Wind of Change

If you are a fan of German mullet arena rock, you are a fan of the Scorpions. One of their most popular songs is called Wind of Change. It's all about the crumbling of the Berlin wall back in the day, and all the changes and hope that such an important event would bring with it. Well, what I'm about to write isn't on that scale of importance, at least to Western Europe. But still, a lot has changed, and if you have been following my life, or Grace Community Church, or Micah's life, with any interest, then you may want to read on.

I will be stepping down from pastoral leadership at GCC. There are a few reasons for this.

First and foremost, we are out of money and therefore must find a job that will pay the bills. It turns out that we were a bit naive in thinking we could support two full time pastors in the early stages of a church plant. The numbers just don't work out. In addition, the nature of church planting is much more slow and deliberate than anticipated, and so it was unrealistic to expect to sustain the finances without outside support, which, at the end of the day we simply weren't able to raise enough of.

Second, working full time, I obviously won't have the time to devote to full time pastoral leadership.

Third, as we have landed in Austin, we have found that what this church needs is not two pastors, but one lead pastor with a team around him. I willingly made the transition to that support role months before the money situation hit, but once it did, my status as a pastor changed and we were therefore forced to further reevaluate our role.

So we are looking for work. There are a few good possibilities, but we are waiting to see what God will bring us. Please be in prayer for us. Over the last 2.5 years we have been a part of planning for GCC, so it would be unnatural if there wasn't a huge emotional element to all of this. There are a few things that need to be said.

We are not necessarily leaving GCC, though that is certainly a possibility. My heart beats strongly with the vision of this church, as that has not changed one bit.

Regarding my relationship with Micah, I must say that I have come to respect and admire him as a leader and a man of Christ more than ever. Our friendship remains strong, especially since he bought a new Mac and we can now relate on a technical level not before possible.

Regarding GCC, I sincerely believe that God has His mighty hand on this work. It has all been a matter of shifting expectations from a fast growing church plant to a deliberate work of God that is changing lives one family at a time. There are quite a few people supporting GCC financially who have personal ties to me, and I urge them to continue giving to this work.

Finally, regarding myself and my family, there has been a myriad of emotions running through our veins, ranging from despair on one end to rejoicing in God's sure provision on the other. We have poured our lives into this for a long time, and the emotional attachment runs deep. But let me say this. I in no way doubt that God's sovereign hand is over all of this situation. He is teaching us a lot about Himself and how good He is, how strong He is, and that we worship Him, not for what He can give us in the way of church positions and financial security, but because He is the greatest gift of all. If it takes us coming down here and all of this happening, it is infinitely worth it and I consider all of this to be a great success.

We are definitely in the midst of a "Wind of Change," but God directs the wind, and He loves us. There is no better place to be when the only one you can hang onto is the one you should hang onto.