Examining my heart

Well, this weekend was great. Busy but great. We had the covenant partner dinner on Friday night and it was amazing! Things went so well. All of the guys on the Pastor Support Team really stepped up and helped Josh and I make this vision a reality. I had been looking forward to this dinner all year! Ever since day one of Freedom Life I envisioned a yearly celebration of what God had done, as we prepared for the year to come and revisited our commitment to the Vision God has given Freedom Life. The night went better than I ever could have imagined! Everyone laughed and talked and danced and cried, and...well you get the picture. So what now...today is a new day full of as much opportunity and promise as yesterday!

Tonight it was hard for me to preach. I felt drained. I am not sure why, as I was still so pumped from last night. Kinda weird, but I almost felt like I wasn't even there. Like when you wake up from a nap and everything seems like your still dreaming, but your not.

Some of the guys from church invited me over to play poker with them afterwards, and as much as I longed for the chance to go I opted to pass in hopes of a restful evening. Well, here I find myself...unwinding with random thoughts.

A few people turned in their evalutation forms from the dinner tonight. I was encouraged that people are taking me serious about being honest. I am glad to be in a place that loves me enough to help me grow as a pastor, and share with me what there impression is of where I could grow. Before I opened the envelopes I felt God speaking to me saying, "Be open, be receptive, and be encouraged." So that is what I did, and I was. I was greatly encouraged by the words of wisdom, affirmation, and evaluation that were shared with me. It is amazing what happens when you sit down and listen to someone elses perspective of things. It is so easy to get caught in the here and now and fail to realize things that are so obvious to others. That is why I am so excited about these evaluations. Some medicine is tought, but necessary for health. I am just honored to be in a church that encourages me to be a better pastor through love. I have been in churches that ate pastors for breakfast the second they stepped out of line. I have seen the deacons rally to try and vote out the pastor because his sermon hit a little close to home for them. It is an ugly thing to see churches that will expect the pastor to minister grace to everyone, but don't have any left for him. I am so glad that I am not in that place.

I love the church that God has me serving! I love the people. I love their children. I love to see them worship. I love to hear them pray. I really love to see how they rush to greet new faces and are so quick to embrace them. It is a place where I feel loved, protected, and free to know, free to grow, and free to sow!