The Journey to here: "The Calling"

Planting a church is a pretty confusing thing! Once the news was out, several people asked me "so, what do you do, go to Tennessee and buy a lot?" (or something like that). To be honest, when Sheila and I said "yes" to what we believed to be God's calling on our lives, we didn't know much more than that. But, over the past six or so months, God has provided a lot of clarification (and a whole lot of new questions) for us!

I know that some of you are very curious about what is involved in "planting" a new church. So, for the next few posts, I would like to walk you through a little of our journey to date (and let you in on some things for the future).

"THE CALLING" (God's will should not be interpreted circumstantially, but we can't ignore circumstances in interpreting God's will.)

Sheila and I have talked about the idea of planting a church for about 8 or 9 years now. Actually, we seriously entertained the idea before we came to New Hope 7 years ago this December. At that time, it became obvious to me that there was much I needed to grow through both in skill and maturity before God would be able to make the most from how He has gifted me.

Over these years, we have felt a tugging at our heart toward this idea, but have had almost NO IDEA what was involved in planting a church. A number of times, we considered it only to be unified under an answer of "not yet."

This past year has been an amazing journey. For some time, I had been feeling that "tugging" again. As my role at New Hope has changed, I have seen God work toward developing passions and experiences that have worked to clarify His direction in our lives.

This past Spring, God really moved in our lives. For Spring Break, we traveled down to Myrtle Beach, SC making our usual stop in Lynchburg, VA to see friends. These particular friends have been a significant part of our lives (particularly since we had investigated the idea of starting a church with them several times.) As we were leaving, Sheila said "if you are waiting on them to go forward in planting a church, I am getting the feeling that we should stop waiting." talk about a breakthorough moment!

The following months were a total whilwind. We have felt, many times, like God was dropping breadcrumbs for us to pick up as He led us to this end. It has been an amazing ride! Here are a few of the "breadcrumbs" along the way:

• Our Community Group (aka "Home Group") Over the past 4 years, these people have been some of the most significant voices of friendship and direction in our lives! This past year, we did a short study on how/why we should be broken hearted for the lost and how to share our faith in Christ. This study, and the growth of those in our group, was the foundation for God to move in our lives.
• The "Fearless" series Every week, as George was preaching, Sheila and I would sincerely understand the exact same calling related to our future. Many times, one of us would grab the other's hand and squeez like we were on the ride of our lives (I think that we are). Frankly, we were getting a bit worn out from God speaking so clearly, I really had no intentions of being convicted the 2 weeks that I preached during that series... no such luck! The David and Goliath sermon has served as the basic analogy for this endevor (maybe you have heard about something called the "economy"... but that's a post for another time)
• "Orange Conference" For months, our children and student minstry staff had been planning a trip to Atlanta for a training event for children and student workers. I was looking forward to taking a break from hearing God working toward calling us to plant a church - I figured a family ministry conference would be a safe place. Man, was I wrong... speaker after speaker challenged me (like I was the only person in the room) to move forward in faith. At one point, I actually wanted to leave the room because the feeling was so strong!

Countless other conversations, studies of Scripture, sermons, songs and much more have all been moments of affirmation that God is in and through this whole thing! I am looking forward to helping all of us better understand what the future holds for us... and how we got here...

Here are a couple of "previews" of posts to come...

• "Investigation" (finding partners in planting)
• "Assessment" (3 days of grueling interviews)
• "Organization" (how effective, successful churches are planted with Stadia)
• "Funding" (how we are going to see all of this happen in the next few years)