Chapter XXXVI: New Movement

Lately, there's been a lot of new stuff happening in my tiny little world. It's exciting to see the LORD's hand in various areas of my life. All of this new movement has made the past few weeks really interesting.

Of course some of this movement is taking place with the Misfit Plaid project. Since our first practice in January, the Misfits have now played 5 shows, written 6 songs, and made a TON of connections. The LORD has been introducing us to different people that have been connecting us with shows all over town. We're even in the process of recording our first album. Any way you slice it, the Misfits have been blessed by the LORD and the new musical movement in my life is really awesome.

The issues of change and new direction at our church have also been moving along. After a few informative, and heated, meetings, our church family is ready to finally start making some decisions. While my personal future with this ministry isn't certain, it is becoming more and more clear that the LORD has plans for me between Prairie and 30th.

Finally, there's a lovely lady up here who has been stirring up a lot of good change in my life. As a youth pastor for another church, Katie has not only been a great companion, but she challenges me in both my spiritual life and in my ministry. Dating her has given me a lot of joy and strength over the past few weeks, and I'm truly blessed with her.

But Kate's not the only amazing part about all of this change.

The LORD has been using all of this change for His glory. And that's the truly amazing part. All this new movement in my life centers around my heavenly Father.

And I'm excited to see what's next.

-B

XXXV: Senioritis

There are two diseases in this world that nearly everybody gets at one point in there life. One of them is chicken pox. The other is senioritis, the disorder in which the motivation gland stops working around the 11th-12th grade.

BUT, similar to chicken pox, some people contract this ailment multiple times in their lives.

I am one of those people.

The past week or two I've noticed a drastic drop in my motivation to do my job. I spend a lot of time in my office asking for God to motivate me. At the same time, I've discovered a familiar feeling from my past. It's the feeling of being flooded with ideas and pursuits, but unable to find a starting point. Very similar to my first weeks at Olivet.

The combination of these two emotions (or lack thereof) have caused me to go into "coast mode." It's pretty simple actually. I do my work. I maintain the status quo.

I coast.

But God doesn't call me to do that. He calls me to lead. To cast vision. To grow. If God was interested in simply maintaining the church, he wouldn't have scattered the early Christians. He has placed me here in this specific neighborhood community of Grandville to spread his Kingdom. Not just maintain it.

I've noticed certian aspects of my ministry are slipping. An unhappy student here, a frustrated leader there. Thankfully nothing irreversible, but bold warning signs none then less.

And so I need to focus.

There's a lot to focus on. Our youth. Our worship. Our church. The future of our ministries, but God is a big guy, and He can get me through it. He's the vaccine for my senioritis.

Which leads me to my challenge for you. Since we know that God often uses us has His hands and feet, I challenge you to call me out on my mistakes. If you see me doing some sloppy work, say something. If you see me slacking off, step up. Because I've asked God to help me, and I know He will.

Looking for a divine kick-in-the-pants,
-B

Chapter XXXIV: Trust

Trust. I like to think I have a lot of it. But the problem is that trust is a very scary thing. The reason it's scary is because trusting is essentially humbling yourself and giving up control over some aspect of your life.

In this case, it's my future.

As our church continues to pursue the will of God, one of the questions I must face is the future of my job. While I know that the LORD will continue to provide and care for me, it can sometimes be challenging to trust in Him.

More importantly, I am forced to trust that the LORD will take care of our church's youth. Some of the options that our leadership is looking into would sadly have a negative impact on our youth ministry.

That being said, I ultimately trust that God has an awesome plan for the future ministry of this congregation. While we might not recognize or know what that looks like quite yet, we do know that it will "work for the good of those who love Him." (Romans 8:28).

In addition to discerning the future of our ministry, this week has also hosted a few other difficult decisions on a personal level. Again, I trust that the LORD will continue to guide me in the decisions, but that doesn't make them any easier.

Finally, our band played our last show for a few weeks. It was a great venue (Louie's Bar) with some great people and great music. We look forward to taking a few weeks off from playing live in order to focus on recording our album. I cannot say enough about how awesome God has been to Misfit Plaid and how great my bandmates are.

Please continue to pray for our church as we seek some divine direction.

Always Trusting,
-B

Chapter XXXIII: Whole Lot Of Awesome

Lately there's been a lot going on in my life. Most of it comes from my ministry both in and out of my church family. I'm facing some pretty big challenges, but the power of the Holy Spirit has helped me thus far, so it's exciting to see Him get me through more.

As our church goes through a series of meetings to continue looking at the fundamental values of our family, the LORD is becoming more and more clear with His plans for me. There are a lot of challenges in my future, but lately I've been catching glimpses here and there of what the future holds.

And it's awesome.

I was further encouraged after a meeting with an RCA representative this afternoon. Throughout our lunch discussion of church networking and community, the LORD continued to pull at my heart. He continued to push me in the right direction. He continued to challenge me.

And it's awesome.

Finally, the LORD has been strategically placing people in my life since I arrived in the great state of Michigan, and it's terrific to see it all fitting together. He has blessed me with great friends and great connections throughout the Grand Rapids community. And now He's calling on me to utilize those relationships for the work of heaven.

And it's awesome.

God's been doing a lot in my life lately. Really been using me. I feel like I'm growing some great communication lines between Him and myself. And I love it.

Surrounded by awesome,
-B

Chapter XXXII: Feeling Fine

I know I updated a day late, but you'll get over it...I already have. Truth be told, my weekend was pretty packed with ministry, so I didn't do very much yesterday.

This past week was pretty awesome all around. Our middle school went great this week, the Misfits did well at their show on Thursday, and the middle school retreat this weekend was pheonomenal. Our students grew a lot towards each other (and with us leaders), but more importantly, they grew in their relationship with God.

We signed up our high school students for the missions trip yesterday, and we have a total of 19 students attending! It's been a huge blessing to watch the growth and development of our high school students as many of them are trying to deepen their faith.

And they're not the only ones.

Our middle school students are also starting to ask some really tough questions as well. It's really awesome to see both groups of students engaging in theological discussions as they ponder the mysteries of the faith. It's great for me as well as I am now constantly reexamining aspects of my faith and continuing to work out some divine ideas.

Thanks for your continued prayer and support. I finally got my CDL last week and I'm now pretty decent at driving our bus. Our ministries continue to look strong and I'm feeling pretty confident about the work that God has placed in front of me.

Feeling fine,
-B