Goodness

Wow.

December was the last post?

My, has time flown.
I must confess, I have had opportunity to write, yet I have refrained.
If you have been a long time reader of this blog, you will know that I have shared circumstances that are going on in my life and even in the life of the church to which my family belongs. I don't know that I have shared anything wrong, but I have written things that were not intended for a local audience.

Many of you may know of my calling to be an Elder (pastor). I know that I have shared some of that over the years on this blog. I thought that I knew who the audience of this blog was. When I wrote, I wrote in a way (and to people) that I considered safe.

Last August, I applied for the 3rd time to be an elder at our church. We have been going through a pastor search for the last 3.8 years. The first two times that I had applied I was applying for a vocational position (Pastoral Intern, then Senior Pastor). I was turned down by the pulpit committee. I understand their reasoning. The Lord had (and has) a lot to teach me. I had no experience. I have not been to seminary.
However, last August, I asked to be affirmed as a non-vocational elder (this means no pay). After a couple of months of examining and questioning the deacons recommended me to the church as a non-vocational elder/pastor. The church then started the examining and questioning process as well. This put my family in the spotlight as well.

I don't ever want to lose my appreciation for the grace that the Lord has bestowed on my family. There are days that I just stare at my wife and my girls and wonder why the Lord has blessed me in such a marvelous way. Our teenage girls have a such a true heart for the Lord, the church, and the family, that sometimes it just causes me to sit in wonder at the goodness of our God.

Last Sunday my Captain at the Fire Department came and visited the church for the morning service. He has been searching for truth. Last night he had some questions about a verse that he was reading in his Bible. Oh the goodness of our God.

On January 17th, 2010 the church (through a vote) affirmed me as an elder. This coming Sunday, March 14th @ 2:00 p.m. the church is having an ordination service to set me apart for the ministry of the gospel. This is a direct result of the goodness of our God.

I have been thinking about either linking this blog to our church website, or starting a new blog on the website. I am leaning toward starting new. I don't have the time to proofread all of the posts that I currently have on this blog. Either way, I will keep you informed of what I decide. The advantage to keeping this blog unpublished is that it gives you the opportunity to respond to what I post without concern about the size of the audience. It may also keep "yourbrother" (who has been missing lately as well) comfortable enough to keep authoring posts.
The disadvantage would be in trying to maintain two blogs. I would guess that much of the material would be the same, though this may sometimes carry the inside scoop.

This latest absence from posting has been intentional. Yet I know that you all have continued to pray for me, my family, and the church. Oh the goodness of our God!