What a week...

This week has been full of activity and change. I left Utah on Tuesday to come to Colorado. While here I have had the chance to attend Bob Kaylor's Transitions Workshop (Wednesday), as well as Annual Conference. On Thursaday, Tracy and I successfully closed on our new home in the Rockrimmon are. On Friday, I collected the keys to the house and stepped inside to take a look around. And today, I was officially appointed to Wilson UMC by our Bishop! It is with great joy and excitement that I accept the challenge to be your shepherd and leader. I now depart for the airport to return home to pack the few remaining items before the packers come on Monday. We'll know on Monday just what day we will arrive in the Springs area (probably Wed or Thu). Thank you for your prayers and support over these last few weeks. We look forward to our joining you in worship on the 1st of July.

All signed!!!

This morning we (in all honesty, Tracy) signed all our closing paperwork for our home off of Saddlemountain Rd! Everything should be completed on Thursday, and we'll officially be home owners!!!

No more keys...

Yesterday's Church in the Park service was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the music and worship was passionate, and God poured out His power as I preached my last message in Brigham. Using two simple chairs, God provided me with a powerful visual aid in communicating some profound truths about His character and nature, how it is He has moved over time, and the type/kind of salvation He offers to everyone. I hope to preach it someday at Wilson. (BTW: I'm known to preach in attire like this occasionally!!!)

After last night's community dessert social for our family, I turned in my keys. It was rather surreal to be honest, standing there in my empty office with nothing but the clergy covenant and some notes for my successor on the desk. I don't know how many hours I have spent in that office, and at the church, but it feels like a lifetime's worth. So many sermons. So many sacred conversations. So many holy moments. So many lives changed by God's transforming grace. All of these met with the hollow closing of an empty room.

Now I know - correction: I know and believe - that God has more of the same in store for us at Wilson UMC, and it is with great joy that we continue to take the steps we do that will take us to Colorado Springs. But my heart is heavy this morning, aware that all is concluded here and that my work is done.  

AWESOME worship this morning!!!

This morning's worship was fantastic. Here is a video shot that I take each year and post to my FaceBook.

By the way, this week we are scheduled to close on our house! On the 14th it will be official, we will (again) be home owners. We couldn't be more excited. Please be in prayer for Tracy as she'll be doing a lot of packing without me (seeing as I'll be at Annual Conference).  

"Church in the Park" tomorrow

Well, tomorrow will be my last preaching opportunity in Utah. Our ministerial association (NUMA) is holding its 3rd annual Church in the Park. Last year (pictured here) saw around 700 people in attendance, and this year (if weather holds) is sure to see even more. It's not everyday that nine churches close their doors to worship together. And it's not every day that nine churches get to invite so many unconnected people (and feed them 600 burgers and 300 hot dogs!!!). I have been asking folks to pray for freedom...freedom from false and misleading notions of who God really is in Christ...freedom from false religion...and freedom from death and sin. May the Holy Spirit fall upon that place and transform lives!

Headed for the Philippines

My youngest daughter (who graduated from high school this week) departed this morning for a two week mission trip to the Philippines. After flying to Los Angeles she flies to Hong Kong, and then on to Manila. She's traveling with 40 other young people who will serve in many areas including construction, tutoring, sports ministry, and spending time with children in a children's home. They departed LA at 1330 this afternoon and will not arrive in Manila until 0615 tomorrow morning (if I've calculated my international travel times correctly).

Please pray that God move mightily in Katie's life, the lives of the other young people, and those with whom they'll encounter.

Katie is pictured here hugging her sister Kristen.

Small town life

Well, yesterday was certainly filled with emotion. We had a wonderful worship service where we commissioned our high school seniors to go out into the world, partook in Holy Communion, said our official goodbyes, and anounced who Aldersgate's incoming pastor will be!  I am happy to say that God was (as expected) just as faithful to Aldersgate as He was with Wilson. AUMC is getting a young energetic shepherd from outside the conference who asked to come to Utah. God is good, all the time.

We have but a few details to sort out in the week ahead. Form here, really, the task at hand is packing and preparing for our move. We already have many things boxed up, and walls are becoming increasingly bare by the day. It is possible that we may be loading our stuff on Friday, June 15th (or Monday the 18th). I would prefer Monday seeing as I'll be at Annual Conference that Friday.

An interesting experience this morning:
(Daniel pictured right, after friends called out his name as he teed up)
My boys had scheduled a tee time at the public golf course here in town (the only one by the way) this morning, and as we were loading the clubs into my car Daniel began to panic. It turns out he had lost his player pass which Tracy and I had purchased for him as a gift. It still had 8, 9-hole, punches on it and anxieties began to run high. The last time he had seen it was last Monday when the three of us had grabbed a fast front-nine.

When we arrived at the golf course, we were met with several of my boy's friends and the golf course manager, Chris Marx, a good friend of mine. Chris had not only instructed me some years back, he and I had also coached several boys basketball teams over the years.

I explained our situation, whereupon he smiled and reached into a drawer, producing Daniel's lost card. While he converted the remaining passes to their now digital system they use, other adults and friends arrived. It was about that time it hit me: I will miss small town life.

I will miss situations like this one where Chris and the staff recognized our name and knew who were were. I'll miss relationships (even at local establishments) where even if they had not found Daniel's pass, they would have honored it anyway. I will miss going to ordinary places like the golf course, the grocery store, or the post office (where I went next), and being known.  I will miss knowing my dentists well enough that we can call her at home when there is an emergency. I'll miss having not fly fished with my orthopedic surgeon. I will miss not knowing the "Rhino-Rooter" guy (John) who snakes our basement drain once a year (and always asks such great theological questions). I will even miss the 1 1/2 hour Walmart trips where current and past preschool students (and parents) stop to talk to Tracy. Small town life is rich with relationships.

I know that we will again build relationships and have friends in Colorado Springs. But we also know that it will be different...bigger...and somewhat less personal.

Prayer: Thank you God for our time here in Brigham and the relationships you have allowed us to enjoy. It has been a gift, and we are grateful.

Sunday's coming...

It's hard to believe that this Sunday will be our last at Aldersgate UMC. The following week will be an ecumenical worship affair at a local park with close to 1000 people in attendance. So, that leaves this Sunday to offer our hugs and to say our goodbyes.

After ten wonderful years of ministry - ministry that included births, deaths, weddings, tragedies, illnesses, conversions to faith, baptisms, confirmations, and all the other ordinary but-all-so-meaningful stuff that goes with the territory - our family will begin the hard work of separating from people we have grown to know and love.

What a wonderful gift this place has been to me and my family, and what bitter-sweet tears we will shed in the days and weeks that lie ahead. Such are the experiences known to us who risk loving and drink deeply from the cup of Christian community God invites us to enjoy. And drink we have.

So please pray for us and for the people of Aldersgate...that we might not fear the welling emotion, but instead celebrate the gift that each has been for the other.

Our hearts are heavy, and Sunday's coming...

Under the weather...again.

I'm sad to announce that that cold the Tracy had last week is now my cold. I cannot remember a year where I've been sick like this. Perhaps the stress of this transition is greater than I originally thought. The worst part of this was when my fever broke last night (2:23am), and all the coughing.

Please pray for me, for we have a pretty big Sunday ahead with baptisms, memberships, missions presentations, and more. Have a wonderful Pentecost and live fully into what God has created you for!!!

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.  1 Sam 7:12

Sitting out in front of our house is a small, mostly obscure, pile of rocks - our Ebenezer. While few even notice them, everyone in our family knows why they are there and what they represent. Every so often we'll pause at a meal and we'll retell the origins of those twelve rough stones, and every time we smile and our faith is renewed, and God is praised.

As we've already read in places like Genesis 35, 1 Samuel 7, and Joshua 4 (among many other places), God's covenant faithful people regularly erected stones, altars, and other monuments as lasting testimonies to God's presence, faithfulness, and power. The word Ebenezer is a single-word rendering that comes from two Hebrew words Eben-Haezer - meaning "stone of help." The basic idea behind an Ebenezer really comes down to marking a place (that represents God's saving activity in time) so that the people involved, and those who would come after them, might be reminded of God's relentless covenant faithfulness and love of those who trust Him.

Few people mark times and places like this these days, but we will, again, and we'll encourage our congregation to do the same. Why? Because as it was back then, people tend to forget.  For no fault other than the way time clouds memories and distorts actual events, there is something incredibly healthy about erecting something real and tangible...something that can be looked at and touched...something that can be read and told again. It explains why we write history and erect monuments. We do so so that those who come after us will know what we know and be shaped by what shaped us.

The twelve stones that sit in front of our house are likened to the twelve stones that were pulled from the center of the Jordan river as God's people miraculously crossed into the promised land. As we wrapped up our time at Asbury Theological Seminary in 2002, and God was about to bring us where He had been leading all those years, we (literally) picked up twelve stones when we left, promising to erect them "on the other side" (wherever that would be). In a set of events that can only be described as miraculous, God led us to Brigham City, UT where we cut our teeth in ministry.

Now, through yet another set of amazing events, God is again at work leading us to Wilson UMC. And as it was before, we plan to unload - before anything comes off any truck - our new Ebenezer when we land safely on the "other side." It, like the one before it, will stand as a reminder to us and those we know of God's amazing help as we faithfully choose to follow.

19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. ”     Joshua 4:19-24

  

Answered prayer!

Today God answered a Huge prayer request: We finally sold our motor home.

In 2003 Tracy and I made what we now consider to be our biggest financial mistake: We bought a 28' motor home. At the time, with gas $1.45 a gallon, the economy clicking along in good fashion, and the promise that we could just sell after a couple of years, we thought it was a sound decision. But when fuel prices skyrocketed and the economy tanked, we found ourselves stuck with a financial burden that would mock us for years to come.

As I spoke to my father today he commented that there are just some things you learn the hard way, and this was certainly one of them. While Tracy and I repented years ago and asked God for forgiveness (for having not sought Him out in this decision), it took until today to see how He would come to our aid.

This answered prayer is but one in a very long string of miracles that God has been orchestrating to move us out to Colorado Springs. He is so faithful and good, and tonight we rejoice.

Successful Day

Today we were able to sell tons of our stuff at our yard sale. In the midst of (literally) hundreds of other similar sales today, ours turned out to be a huge success. Our boys were invaluable with their help and the hospitality they offered to those who were there to buy their stuff.

Tracy and I would ask that you please pray for the loan approval process we're moving through. We're in the final stages and still are holding our breath. This week will determine our success or failure in securing this house.

Update!!!

The sellers have agreed to address all our safety concerns, including a radon mitigation system. We've also been told that they plan on using the most reliable company around (very consistent with how they've kept the house up thus far). So, we continue to move forward in smooth (Godlike) fashion toward our closing date! We only have a few more hurdles to get to a successful close.

This weekend we sell everything but our children and our dog in what we're calling an EPICALLY HUGE yard sale. It's time to clean house - literally.

The Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below...

We just got word that our sellers agreed to address our safety conditions at the house. So, everything continues to move ahead smoothly! God is good!!

This weekend's yard sale is our next objective. Our goal is to sell as much as we can and donate the rest. It seems that we've accumulated more than we'd thought over these last 10 years. It's time to streamline.

After returning home, Tracy and I have found ourselves quite busy these past few days. I'm sorry for having not posted to this blog in a while. But that you might know how you might pray for us:

• We continue to move forward with the purchase of the Saddlemountain Rd property (my are there hoops to jump through in the process!!!). As I write this, the sellers have been asked to shore up one item that was surfaced in the home inspection (a Radon mitigation system). We are praying that this not stall the purchase in any way.
• I continue move through the Grand Sweep materials, aiming to develop a sermon plan that will get us through the rest of the year. What an interesting journey it has been this time through the OT!!!
• Tracy once again has come down with another aggravating (allergy-initiated) cold. This season has been especially tough for her...please pray for strength and healing.

Thank you for your love and support. Our entire family is excited about the move, and we can't wait to begin!!!

A Defining Day

What an amazing day! We worshipped at all three services this morning - and at each, were presented with gifts. This transition really is like no other I have ever heard about (and like all should be in my opinion). We have experienced such love, grace, and hospitality from everyone at Wilson...truly remarkable.

One of our objectives was to secure housing while out here, and in-between one of the services we were contacted regarding a house we had placed an offer on. Just as the Haiti mission team presentation was getting underway, Tracy and I snuck into Randy's office to respond to a counter offer, and within moments had signed a contract on a new home!!! We are happy to announce that we will be living in the Tamarron area just inside of Rockrimmon (off of Saddlemountain Rd).  God is so very good!  This of course answers a lot of questions for us and allows us to more fully prepare as we head home.  Please continue to pray for us, our family, and the people of Aldersgate UMC.
              

National Day of Prayer

Today was the National Day of Prayer. Most of you probably knew that, and perhaps a few of you attended various functions, while others paused to pray at some point on this day.

But here are some questions: How did you pray? And, for what did you pray?

At this point in your journey through the bible, you have now wrapped up 1 & 2 Kings, a historical summary of the God's covenant people and their leaders.

I don't know how you faired in your reading, but I was left with an aching heart. Over and over again, Israel and Judah continued in their sin-intoxicated states of independence while they drifted farther and farther away from God and His purposes. With only a few notable exceptions, those who wrote these accounts declared again again, how so-in-so (and God's people) "did evil in the eyes of the Lord."

Does that strike you as peculiar (looking at history in that way I mean) how radically different a perspective that is than how we think about history today.  Few today - even with the Church thank you very much - even think to frame history in such a way, and fewer still are bold enough to call others to live out of such a paradigm.

I can't help but wonder how different things might be for our country if we earnestly and honestly, pursued God in a full-blown, no-holds-barred, covenant relationship with Him. What if our hearts were so captured by His goodness and grace that we allowed Him to transform us in His image and restore us as a people. What if we trusted God and His Word enough to shape how we live and act, and what if we lovingly obeyed it? What if we chose dependence upon God instead of persistent and radical independence from God?

My prayer today has been simple: Lord, by your grace, help us to love, trust, and cling to you as our only hope and power. Transform the hearts of your followers and cause us to be the kingdom of priests and holy people (nation) you desire.   Amen

Praying for us...

One of the functions of tis blog is to give you the chance to pray for us - and prayer we need. As I mentioned in my last posting, I came down with a cold around Friday of last week. It seems this cold continues to persist, and now my lovely bride has come down with it. Were it just the cold she was dealing with, she'd be fine. However, she's also dealing with a small collection of other health-related challenges that have left her exhausted and stressed out. It is difficult for us all to mom under the weather as she is rarely prone to illness, and we ask you to please pray for healing.

Our sights are presently set on flying to CS this weekend (to house hunt, AND to visit with you!!!). Hoping that we might secure our future residence on this visit, we cling in to God in trust. He has already been amazing in this process and we stand amazed in His goodness.  We'd also like to check out some of the schools as well (for our boys).

Some other items you might be in prayer about on our behalf:

• Future employment for Tracy - presently she's a preschool teacher and CNA (when she's not working at the ballpark!)
• A summer job for our daughter Katie before she departs for college (Jul-Aug)
• Our children this weekend as we travel (it's great to have such wonderful kids that we trust)

Feeling Crummy

It seems that I have contracted an agravating chest & sinus cold. It's hard to breath and I am prone to regular coughing fits that have left me with an aweful headache. I made it through a wedding last night, but worry about tomorrow's baptism service (two more professions of faith!!!). Please pray for a decent night's sleep.

Meanwhile, I sit watching the Rockies...way to go Moscoso!!! (Added later: Too bad they couldn't rally to win)

Catching Up

I'm not sure if you know this but one of the ways that God confirmed His leading in this appointment change was through a study that you're presently moving through.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to take some much needed renewal leave time. I was able to pull away for two whole months to retreat with God (February and March), connect with family, and pray. Interestingly, there were only three books that I took with me as I went: "The God I Don't Understand" by Christopher Wright (excellent book), "The Cure: What if God isn't who you think He is, and neither are you" by John Lynch, Bruce McNicol, and Bill Thrall, and "The Grand Sweep" by J. Ellsworth Kalas (an old preaching professor of mine from Asbury Theological Seminary).

My hope during my time away was to draw close enough to God to hear where He might be leading me and our church. I had sensed that it was time to lead my people through the bible, and encourage them to become students of God's Word...people who knew and were familiar with the Grand Narrative.

My time with God was rich and rewarding, and seemed to be focused on me as a leader rather than where we should go at Aldersgate. And then it came - the call. With only a few days left to "renew," and in a frustrated place of holy panic (given that I had yet to hear from God on where He was leading Aldersgate UMC), I received a call from Rev. Melanie Rosa. "We believe God is opening up some doors in Colorado Springs, and I want you to pray about an appointment to Wilson UMC," she said.

After speaking with her, I did what everyone does these days, I Googled Wilson UMC. What I found was  exciting. Wilson, it seems, is actively engaged in the community by planting preschools (hmmm, I thought, my wife is a preschool teacher), and the were in the midst of a particular study and sermon series - The Grand Sweep (Shut...up!!! Properly exegeted: "No way!!!")!

What I was unable to see at the time was that God was leading me to move my people through a study of the Bible, I just couldn't see that "my people" would be you people!

So, at the moment, I am furiously catching up in my reading and studying. I am almost done with 2 Samuel and hope to be current with the congregation by this weekend. From there, we will journey together through the greatest story every told - God's Story.

Steps of Faith

Well, it's official. We're coming to Wilson UMC!!!

You know that crazy sort of adrenaline feeling you get when you're strapped into a roller coaster (I love roller coasters by the way)? Well, that's one of the many sorts of sensations we've experienced over the last few weeks. One moment we're excited, the next, we're terrified.  One moment we can't seem to wipe the smiles off our faces, the next, we're wiping tears away. Such are the emotions with God when He calls us to "go."

We, like so many figures in the bible, are being asked to trust in His leading, provision, and grace. And like them, we are finding daily just how good He really is. So, know that we are excited about God leading us to you in Colorado Springs, and pray for us as we take these steps of faith.

From time to time I will use this site to communicate the steps we're taking and the things we're thinking about as we make our way to Wilson UMC. We thought that it might help you know us a little better and give you the chance to pray for us in specific ways.

Tracy and I plan to be in worship with you on Sunday, May 6th. We'll be out house hunting in the area and wanted to get the chance to meet ya'll (we're from Texas, what can I say)!

(Pictures below)