Moving On!

We learned Tuesday night that the next chapter of our life will be spent in Lake Mary, FL area.  We were officially called to be the Associate Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Lake Mary, FL.  My job will be to plant a church in nearby Mt. Dora/Sorrento, FL area.  We are extremely thrilled about this job and are praying that God would use us to do great things for His kingdom.

Ultimately we believe this is God's call process and Allison and I were open to the process that the Seminary candidates go through.  For us, it was important that we were in the right position at the right place.   God has answered those prayers for us.

For the first time in my life, I believe I will really have to depend on God.  My life has been very easy up to this point.  Moving to Florida and especially planting a church will be steps of faith that I haven't yet experienced and we are excited by that.  To know that I will have to rely and trust in God is a good place for me to be.  The other two possible options that it sounded like during the past year were right here in St. Louis at CRAVE, the church I am currently doing college ministry or going back to my home church in Omaha, NE at King of Kings.  Both of those other options would have been great, and either one of them would have been more comfortable for us.  But I don't know that it would have stretched us enough.  It would have been very easy to just resume life, not make any new friends, stay connected in our social circles, and continue living a very enjoyable and fun life.  We would have been very happy.  But I feel that this is the time in my life when I'm tired of being comfortable and I'm ready to be uncomfortable...going to a new place, not knowing hardly anyone (with the exception of a couple of people), and planting a church...that is certainly a task where I will have to need God in my life.  And that's what I want.  I don't want to stay somewhere and live the same life that I am living now.  I want to be doing something that forces me to pray to God and rely on Him every single day.  Comfort and ease are great to a point...but for now, I want to be stretched, no matter the cost.  This is tough to say and even tougher to do.  But I'm ready.

I think...