God had some interesting things up His enormous sleeves.

So I have some rather exciting news to tell everyone. Those of you on Facebook knew there was something coming up. If you're on Facebook, and you're not part of my Facebook Prayer group, click here and join.

So there was a reason my support raising has been slow. God had some interesting things up His enormous sleeves.

So God has been working on my heart in the last couple months. As I knew I was going to move back to Portland, I was looking forward to going back to my home church, The Well. I just love that church, and had been missing participating on the worship team. Actually, I had been looking forward to beginning to lead worship on Sundays, a return to a time in my life when leading worship had been one of my favorite things to do. Upon my return to Portland, I got involved in the worship team immediately, already enjoying myself immensely. A couple weeks into being back, I had a conversation with Travis, The Well's worship pastor. He has been working toward planting a church for the last year and a half, through Northwest Church Planters. They really put him and his wife Erin through the ringer to determine if they really should plant a church. They have been recommended to plant a church, and will begin that process in September. So I was talking to Travis about his upcoming shift into church planting mode, and how he would be reducing himself to 1/4 time at The Well. He wanted to know if I would be interested in coming alongside him for this year, and then take over altogether the following year.

I have some baggage when it comes to working at a church. In fact, I wrote about it in the posting below. So while I thought it might be fun to try regular worship leading again, I definitely needed to think and pray about it.

Mandi and I have been trying to pursue what it is that God would have us do with regard to our relationship and moving overseas. We had been trying to figure out what would get us to the field the fastest, though perhaps these courses of action weren't the wisest. The new proposal of leading worship at The Well would mean a delay in getting out to the field (something neither of us really wanted) but would give us time to make wise decisions and wise courses of action for the next steps in our lives. Leading at The Well would also give us a chance to become an integral part of the church, further solidify ourselves in our community and give us even greater support when we did leave for Thailand.

So I told Travis I wasn't willing to commit to anything at that time, but that I would certainly think and pray about it. After a week or two of thought and prayer, I was coming around to the idea. I arranged to meet Travis for lunch to further discuss all of this. When Mandi heard I was meeting Travis for lunch, she put two and two together (with astonishing speed, actually), and asked if they were going to offer me the worship leader position. I told her about the things Travis and I had discussed, and she got this huge grin on her face. While it would mean a delay in our getting to the field, it would provide certain elements to our future together that could be really fruitful. Mandi's excitement only further solidified what it was that God was doing in my heart. I met with Travis and told him I was very interested in the idea, and that Mandi had figured it out and was excited as well.

So Travis brought our discussions before the church elders, and in a short time I had arranged to meet with elder and missions pastor CJ. We talked for an hour about the ins and outs of my heart for worship ministry, and how this development could affect my future work with Pioneers. One thing I appreciated the most about our discussion was CJ's comment that he wanted to make sure that he was not responsible for keeping us from the mission field by pressuring me into this new role. After explaining the situation, that it would provide opportunity for growth and wisdom, he was fine with my take on things. We definitely talked about the way that it seemed God was orchestrating everything in His perfection, that His influence in the timing of my return to Portland and their desperation for a leader was not coincidental. CJ told me I would hear a more definitive word from the elders with the next couple weeks.

A week and a half later, I met with two more elders, Jeremiah and Eric, and they officially offered me the position. We had a great conversation, and I got even more excited that I would get to work with these guys on a regular basis. So, the official word is this: I will take over much of the worship responsibilities over the next year as Travis transitions out, and then take over entirely the following year. The game begins in September.

One more positive note, the compensation I will be receiving from my work at the church will more than make up for my meager financial needs each month, something I had been stressing about. I moved to Portland on faith, something I don't often do. I didn't have solid work lined up, something that makes me worry. But He had an awesome plan in the works, and I'm so glad He gave me the strength and patience to wait for His plan to play out. This is one of the few times in my life where I have nothing I can take credit for. So often, God will do something amazing, and I end up taking at least a little bit of credit for it. But this situation, I can't even entertain the idea that I had anything to do with it. He's just so good!

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