Wandering Off the Road
June 26, 2024
Christ Church officially launched just a few weeks ago, but the planning and praying and working began many months earlier. This was not a decision made in haste, but was one we all truly believe came from the Lord. Once he put this opportunity in front of us, our job was to step out in faith and say “yes” to his call. I’m so thankful for all our pastors and staff who took that step, as well as each of you who are ready to continue your Christian journey (or maybe even just get started) here at Christ Church!
Back in early June, all four of the pastors turned in their credentials with the United Methodist Church and withdrew our membership. I don’t know about the others, but for me that act was bittersweet. There was a bit of sadness, leaving the denomination that formed me, helped shape me as a disciple, and was my spiritual and vocational home for decades. There was a bit of anxiety, leaving behind a guaranteed appointment, and all that came with being an Elder in the UMC. But the overwhelming emotion was peace. Somehow, in the midst of the sadness and the anxiety, the Lord gave me his peace, a peace that, according to Paul, exceeds anything we can understand. In fact, he writes in 4:7, “His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Yes! More than anything, I want to live in Christ Jesus, I want to know Christ, love Christ, and love like Christ.
As I reflected, I realized I wasn’t called by God to a system but to a Savior, and my first allegiance is to him. I gave my life to Christ when I was 12 years old at Kanakuk Camp, I preached my first sermon on “Youth Sunday” at my home church when I was in high school, and I was active in the youth group and was at the church all the time. However, my faith was still immature and was really performance-based, focused on “doing” for God instead of “being” with God. I knew the things I was supposed to do, but I hadn’t allowed the Holy Spirit to penetrate my heart and take over my life.
That happened in college where I was truly discipled for the first time by Gregg Taylor, the pastor at the Wesley Foundation on the U of A campus. All of a sudden I knew my life was going to take a turn. I was a Communications major, which frustrated my accountant father who liked to say, “What kind of job are you going to get with that?!” He was right; I knew Graduate School was in my future. I was considering going to Law School – I thought either law or politics might be where I’d land. I wanted to help people, be of service to people, and I figured those were two places where that could happen. But then, why I don’t even remember, I began thinking about the ministry. It had to have been the Holy Spirit placing that upon my heart, and then he confirmed that call through conversations with good friends, lots of time in prayer, and months of wrestling. It culminated in a night of driving around with a friend of mine, where we ended up parked at “The Pit,” the parking lot outside the North end of Razorback stadium. We prayed a prayer sitting in his car, offering my life to God in ministry. When we finished that prayer, I had this overwhelming sense of peace – I knew what I would do for the rest of my life. Once I said yes to the call, Gregg helped shape it for me, filling in some of the gaps I had in what it all meant. He and his wife Mary offered to drive Ashley and me to Wilmore, Kentucky (12 hours one way!) so we could visit Asbury Seminary. We had visited a few other seminaries, but when we got to Asbury we immediately knew this was where God wanted us.
It was at Asbury that I learned about John Wesley and the power of the Methodist movement. It was there that I knew I wanted to be a pastor who lived and preached grace and truth, personal and social holiness, the value of life in community, knowing Christ as not just Savior but as Lord, and an openness to the power of the Holy Spirit. I graduated seminary in 1995 and Ashley and I have been seeking to live that life ever since. It has taken us across the state serving churches big and small, we had two kids along the way who are now 26 and 24, and God has blessed us in so many ways.
And now he is calling us to this new thing, although it’s really not so new after all. It’s still about serving him, loving Christ, loving like Christ, and helping others do the same. It is the greatest privilege of my life to be one of your pastors, and can’t wait to see where God leads us as we step into life at Christ Church.
Over the next few weeks you’ll be hearing from our other pastors as they share their story; be looking in this spot for these testimonies, they are powerful and inspirational!
