Sitting in church this morning, the wind blowing the snow at near-blizzard capacity, and listening to a man boldly, with the full authority of his calling, proclaiming a message of perseverance, integrity, and power, I was humbled and content in looking back over the past 8-9 months.
I do not know, as I sit here on my couch this snowy afternoon, what will happen in just a couple hours from now. Our church will come back together, and soon thereafter a vote will be held, and the decision of our church will be made. I want, with all that I am, to believe that the conviction I have felt in my heart over the past several months is true, that the man who was presented in front of our church today is the man that God has called and set apart to be the pastor of our church. I believe it with every fiber of my being that this man and our church have been uniquely fitted together at this time and in this place to join together and further the glory of Christ and advance His kingdom among our community. And, as I sat this morning to hear this man preach once again, I was taken back to the many resumes we read, the many sermons we listened to, and the several people along the way who have been praying for this day... it was a journey that was fully and completely dependent on the sovereign grace and guidance of God. There were no accidents along the way, only this intentional guidance of a God who loves His people.
I believe it was by this same intentionality that this man was in our church, preaching this morning. Even if, after all of this, we learn that he is not the man that God has called to our church, it was not by accident that he was here this weekend, or that he preached the Word this morning. And if he is the man that God has called, then this morning served as an amazing introduction into an exciting new time in the life of God's church at First Baptist Nixa.
I believe I know what the vote tonight will bring, and I feel strongly that the right decision will be made and that discernment and direction were made clear by each of those who sought God out in prayer... at the same time, I want to find contentment and joy in the outcome of tonight's vote... and I want to be confident that those fruits are in no way contingent upon the outcome. I want them to be rooted in Christ alone. It is Christ whom I serve, and in Him alone do I anchor my peace and my joy.
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