worship.  And literally so when you consider the cost of sound, lighting, special effects and everything else that seems to be necessary to pull off a worship time that will keep the crowds coming.  Chances are we’re putting as much or more, proportionately speaking, as in past times churches use to spend on things like pipe organs, sheet music and choir gowns.

Are we here to build our own inheritance or to sow into someone else’s?

I know many of us are so busy trying to keep our heads above water we never even think of things like that, but here’s some thoughts I had in the process of spending a couple of days with my wife looking after two of our grandsons.

When we started off on our journey to Michigan several weeks ago, everything was fine.  It was cold, but the skies were bright blue.  About 45 minutes into our journey, some clouds appeared, then a few snowflakes and pretty soon you could hardly see where you were going.  We found ourselves behind a big truck and hung in for the duration.  A half hour or so later, the skies cleared and the sun came out.  There wasn’t even any snow on the ground at the other end of the storm.

There are lots of reasons people get discouraged and give up.  Many of them are obvious, but most of them boil down to a lack of success in some area of life.  We fail in our relationhips, we fail in our finances, we fail in our jobs, we fail in our emotional or physical well-being.  Then there are other people who seem to be doing very well by outward standards, but who lose their passion for God.