This weekend was pretty surreal.
Hopesprings hosted a brother from an alternative mother who is considering becoming the new lead pastor at Hopesprings here in Bangor. That is wild...it is pretty rare for a pastor to be involved in the search for his replacement, and, in most other situations, it would seem unhealthy, with egos wounded and ownership threatened. It could be a mess, but we all trust that it is God authoring our story.
We have all been incredibly challenged by the steps of faith ahead of us as a leadership team and as a church. We have wondered about the timing. We have wondered how our family in Bangor would react to the news of us taking this adventure, and whether we were ready for something so crazy as an organization.
But seeing our people surround this weekend with support and time and energy got me really excited about the Bangor-end of this adventure. We had more folks hang out in the gathering than ever on a Sunday in August, and the vibe as we celebrated what God was doing among us was palpable and exciting. Our people are ready, and they are willing to jump in and embrace change. They are also incredibly sad to let us take Hopesprings with us into a new place...sad to say goodbye to our family, yet they get the big picture of our larger mission and vision as a community of faith.
The people of Bangor are willing to GIVE UP THEIR PASTOR to see the kingdom of God advance in a place they assume is just corn and cows. And they love me. They support me. And they have been listening to message after message preparing them for the journey ahead, and are willing to embrace the unknown because they trust God knows. That He is up to something. That what lies ahead of us is more important than clinging to the awesome that lies behind.
My love for them has grown because I can see how hard this is, and how much God has worked in this group of people to get that we have to give ourselves away to experience the life of Christ, to see people and cities resurrected with good news.
What good thing has God asked you to let go for the unknown?
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