Thankful for…
When I think of giving thanks this year, one theme dominates my mind. My new family at the Journey causes emotions to swell inside my chest. I do not deserve the opportunity and privilege of leading you, but God has chosen, nontheless, to saddle you with a leader like me,.
The Journey began as a dream about a year and a half ago. God has certainly done extraordinary things in the last year and in particular, in the last 3-4 months. In these last few months, I have had the opportunity to enter relationship with people who are helping to make the Journey what it is today. I look forward to getting to know you more in the future as God expands the mission and vision of the Journey to include more and more people who are eager to pursue God’s purpose for their life and the church. I am thankful for all of our new Journey folks.
Some of the people that I am the most thankful for, will not read this, because they are not the “computer” types. If you attend on a Sunday morning, you might be struck by the fact that even though we are VERY contemporary in our worship style, complete with loud music and movie style screens and graphics, there are 5 or six 70 somethings and even an 89 year old who are there, week after week. I owe them tremendous thanks that they have stuck with me through 5 years of real hardship at the previous church so that we could do what we are doing now at the Journey. They are leaving a legacy of faith, having refused to go quietly into the good night. They believed against the odds, that God still had a design for vibrant ministry in the building, formerly known as Davis Chapel Baptist Church. I am thankful for those souls who refused to give up or give in.
We have others at the Journey, some who have been here as part of the previous ministry, and others who have come since the inception of the Journey. The significant thing about these people is that they give. They give of themselves so that the Journey can be what it is and what we hope it will become. They give hours and hours in service to the kingdom life at the Journey, and for them, I am thankful.
Lastly, I am thankful for the grace of God shown to me over the years. I have been pastoring for about 13 years now, with most of those years being unfruitful in worldly estimation. Many of these years have ben spent invested in the painful work of pruning. The cutting away of dead and useless things so that growth could come from the central vine, is no fun at all when people are the things that need to be pruned. It is a grievous work, but in God’s wisdom, He has now seen fit to allow me to begin to sow and see a harvest of developing fruit at the Journey. I am flushed with emotion as I contemplate what has already happened here and what will happen as we go forward. God has been gracious to me and He shows me new grace every day, and for this, I am thankful.
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and we are thankful for you, your families, and that the Journey is faithful to God’s word and work. We are really glad to have been led here.
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