Boldly Going to Alabama

this blog goes Historical

2010-04-19T12:32:00.003-05:00

This Blog is officially closed... It shall remain as an historical record of how we got from Fayetteville to Alabama. if you're new here I suggest you start here and read your way to the present...

Thankful

2009-06-09T11:32:00.003-05:00

Running a coffee shop is a very random thing. There is no discernible pattern to how business will flow from week to week. Some days the caffeine zombies attack at dawn with a relentless stream of bodies like a trail of ants flowing through the shop. Other days they hold back and bide their time, waiting to attack at 8:30 with an overwhelming wave striving to pillage our precious stores of muffins and lattes.

All your caffeine are belong to us!

Today was the latter, which left me with a quiet, contemplative morning of introspection. As many of you know I like to walk and pray, its a luxury I don't get much these days. As I was walking in short laps up and down the counter this morning I noticed that I couldn't think of much to say. It was nice and peaceful, my heart was light and I found myself giving thanks for the many ways God has been blessing.

Last winter my prayers were very different, I had lots to say and most of it was very chaotic.

”Lord help us!”

“Lord provide for us!”

“Lord what is the stinking deal?”

We were short of everything: cash, time, sleep and patience to say the least. I wanted to quit, cry , scream and kick someone all at the same time. If you have ever actually screamed at God (and lived to tell the tale) then you know what my state of mind was like. Our Father is patient though and in the few lucid moments I had with His Word He took me to scripture after scripture. In the end I learned a little about real faith, real trials and a real walk of dependence upon Him. The funny thing is that not much has really changed. Business is better, we are even expanding our hours but we are still short of everything. What has changed is that instead of frenzy there is peace and trust.

I have not arrived, but I did have a great morning and for that I can say “Thanks God!”

odds n ends for the week

2009-06-02T13:30:00.003-05:00

My return to Facebook
Yup, I left but I am tired of the incessant whining of my family, so I came back :) I got tired of hearing “Dad did you see So and So's new pics on Facebook? Oh, wait you don't have Facebook anymore” or “Honey, did you hear what so and so said on Facebook? Guess you will never know...”

Is my family ruthless or what?

Supposedly my account resumes just like I left it but there was a disclaimer that somethings (friends?) might not come back and may need to be re invited. Sorry if you got dropped. Anyway, I'm there and you are free to pelt me with your wit and wisdom again.

New business hours
Starting Monday we are expanding our daily hours to 6am-9pm and Saturdays hours to 8am - 8pm. Nate is going to be working in the evenings until he leaves for Basic Training. Our hope is that our hours will get established enough in June and July that we will be able both justify and afford to hire someone to work a few hours a day. Its scary to think that we might have our first employees by August. Pray for us.

Walking under rainbows...

2009-06-02T12:15:00.004-05:00

What a beautiful night we had. It started with a great pork BBQ dinner with family and friends. From there we caravaned over to the Bates Memorial Stadium which is lovingly referred to as “the Hole”. It was a hot and sweaty southern summer evening and there were about 2000 of us anxiously checking our cellphones to see if the threatening clouds were gonna unload on us. Sure enough just as the Seniors were all lined up to enter the stadium, the lightning flashed, the thunder rolled and the rain came down. We quickly retreated to nearby Hillcrest Baptist Church and waited about 30 minutes for a gentle summer rain to pass us by. When we returned to the Stadium we basked in the glow of rainbows and parted clouds that were alight with the amber rays of the fading sun. The rain cooled us down and turned disaster into a lovely lower Alabama evening. It was a hopeful backdrop for one of the most important nights in the lives of 378 Seniors who had gone through the storm and overcome.

Enterprise celebrates newest graduates The Enterprise Ledger

It was such a blessing to see Nathan walk across that stage and complete this leg of his journey. Thank you Lord that we were privileged to see our son finish well. How sobering it was to think that there were 8 sets of parents who didn't get to see their child walk last Thursday. I pray the Lord is a constant comfort to them as they rejoice despite their tears and heavy hearts.

We are so excited about the opportunities God has opened up for our boy in the Army. Nate we are proud of all you have accomplished. Be strong and courageous, do not fear, do not doubt what God has called you to or what He can do through you. Mom and I love you very much.

For those who don't live in the politically incorrect south let me say what a blessing it is to live in a part of the country that still prays before High School events. We had two key note speakers, our state Governor Bob Reily and Mrs. Kathy Strunk who's daughter Katie was killed in the tornado that destroyed EHS. With all due respect to the Governor, Mrs. Strunk owned the stage. Kathy opened up her heart and poured out a survivors tale of her search for peace in the whirlwind that took Katie and temporarily derailed her teaching career. In her words... “I opened the Bible and looked for the reason that God took my daughter, but what I found was my first love.” Perhaps one day, by God's grace, I will teach just one sermon that will be of equal caliber to the message we heard. It was all Jesus, all gospel and all heart.

To put the evening in perspective, my brother Mike, who lives in San Diego, said “If this graduation had happened in California a dozen lawsuits would have been filed before it ended.” God Bless the South!

It was a good night :)

Resurrection Week

2009-04-06T19:45:00.003-05:00

God is so good, He gave me a wife who remembers everything. I have a tendency to get busy and myopic so she reminds me about things like appointments, commitments, major church holidays like Resurrection Sunday... you know those things that people tend to forget.

Resurrection Sunday just snuck up on me this year. I did feel better last Sunday when only one person (besides Denise) knew it was Palm Sunday - good job Rosemary. We are going to do two things this year as we celebrate the Resurrection this year.

On Friday night we are going to have a mini Passover Seder at 6:30pm at Sam and Selina's house. it will be a pot luck dinner so if you want to attend call Denise or Selina to coordinate what to bring. The address is:

507 East Hickory Bend
Enterprise, AL 36330

On Sunday we will have a time of worship, communion, and celebration at the coffee shop. You know any Calvary Chapel celebration will involve food so bring your favorite breakfast treat to share - cheerios are ok but we prefer scrambled eggs, fried ham, biscuits and sawmill gravy.

Last Sunday in Genesis we watched as God started stirring Jacob up to go back to Canaan. In a unique series of events God transfers Laban's flock to Jacob and unites the family in preparation for the journey south. We learn about how God stirs us when He has plans for us. We also take a look at Laban's main problem - He loved money and used people rather than loving people and using money. Click here to listen in: Gen 30:25-31:16

Remember, if you miss a Sunday or want to catch up with our study you can always go to: http://ccenterprise.org/audioarchive.html

God bless you as you remember our Lord's death and glorious resurrection this week.

Catching up

2009-03-28T10:17:00.006-05:00

So much for resolutions... on the up side I have worked hard to maintain my Worst Blogger of 2008 title.

Here is my catch up post.

We have been continuing thru Genesis, spending time looking at Jacob and Esau as adults. This is very familiar territory for most of us, watching Rebekah and Jacob conspire to deceive Isaac and steal a blessing that was already his. There is so much good application in chapter 27, we took our time going thru it slowly over 3 weeks.

Week one: Gen 26:34-27:29 - I'm sorry, I forgot to hit record on the DVR.

Chapter 27 captures one family's worst day. Everyone is messing up and God records it all for us in all its gory detail for us to see and learn from.

We looked at how Isaac's walk with God had cooled to the point that he was willing to deceive his wife and knowingly give the blessing to Esau, despite the fact that he knew that God intended to give it to Jacob. In Isaac's life the cooling seems to be a result of the combination of parental favoritism (He loved Esau over Jacob) and feeding the flesh.

We also looked at Esau's selfish character traits. He rebelliously took multiple wives, which were a grief to his parents. Even worse, his view of the Blessing and the Covenant were completely skewed. He wanted the material blessing but had no desire to walk with God or carry on the covenant relationship God established with Abraham and Isaac. This is such an easy trap for us to fall into today.

Perhaps the most sobering picture for us is when Jacob enters the tent to deceive his father. All of Isaac's senses failed him. He was blind and couldn't see that it was Jacob, His hands were fooled by the goatskin, his nose was thrown off by the scent on Jacobs stolen clothes. Only His hearing told him that it was Jacob, but he disregarded the one sense that was reliable. We have the same problem when we go to make decisions based on our faulty feelings and senses. Throw in a heaping scoop of the flesh and dash of rebellion and you have the makings for a catastrophic decision. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Safe and Godly decisions come from our time in the Word and active relationship with our Father in Heaven, not by our faulty feelings, fleshly opinions and unreliable senses. In all, Chapter 27 is a sad look at believers who are messing up. They are not believing or trusting God; rather they are operating in the flesh; lying to, cheating and disrespecting one another.

Week two - Gen 27: 30-28:9

We continue the story in Genesis 27 this week, picking up with Esau and Isaac realizing they had been outmaneuvered by Rebekah and Jacob. Esau goes into full victim mode, crying, begging and revising history. Some of us know this drill well because we use it to manipulate those who are easily swayed by a tear and a heavily manipulated story. Oh look Esau is crying, hes been done wrong, someone give him a hug and a special blessing. Forget the fact that he is a fleshy, selfish co-conspirator in and attempted blessing heist. It's not a pretty picture to look at when we realize its ourselves we are looking at in the pages of Scripture.

Esau, instead of repenting and spending time talking it out with the Lord seeks comfort in sin. He plans to murder his brother after his dad dies. There is nothing like a little more sin to make us feel better when we get busted in our sin.

We end this week watching Rebekah continue to manipulate her husband, convincing him to send Jacob to her brother Laban's house, to get a wife. Jacob is about to meet his match when it comes to swindlers. More importantly, God will use Jacob's time there to begin the transformation from "heel catcher" to "Israel".

Week three - Gen 28:10-22

As we pick up the story In Genesis 28 Jacob is running for his life from his manly man, wookie-looking, expert hunter, outdoors man brother. I bet his neck was very sore from looking over his shoulder. As he reaches Luz he pulls up a rock, collapes in exhaustion and meets the God of his fathers. His experience is very reminiscent of our early experiences with God as new believers. He hears from God in a dream, sees how active God is in his life, utters his first, clumsy prayer and starts his walk of faith. You know its a great Sunday when you can talk about dreams, angels, Led Zepplin and God in the same teaching.

Week four - Gen 29

This week Jacob makes it to Haran, meets Rachel, falls in love and gets married. In the process he gets to see how ugly his sin looks when Laban turns the tables on him and shows the "heel catcher" what its like to be caught. Thru Jacob's life we see how awful it is to "reap what you sow". We also see how dangerous it is to make decisions "in the world" by negotiating with Laban rather than seeking the Lord for direction. Like many of us Jacob is trying to make it using the Frank Sinatra "I did it my way" approach. God will show him how well that works out. Its a tough week for our friend Jacob, he wastes 14 years of his life in servitude to a cruel master to get what he thinks he wants and ends up with more than he bargained for. Sadly, like many of us who have been here, he never talks to God once. Hang on guys, this does get better :)

Spotlight on Isaac

2009-02-26T14:45:00.003-06:00

We looked at Genesis 26 this week, the only chapter in Genesis that deals exclusively with Isaac. Like his daddy Abraham's story, chapter 26 starts with a famine. God often tests us with situations to see where we will turn. Isaac was headed in the wrong direction, towards Egypt. God intervened and kept him in the land but unfortunately, like many of us He chooses to live on the edge of obedience. In Gerar, Isaac struggles with honesty and the consequenses of living on the edge. Finally has to confess his lie but when the sin is confessed and cleared up, God blesses him with the provision that makes him the envy of his neighbors. Finally God uses a series of moves to get Isaac back to the place he needs to be and finally gives him rest at Beersheba.

In this chapter we see so many of the struggles we each encounter on a daily basis: dealing with sin; trusting the Lord; learning to walk with him in the Spirit; conflict with our enemy (the Philistines) and finding His promised rest.

Here is the link for Sunday's teaching: Gen 26

I hope you enjoy some time with the Lord in His Spirit and find your rest this week.

Arminianism study notes

2009-02-25T20:49:00.002-06:00

Just a quick post to get the notes from tonights study up, read and enjoy.

Arminianism study notes

God bless!

7,300 days later...

2009-02-20T12:17:00.003-06:00

Denise and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this week. It is hard to imagine that we have been together that long. I know that many sages wax eloquent about how fast time passes but I feel like it really wasn't that long ago that I looked across the parking lot of Casa Roble High School on that warm spring day to lay my eyes on Denise for the first time. She was holding her books with her arms crossed; she had on a cute little short sleeved sweater and skirt (perfectly matching and accessorized of course); the breeze blew her long hair ever so slightly and her eyes were shaded by a pair of the 1980's signature sun glasses - Ray Bans. All I could say was WoW! We fell in love that spring of 1985 and have never looked back. I wouldn't trade her or any of our many up's and downs for anything. Hand in hand we walked together thru ten years in the military and ten years in the Ministry in Fayetteville. Now we are six months into our third "ten year period" in Alabama as church planters.

Holy and Blessed Father who is the source of all good gifts, I thank you for the gift of my wife. I am awed by your grace as you have preserved us through these last 20 years and I am amazed that you continue to draw us closer together. Thank you Father for picking such an excellent bride for me, I worship and praise you for taking such good care of me...

The signs we miss...

2009-02-17T10:11:00.015-06:00

True Story...

It's 2:30 pm on Saturday afternoon, I have been closed for about 30 mins and I am cleaning up and getting ready to go home. I am at the register ringing out when I hear this loud banging on the door. I look up and there is this guy standing there looking at me and knocking. I figured there must be a problem so I run over to the door, open it and say "how can I help you?" He looks at me like I am stupid and asks me if I am closed. TIME STOPS... What to do? Do I:

A. Sarcastically tell this man that I always lock the door, turn off the "OPEN" sign, and put up the chairs during business hours

or...

B. Politely tell him that I am sorry but we close at 2pm on Saturday.

for the record, I did option B, but think about how many signs he missed. There is the shut off "OPEN" sign right above the door, the hours sign posted on the door, the locked door and the chairs up on the tables. Why did he feel the need to bang on the door to confirm that I was closed?

Some things we will never know...

I have a confession to make, I also missed a sign this week. It was the "low battery" indicator on the Digital voice recorder. Which means that 5 mins into the teaching this week the batteries died on the recorder and I can't post Sunday's teaching. I have confessed, I repent and I wish to forsake this sin and walk in freedom from now on... do you forgive me? Thanks!

We finished Genesis 25 this week, we talked about the birth of Jacob and Esau and how Esau traded his birthright for the "Lentil Stew and Bread" combo meal. I think I would have held out for the "Hot and Spicy Mutton with Goats Milk" Combo but hey, to each his own.

Verses 32-34 show us Esau's opinion of his birthright. In vs. 32 He says "what good is it (the birthright) to me?" Like a few teenagers I know, he thought he was about to die of starvation. Moses then says in vs. 34 that Esau's actions show that he actually despised his rights as the firstborn.

So what is a birthright? As the first born Esau would have gotten a double or greater portion of the inheritance. He would also have become the leader of the family, bearing the authority of his father Isaac. Finally there was a third inheritance that was unique to this family, The Covenant of Abraham. As firstborn he would have been the one to inherit the covenant promises, he would have been the one through whom God fulfilled his promises. This was the birthright he despised. Was this the reason God prophesied Jacob's leadership in the family in vs. 23?

And the LORD said to her: "Two nations [are] in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; [One] people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger."

Gen 25:23

The Author of Hebrews describes Esau as a "profane" man.

...lest there [be] any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. Heb 12:16

"Profane" is an awesome word that we just don't use anymore. It has a few meanings but one basic idea that ties them together. If something was profane then it was not allowed into the Temple. It didn't have to be something something completely blasphemous either... like an Idol, it could be common things too - like bacon (totally unauthorized in the presence of God back then.) Esau's problem was that he valued satisfying his flesh over his birthright, which included his relationship with God, this is what made him "profane"

We can be profane too when we choose anything, fleshly or common, that gets in between our relationship with the Lord. I want to encourage you to spend some time with the Lord this week and see if there is any "profane" thing that is causing you to despise, neglect or think nothing of your birthright as a Christian. Just ask Him to show you anything that might be out of place and be willing to deal openly with our Father if He has anything to say.

oh... and stay away from red lentil stew... the lentil and sausage soup at Carrabbas is way better anyway.

Calvinism study notes

2009-02-12T12:00:00.005-06:00

Ok, just a quick post to put up the notes for those who wanted to read more after Wednesday's study. We are taking a few weeks to talk about Calvinism and Arminianism in response to Jesus statements in John 10:26-28.

Our Goal is not to prove or disprove Calvinism but to give information so we can be Berean, read God’s word and make up our minds for ourselves as we pray thru the scriptures. Too many of us form our opinions based on what men say without looking into it. I want to help you to be prepared to give an answer for what you believe – from scripture, not just opinion. Finally I wanted to give scripture to show why Calvinists believe what they believe. Calvinists are NOT heretics. The convictions they hold on too are based on some very convincing scriptures that need to be dealt with.

Perhaps through this approach we can bring unity thru understanding of what our brothers believe; this is an "in house argument" that is NOT worth dividing over.

Calvinism study notes

What's in your dirt?

2009-02-12T11:29:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday we looked at how Isaac and Rebekah's dealt with her closed womb. We quickly saw that her physical barrenness had a parallel to our spiritual barrenness. Like Isaac, our husband Jesus not only prays for us but shows us thru His teaching how to get thru the "dry times" in our lives. Here is the link to last Sunday's teaching:

Gen 25: 19-21

I would also like to recommend this fantastic teaching on the current recession from Dr. John Piper:

Please remember to pray for Denise and Nate to have safe travel and a great visit while they are in Fayetteville this weekend.

God Bless!

Communion Sunday

2009-02-06T10:06:00.006-06:00

What a great passage to be in for a communion Sunday... Genesis 25 is all about bent and broken relationships. It is scary to see that not much has changed since the days that Isaac, Ishmael and their brothers from Keturah walked the Earth. We still fight amongst ourselves and allow circumstances and grudges to divide families. Here is the teaching link for the week:

Gen 25: 1-18 - http://www.ccenterprise.org/audio_files/gen%2025a.mp3

We also got a few pics to share this week for those who want a mental picture of what we are doing here.

Rosemary, Derrick and Megan are about ready to start worship. This is about as full as the house can get before we have to move to one of the back rooms. Anyone not using about 30 folding chairs?

I am really going to miss sitting around the table like this when we have to move into the back room, they are just so darn convenient.

Selina has Sunday school this morning. We have the coolest land lady in the world. She is letting us use the un-rented suites behind our shop for free. While I want her to get the income from them eventually I appreciate that the Lord is providing a place for Sunday school.

Sorry this is late

2009-01-30T10:20:00.003-06:00

It's been one of THOSE weeks... pray for us as we get to the end of the month. It's always an anxious time for us as we wait and see how the Lord is going to amaze us with his provision.

Last Sunday we covered one of my favorite chapters of Genesis, chapter 24. I love the picture of the New Testament Chruch hidden in the story of Abraham getting a bride for Isaac. Chuck Missler always says "the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed."

here is the link: Gen 24

Here is the link for the article on the Old Testament Gentile brides:
http://www.schneblin.com/studies/pdfs/seven_gentile_brides.pdf

God Bless!

Back to Genesis

2009-01-19T17:46:00.004-06:00

We returned to Genesis this week, finishing up Chapter 22 and talking about the death of Sarah and how we use Abraham's example to deal with grief and loss. It is so exciting to have every chair we own full and to see folks hanging out and fellowshipping afterwards. God is so good. Here is the link:

Genesis 23: Gen 23

I will try and get the notes up this week but here are the links for further reading on the tomb of Joseph and the Cave of Macpelah. These aren't deep or scholarly but they have lots of links to pursue if you want to know more.

http://www.shechem.org/kyos/engkyos.html Joseph's Tomb in Shechem
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/machpelah.html - Cave of Macpelah

Keep us in your prayers this week.

Monday is Joshua's 22'st birthday so we want to rejoice with him - Happy Birthday Bud!

Defining Terms

2009-01-15T12:56:00.004-06:00

Greetings,

Unlike past years where I poo-pooed New Years resolutions I have decided to be like the rest of the sheep and follow the herd.

Baaaaa!

My resolution is to start posting weekly here to stay in touch better. I also wanted to to be more diligent about putting up the Sunday teaching links the support info some of you guys have asked for. So without further adieu... here they are:

Defining Terms - 2009 Vision for CC Enterprise: Defining Terms - 2009 vision
Notes:

For those with lots of time on their hands, here are a few teachings by Mark Driscoll that are outstanding:
http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/conferences/christ-controversy-and-cutting-words
http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/text-and-context/putting-preachers-in-their-place
http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/text-and-context/the-ox-qualifications-of-a-church-planter

Have a great week and keep us in your prayers.

God giveth and sometimes giveth some more

2008-12-19T14:10:00.004-06:00

I wanted to praise the Lord, He is so good. We were blessed greatly this week by some folks who visited the Sunday Morning Bible Study last week. They thought we needed some couches to make the coffee shop more inviting... Here is what the Lord provided thru them

As I said in my last post, God has been stretching us way beyond anything we though we could endure. He has also been faithful to go thru every contortion with us. We are blown away by the grace and patience He shows and by the provision. Praise the Lord!

Does God give us more than we can handle?

2008-12-19T13:31:00.003-06:00

This last 30 days has been very tumultuous for us. We have been as close to quitting the ministry as we have ever come and seen the wonderful blessing of our God. 2 Cor 1:8-11 says:

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. NKJV

If anything describes how I was feeling this last month, it was that. Though I am sure our experiences were nothing compared to the stress and anxiety Paul and his friends must have been feeling when he wrote this. Still, I am thankful that God allowed it, for I know the truth now; and I know from experience how to live thru a difficult time.

As I shared with a few close friends about what was going on I heard over and over "Don't worry, God will not give us more than we can handle." I even quoted that to myself and to God as I prayed. One morning I heard God tell me "Is that what I said?" So I had to go scrambling back to the Word and check it out. Actually 1 Cor 10:13 says:

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. NKJV

DOh! It said that God will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able. With a little more research I found that there is no promise anywhere in scripture that says God will not give us more than we can handle. Which makes sense because If He only gave us situations we could handle, we would never turn to Him. God uses the overwhelming things to drive us to the end of ourselves and into His arms.

Here are a few links, that say this much better than I can. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/indexqid=20071204203240AAIyoTn
http://wadeallen.blogspot.com/2008/01/more-than-i-can-handle.html
http://myderbe.wordpress.com/2006/12/12/giving-us-more-than-we-can-handle/

Its nice to know God was teaching me thru my trial... He is to be praised!

Genesis 19 links

2008-12-19T13:15:00.004-06:00

We are going thru Genesis on Sunday morning and last week we talked about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. As promised here are some of the links I found that discuss some of the more recent archeological research on the possible locations of the five cities of the Plains that were destroyed in Genesis 19:

http://www.pinkoski.com/content/view/20/35/
http://www.wyattmuseum.com/cities-of-the-plain-02.htm
http://anchorstone.com/Sodom-Gomorrah/
http://www.bibleplus.org/discoveries/sodomfound.htm

And the award for the worst blogger of 2008 goes too...

2008-12-03T07:23:00.012-06:00

Wow, what an honor it is to recieve this highly coveted award, I would like to thank my... what? I am out of time? (wanders off the stage...)

My task today is to catch everyone up on the many things we have been up too since Oct 3rd.

Where to begin...

For those who are interested in what life is like as a bi-vocational Pastor/Coffee Shop owner. I wake up at 4am, take a shower and head to the coffee shop and open up. I like to go in early so I can get some good quiet time, some mornings I get more than others before the caffeine fiends start showing up. Business is pretty steady until about 10:30 or so, after that I do paperwork, pay bills, order stuff, sneak some studying in or play a game. Business picks back up at about 2:30 or so and is somewhat steady until close. Denise is also busy, she shops for me, does a bunch of publishing, comes and covers for me on some days to give me a break, bakes, participates in Ladies Bible study, keeps house and helps Rebekah with homeschooling. We have Bible study on Wednesday Night, so its a long day, but the fellowship is always very refreshing. Saturday we are open 8am to 2pm so I get a few hours off in the afternoon, we can either flake off or do things around the house. Sunday is my Favorite day, we get to worship and have Bible study in the mornings until about 11am. Then its home for lunch and a nap. Denise usually scraps with friends at the shop in the afternoon and I go hang out with Sam and watch football or play games with some of the other guys. We hang out together in the evenings and get to bed early to start the process over again early Monday morning.

Speaking of the Bible Study, we have finally moved it into the Coffee Shop. Our landlord Max is such a great guy, he has allowed us to use some of the un-rented suites behind us for Sunday School at no charge. Praise the Lord!

One of the sadder aspects of ministering in a military town is that people come and go alot. Even though our little Bible study is only a few months old we have already had to say goodbye to Gareth and Irma Burkinshaw. The Burkinshaw's had a very harried October as they completed the CH-47 (Chinook) course, Renewed their wedding vows on the beach in Destin, FL and packed for a move to the frozen wastes of Ft. Drum, NY. We will miss the good times we enjoyed with them worshipping and fellowshipping for the few months they were here. Keep Gareth in your prayers, he will be deploying to Iraq soon, leaving Irma to brave the bitter New York Winter. Stay Warm Irma!

Gareth, Irm and Avah

I asked do ya? They said they did, everyone cheered and then we ate :)

A common site, senior citizens on the beach in Florida

While we said goodbye to one couple also said hello to our son Nathan. In November, Nate moved down to be with us in Enterprise. While the circumstances of his move south weren't the best, we missed him terribly and its wonderful to have that "whole" feeling as a family again. We are getting the full effect of that wholeness with four of us crammed into a 2 bedroom townhouse. Though it was suggested, we didn't banish Nate to the garage. Instead he has claimed the Living Room as his bedroom. This required me to move my computer upstairs and squeeze in between all Denise's crafting stuff. We are adjusting in that uniquely Lane way to being around one another again. Nate is making new friends at Enterprise High School and is looking forward to a second Varsity Soccer season in the spring.

I think that covers the big stuff, I keep telling myself I will be more diligent about keeping you all up to date.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, God is doing some wild and sometimes scary things in our lives these days. It's not easy here, but when my eyes close and my heart settles in those few moments before I drop off to sleep I know He is with us and continuing the work He started. I will praise Him for His greatness, I will lift up His name as the only wise God who sees the end and knows the best way to get there. Our desire is to walk more closely and live more fully in the center of His will and work here in Enterprise. In this we will not be moved.

We are open!

2008-10-03T16:50:00.004-05:00

Ok, we have been open for 2 whole weeks. I know I should have posted this 2 weeks ago but its been non-stop for us. Business is growing each day but will need to grow a bit more for us to actually live on our sales. For today the rent is paid and we are eating at least three times a day so Praise the Lord!

We are learning the ropes of running a business which is very different than running a church :) Fortunatly we have lots of people who love to give advice on what we should be doing. I think that if you offer advice you should fund it, but I keep that to myself most of the time. I loved the customer that told me we should have flat screen tv's (I think she meant more than one) to watch while customers wait in line. I am trying to decide whether that was a comment critical of the wait or a loving bit of advice from her lengthy travels and experience with the coffee shop trade. I will assume the latter and add it to the list of improvements.

Seriously, we have really enjoyed the times that people wanted to hang out, drink their coffee and chat. The one aspect of having the shop that I was looking forward to is building relationships. We do have a growing list of regulars that we get to chat with each day. I pray that grows into neat opportunities to share God's love and His Word with them.

Who wouldn't love coming to work with this beauty every day?

Bek's favorite job is cashier, which she excels at.

Pray for our Inspections tomorrow

2008-09-14T20:08:00.006-05:00

In God's perfect timing we are ready for inspections, we have the health department, City Engineer (building inspection) and the Fire Marshall coming tomorrow. Please pray for grace and favor as we go thru these inspections. After we pass we can then apply for a City of Enterprise Business permit and then we are in business. We are so excited :) Here are some pics of the finished place.

Welcome to Boldly Going, can I help you?

The study table, brewed coffee and snack prep area

A view from the back corner

Top secret coffee prep area with classified equipment and ingredients-shhhh!

Call me if you need a description of this room

The office and storage room beyond.

Things are happening FAST now...

2008-08-28T09:22:00.010-05:00

I am sorry for the lack of posts this month, we are in the final phases of getting this shop up and running and we have been putting in some long hours. Here are some updated pics of what we have been up to.

The flooring guys started two weeks ago. We decided to go with a stained concrete floor. they had this huge grinder that ground the floors down to a base level

After that they cut "tile marks" into the floor, you can see Tropical Storm Fay moving in outside...

and then it was back to polishing, at this point that old concrete slab felt as smooth as marble

Finally the stain was applied and there was more polishing, the final steps involved 3000 grit diamond "blades." Don't mind all that drywall and concrete dust, we were told we couldn't get the floor wet for a week.

With the floors done it was time for the wall guys to finish up the walls and install the counter tops so we could start painting.

The plumbers also returned and got our sinks, mop sink and bathroom hooked up.

Mike Birkey from Cactus Creek Coffee spent two days down here getting all our equipment installed, he is a truley gracious man. We had to immeadiatly cover all our new toys while the wall work and DUST continued to fly.

Meet Tommy our contractor

Our Signs were installed on Wednesday evening while we were at Bible study, it was a neat surprise.

Is that not the bluest sky you have ever seen?

After 3 very long days we got the painting done and Tommy's guys started getting the trim up, we are very pleased at how nicely all the colors came out.

We still have alot to do with all the finish work, clean up, furnishing and inspections but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Lord, you have a very nice coffee shop, and we appreciate all the grace and provision you are pouring out on us thru this process. We are learning to trust you, wait on you and most importantly give our expectations over to you. Your will be done...

Nate turns 18

2008-08-22T11:13:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday was Nate's 18th - Happy Birthday buddy.

To celebrate the occasion Denise and Rebekah travelled up to North Carolina to spend the weekend with him. They took all the fixings for a celebration dinner. Here are a few Pics from that dinner:

Nate blows out the candles in his coconut creme birthday pie.

Nate singing lead for the "Rock Band"

Nate and his adopted little sister Gabby opening presents

Nate and Bek enjoying the evening

It seems a good time was had by all, sadly Mom and Bek had to leave the next morning. They will return in two weeks for the Fayetteville Academy game. See you then...

Sunday morning study starting August 10th

2008-08-07T13:39:00.003-05:00

Before we arrived in Alabama, we decided we would attend the Calvary Chapel in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida on Sunday Mornings until we felt like the Lord wanted us to start our Sunday morning fellowship. I knew with gas prices near $4 per gallon we wouldn't drive the 90 miles each week so the plan was to watch their live internet video stream on the off weeks. In a litte over two months we have actually only gone twice. Never the less, we (the Lanes and Blakleys) were enjoying our Sunday's in their living room worshipping together and breaking bread afterwards. A few weeks later the Edlers joined us and the first church problem offically reared its head. Each week we had six adults, one Rebekah and SIX kids under nine. After two weeks we decided to start a rotation to teach the kids (was it our desire to minister to them or just keep them quiet? The world may never know.) Thus the Calvary Chapel Enterprise Sunday school program was born. We may not be a church, but we have Sunday school - lol!

I knew I didn't want to offically start "church" until we had enough people to minister to all who would be coming. I figured we would at least need some basic nursery care and an elementary age Sunday school class (got that one) not to mention a PLACE to meet. As usual my expectations and God's will collided. After we had to improvise last week when the Sunday morning live feed just vaporized I decided to pray about starting this week.

My other main issue with starting "church" was a time issue. Preparing to teach 2 times a week has a rather hefty time committment. We will also be opening up the coffee shop soon and to be honest I have no idea what that is going to take out of me. As I tried to calculate six 14 hour work days, study time (12-20 hrs) and then the actual time spent teaching (2 hrs) I came up with about 106 hours per week. So as I started whining to the Lord about this He reminded me that I can do all things thru Him and that His provision is not limited to financial matters.

So with that in mind I see a green light and the door is open... I didn't come all this way to turn back. Keep us in your prayers.

P.S. For Jodi and Laura, I got this cool thing today.

It's a digital voice recorder and I will be able to post up the Genesis study and after the first 18 chapters you will be able to pick up where we left off in Bible 101 - Promise kept :) You can go here for my audio archive, there is not much there yet but it will be coming soon.

More progress...

2008-08-07T13:19:00.005-05:00

There is more progress to report this week, despite a slight delay due to flooring issues we are on track again. Tommy and his crew are knocking out the serving area dividing wall and finishing up the back office, bathroom and storage area. We will be priming the walls today and meeting with a second flooring guy to get the concrete floors stained and sealed up. Hopefully by the end of next week the walls will be painted, floors done, trim nailed up and plumbing connected so we can get the coffee making equipment installed. God is so good! We are hoping to be open by the last week in August.

Keep praying please!

After going back and forth about installing cabinets, we finally decided to put up a "serving wall" and use the stainless steel prep tables you see in restaurants. They are much cheaper than cabinets and the health department loves em.

The cash register and ordering area

The serving and prep area

Finishing up the back office, bathroom and storage area

Bathroom floors patched up and ready for fixtures

The plumbers are plumbing HOORAY, hooray!

2008-07-28T19:23:00.007-05:00

A quick update, I am guessing you know what is happening here right? Yes at long last the guys with the droopy drawers have shown up to get some pipes installed.

This is the mandatory employee bathroom I had to install for the employees I don't have, but its ok because I love the health department and I love making sure plumbers don't go hungry.

Someone was having fun with their shiny new jackhammer, I bet the lawyer next door decided today was a golf day.

I swear they had to cart this dirt in here... I mean seriously, where did it all come from?

another pic to take up valuable Internet bandwidth

I was actually impressed with what they got done today. When Ray the plumber told me it would only take two days I thought "yeah right" but tomorrow I may have to think "gee mister plumber guy, I'm sorry I doubted you." There is still work to do outside to hook up the drain lines to the sewer and there are water lines to run and a water heater to install but things are moving right along and I am stoked about that.

Go Plumbers!

In the news...

2008-07-16T08:28:00.013-05:00

I wanted to put up just a few links to some articles I have been following on worldnetdaily.com.

If you were unaware, there are some subtle moves going on in our country, the UK and in Canada to criminalize our faith and God's Word. Christians are being attacked because of what the Bible says about homosexuality. Homeschooling and parental rights are being attacked. Traditional marriage is being redefined. So far most of the action is happening in isolated pockets of California, Colorado and some north eastern states but I'm sure that it won't stop there.

I didn't post this to start a petition or organize people into a political action campaign, just to inform and encourage people to pray. I have been praying for our state and local leaders here in Alabama, that they would be filled with wisdom and grace from the Lord to;

Protect our freedom to meet together
Pray publicly
Teach the Bible publicly without restrictions
Worship openly
Peacefully share our faith with others

Let me quote from 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 :

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. NKJV

Prayer is powerful.

I am not against petitions or political action, I applaud those who can do it in a humble and Godly manner. I am just not cut out for that sort of thing. God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that the healing in a land comes from:

A humble heart
Prayer
Seeking his face
Repentance

Let me encourage you towards simple obedience and trust that God can and will do what He says He will do... Amen?

Oh, here are those links...

San Fran Catholic attack results in lawsuit
'Gay' man sues Bible publishers
Legislator: Law allows banishment of Bible
'Religion in private' OK, declares ACLU
Criminal crackdown targeting Christians
Biblical message now criminalized
Christian photographers fined for refusing same-sex ceremony
Government to pastor: Renounce your faith!
Guv strikes state's gender-specific restrooms
Cover up! Locker rooms going coed
Transgender lobby to intimidate petitioners
Voting rights challenged in 'coed showers' lawsuit
'How-to-be-homo' seminar canceled
Class for kids: How to be homosexual
Parents warned of 'hate speech' during 'gay' promo
Crackdown on biblical speech challenged
Superintendent's orders to worried dad: Butt out!
Citizen revolt forces vote on coed showers
Dad challenging 'manipulation' of kids
Judges: 'Gay' exposure OK for kindergarteners
Judge boots parents from son's schooling
'Gay' lessons violate civil rights, man says
Parents urged to boycott homosexual indoctrination
Student told: 'Leave your faith in the car'
California ripped as 'too queer for school'
2 more 'sexual indoctrination' bills vetoed
Christian-education push goes to states
Sexual indoctrination bill vetoed
Hundreds rally to threaten Gov. Arnold with 'veto'
Gov. Arnold urged to cancel sexual indoctrination
California Christians urged to yank kids
Gov. Arnold tosses school moral codes
Dobson: Tell Arnold to halt 'gay' agenda
California ripped as 'too queer for school'
Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian children
'State interest' argued in teaching homosexuality
'Gay' groups: We have rights to your children!

Psalm 131

2008-07-14T11:28:00.002-05:00

As time for our shop opening is getting closer I have been struggling with our lack of funds to get everything completed. It seems like every morning I have been getting a little anxious and then I remember to pray thru Philippians 4:6-8 and God has been faithful to bring peace. I feel kind of bad that this has been a morning by morning thing for me, like “where is my faith Lord?” but He is gracious and patient and on Friday I felt like He really blessed me in my morning devotions.

LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern
myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.
NKJV

At first I was a little mystified by this Psalm (tell me I'm not the only brick in the kingdom please). I didn't understand why David used a weaned child to be his example of hope and trust in great and profound matters. It seems like a nursing child is the better picture of being totally and completely dependent. So I asked the Lord what was being communicated here? He reminded me:

A weaned child is no longer drinking milk.
A weaned child has grown a bit and is no longer a baby.
A weaned child is ready for more solid food.
A weaned child has seen the faithfulness of his mother and should be able to trust her as she introduces more challenging things, like meat.

Slowly I started to understand that He was telling me that I was the weaned child, that I have grown and am ready for more challenging things. He reminded me of His faithfulness and provision in the past that has met all my needs so far. His direction for me is:

to calm down and quiet my soul
not worry about great and profound things that I cant understand
put my hope in Him because he is faithful

God is so good. I wanted to share this with you guys so you can be encouraged like I was.
Praise the Lord!

Construction progress

2008-07-14T10:40:00.002-05:00

Praise the Lord we are back on track with construction on the coffee shop. After a long wait for the city engineers approval and a re-bid from the plumbing/electrical contractor we are moving forward again. Our contractor is dry walling and has started framing. Here is this weeks update...

Drywall near the front door is taped and has its initial mud coat.

Framing around the office/storage area

Bathroom and mop sink area

Storage closet

Keep us in your prayers as we get closer to opening up, we have so many things to do. I am praying for:

Wisdom to know how to schedule all these tasks
Ability to do a few things we have never done (like purchase kitchen equipment...)
Provision to get the work done and equipment purchased without using credit
Grace and Patience to wait on the Lord (see the devotion on Psalm 131)

What brings you to our State’s Capitol Jenny?

2008-07-10T13:11:00.004-05:00

Ok so this post is a bit out of order but…

On July 1st Nate came for a visit. He flew into Montgomery’s regional airport. He was actually supposed to fly in on June 30th but due to the airlines continued woes with scheduling we had to wait an extra day for his arrival. We figured that since we had to drive all the way to Montgomery we may as well see a few of its sights.

To be honest I didn’t know Montgomery was the state capitol – doh! As we drove downtown I quickly realized where we were. We stopped in front of the capitol building and got a quick pic and then went across the street to see the “First White House of the Confederacy.”

Unlike most historical sites this one was not well maintained. I guess the old adage about the winners writing the history books is true. Thus is the fate of the capitol of the losing side. Anyway, it was actually very interesting and had many more artifacts than the more “politically correct” sites I have seen.

With the time we had left we moved onto the Church that Dr. Martin Luther King pastored at. It was around the corner (irony alert!!) and very well maintained. It is still in active use but we couldn’t go inside unless we paid to go through one of the hourly tours. We didn’t have time to wait so all we saw was the outside.

Finally we arrived at the Airport which was much larger than I expected and picked up Nate. Hug, Hug, Kiss, Kiss and we were on our way to get some dinner and head home.

A day on the Emerald Coast

2008-07-10T11:54:00.002-05:00

Until CC Enterprise is up and running we are attending Calvary Chapel Emerald Coast in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. I wondered why they called it CC Emerald Coast rather than CC Ft. Walton Beach. As soon as we visited the beach I found out why. As a North Carolinian when I thought of the Gulf of Mexico two words came to mind “flat” and “murky.” Boy was I wrong. The beaches here are beautiful. Clear green water (thus the name emerald) and white sand beaches. I was stunned as we drove around. Even the inland waterways are nice. As much as I loved Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, this place blows them away.

Alas, it is a bit flatter,

On July 6th we set out at the crack of dawn to hit the early service and then spend the day at the beach. We wanted Nate to see it for himself since our pictures never quite do the beach justice.

Nate and Jason playing in the sand

The kids playing with a hermet crab we found while searching for shells

We worshipped and were on the beach by 11:00am. Afterwards we hit a few outlet malls in Destin, stocked up on bagels at Panera Bread and headed home tired and a bit sunburned but content.

What is it about the ocean that makes everything better?

First Fourth

2008-07-10T10:31:00.005-05:00

We had a great time on our first “holiday” as residents here in Enterprise. Our usual tradition in Fayetteville was to head out to Ft. Bragg and watch the fireworks, staying with that tradition we went to Ft. Rucker this year.

The Crew we rolled with, Jeremy, Julie and family, us and Sam and Selina and family

Ft. Rucker is where Army aviators are trained so when we arrived we went over to see all the whirly birds. I wanted to hop in the Apache, but they wouldn’t let adults in.

Jason you lucky kid...

As it got dark, we headed over to what I assume was the parade field and staked out a spot. Ft. Rucker put on an excellent show. They had a huge stage set up with two large screens, lights and smoke machines. The “Silver Wings” Army band played a variety of tunes from Swing to Pop and even some Country. Let me tell you, you haven’t heard country music until an Army Sergeant in his Class B uniform (complimented with a totally unauthorized cowboy hat) has sung it for ya. Good times!

As we waited for night to completely fall, Sam took us over to the food vendors to get some “green boiled peanuts.” I was very apprehensive about boiled peanuts. Back when I was in the 82nd, Chaplain Lax walked in to my office one day and offered to share his boiled peanuts. I had seen them on sale in different places but had never tried them. Now I like peanuts as much as the next guy but as soon as that boiled peanut hit my mouth, out it came. I don’t even remember what it tasted like, but it had the consistency of snot and there was no way I was swallowing that thing. I told Sam about my experience with them and he assured me that “green boiled peanuts” were very different. Well I couldn’t very well Pastor in this town and not have experienced one of its local delicacies so I grabbed up that green boiled peanut and popped a couple in. I must admit they were better, but not something I would knock down small children to get more of. They tasted like two mini baked potatoes. If they can figure out how to get some bacon and sour cream in there then I will be all over them.

We returned to our spot and settled in for the fireworks. After the Chaplain prayed and the lights dimmed the sky began to explode with color. I am sure I will never quite understand the thoughts that were going through Francis Scott Key’s mind as he watched Ft. McHenry getting bombarded thru the night but I still get choked up when I hear the verse that says “Our Flag was still there…”

"and the Rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air..."

Thank you Lord for this country where we can worship You and teach others your Word. Thank you for your protection and your provision thru these last 232 years. We praise and worship You for these blessings!

New phone numbers finally!

2008-07-03T12:58:00.003-05:00

I love ya Verizon but I just couldn't "hear ya" in Enterprise, perhaps the dude with the glasses needs to take a field trip here. We moved over to Alltel. Here are our new numbers:

Stephen: 334.806.9386
Denise: 334.806.2649
Rebekah: 334:806.9389
Nate: 334.806.9387

Stephen and Nate's numbers are working now, but we had to order Denise and Bek's phones online so they won't be active until Tuesday the 8th.

Is it broken?

2008-06-30T10:08:00.005-05:00

How great is the love of a mother? Its so great that she is willing to suffer so that her children will be happy. This very great love was displayed by my wife this weekend.

Nathan is coming to visit and one thing he loves is Mello Yello. So we bought him a case when we went shopping Saturday night. Me being a dad and having little to no love just tossed it in the garage but Denise decided she wanted it to be cold for her baby... this was the beginning of woes.
As she picked up the case to load them into the refrigerator the bottom broke open and all the cans started pouring out all over her toes. This was the result:

Actually these pics were from Sunday night. Saturday night was bad, I made her endure an ice bath and elevate her foot. Sunday morning she still couldn't put any weight on it which ruined our plans to go to the beach after church. So Sam and Selina and ALL the kids came over and we watched the live stream in our tiny place. She was good all day on Sunday and kept it elevated so by Sunday evening she could hobble on it a little. Praise the Lord! Today she can walk around pretty well and will be able to come with us to Montgomery to pick Nate up tonight.

God is good!

The vision sharpens

2008-06-28T12:07:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had a season in your life where you lived in a certain book of the Bible? The last year and a half was one of those seasons for me. I have been living in the book of Joshua. It started with a men’s inductive study in Joshua and then moved on to another 6 months in Joshua as I led teacher devotions at Fayetteville Christian School. Finally in the last month before we left for Alabama I read thru Joshua as part of my thru the Bible morning devotions. I can’t tell you how many times in this last year that God has spoken thru the words He wrote in Joshua to me in my daily situations and once again I am hearing Him speak to me from this powerful text.

If you asked me a few months ago what my vision was for the church God is going to raise up in Enterprise I would have said the standard Calvary Chapel party line

“To teach thru the Word, equip the saints and give them an opportunity to serve.”

That still is my vision by the way, but in my prayers this last few weeks I have asked the Lord:

“Why did you bring us here?

There is no shortage of churches here. According to the City of Enterprise website there are about 20,000 people here and a little over 20 churches listed on the various web sites, which I am sure is not exhaustive.

“Is there not a remnant here? Is there not one faithful church here?”

God didn’t answer that question, but he did remind me of two stories from Joshua.

In Chapter 14 we read about Caleb. He was one of the original 12 scouts that spied out the land and one of 2 (Joshua was the other) that gave a good report. Moses promised him in Numbers 14 that “the land his foot had trodden will be his inheritance” and so Caleb asked for the mountain where he knew the giants lived. Caleb was 85 yrs old when he made this request. I love this story because Caleb is an inspiration to me. He is fearless and strong, even in his old age because of his faith and he is not afraid of a challenge. He doesn’t ask for the beach front property on the Mediterranean Sea or the fertile river valley; he wanted the mountain where the giants were living in fortified cities. That mountain would one day be called Hebron which means “fellowship” or “communion”.

After we arrived here I met a man who is part of a “group” that we would consider to be a cult. He is a wonderful person and I like him a lot. I felt like God told me he would be delivered from that cult and would walk in the light. I am not an expert on cults, I am not really even sure what this group believes but I do know one thing about cults; they train their people to argue effectively with Christians. In a way they are like those giants on Caleb’s mountain. They are strong in what they believe and they are well fortified in their little groups. They are not easily drawn out or dealt with. I think most people are content to leave them alone but Jesus died to free them from their chains and darkness. I don’t know how to approach them or argue with them but that is not what God is calling us to do. Part of what we are here to do is to tear down those strongholds thru prayer and shine the light in so they can see the way out. I am also concerned for those who call themselves Christians but are bound up in legalism. They are in a similar place and God brings them to mind when I am praying.

In Chapter 17:14-18 there is a story about the sons of Joseph. They wanted more land because they were a numerous people but they couldn’t expand because The hills near them were covered with forests that would take a lot of work to clear and the valleys they were near were still filled with Canaanites who had iron chariots. They wanted a place to expand that was easier to settle in. Joshua told them in vs. 18 (if I may paraphrase a bit) if you want more land then go clear out the forests and drive out the Canaanites. I think God is telling me something similar. God didn’t bring us here to come in and set up a church in an area that other people have cleared and secured. There are areas here that no one is ministering in because it’s difficult. There are people here that no one is reaching because they are a challenge. I don’t know all the details yet, but I do know that we are not here to build on anyone else’s foundations or squabble over anyone else’s sheep.

Don’t think for one second that I know how to do this but God does and He will show us how.

As our eyes look out over challenging terrain our prayer is… Lord, give us the determination to clear out a place where we can sow Your Word. Give us strength by Your Spirit to face the Canaanites and their iron chariots. Establish us upon the mountain that was a fortress of darkness guarded by giants so we can fellowship with You.

Welcome to the new blog

2008-06-24T11:46:00.002-05:00

I have moved all the posts over, but unfortunatly all the comments stayed back at the other blog.

You may want to re-register if you want to comment. I am not sure if this blog will send email notes about new posts (I should probably go find that out...)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this blog format better, I know I do :)

The Bible study will begin June 25th (6-16-08)

2008-06-24T11:39:00.003-05:00

Now that we are settled, we will start our first Bible study in the book of John on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm.

We will be meeting at Sam and Selina’s to begin with, but will move it to the coffee shop when it is up and running.

Sam and Selina
156 County Road 681
Coffee Springs, AL 36318

or click here for a map.

Please pray for us as we begin to see the vision God has for us in Enterprise unfold.

Prayer requests (6-16-08)

2008-06-24T11:36:00.001-05:00

Please pray that we would have favor this week with the Coffee County Health Department and the City of Enterprise engineering department as we have to submit our plans for thier approval so we can pull our permits for construction.

Its funny that last friday in my devotions I was reminded to be in submission to the governmental authorities and that if I am doing right I have nothing to fear. So I don’t want to fight city hall or bring any beaurcrats to thier knees, I pray that we will humbly do everything necessary to be in compliance with all the codes and regulations that are established.
We did get a small wake up last week when we found out that construction would be slightly more extensive than we had anticipated. The health department said we had to have a bathroom “in” our store for our employees that was under our exculsive control. We will also have to rip up the carpet and put down tile for sanitary reasons. These are added expenses that we were not counting on. Fortunatly the Lord knew this would be an issue and His plans and provision remain intact.

Let me testify of my God’s forsight (Can I get an AMEN? We are in the south y’all) When I first heard we would need a bathroom I went into panic mode, cost aside that would be another 50 sq. feet I was going to loose and I only have 900 to start with. Well, when I arrived at the shop to talk about changes with our contractor, our landlord Mr. Ellis was there. He listened to what the health department was going to require and said. “Oh, did I mention that the Lawyers who are in the suite behind you are moving to the suite beside you, so If you want you can add that bathroom right here in the back corner. That way you won’t lose any square footage for the coffee shop.” NOW can I get an AMEN? What used to be the lawyer’s waiting room will now be my employee bathroom. No fuss, no mess… at least until they start jackhammering up concrete to install sewer drains.

God is so Good!

Construction begins (6-7-08)

2008-06-24T11:03:00.002-05:00

We are moved into the townhouse and mostly unpacked so in my prayers I asked the Lord “what can I do to get this coffee shop started?” I heard him tell me to go take some measurements, make a layout plan and figure out what to do to get the permits and licenses I will need. So I wrote these things down and a few mins later I got a call from Max Ellis, the owner of the building we will be leasing space in. He asked if we could meet at the building to talk. I assumed he wanted me to sign a lease and pay the balance of the deposit. As usual I need to stop assuming.

I showed up at 10am and there was Mr. Ellis and his contractor Tommy. We small talked for a bit about the move and adjusting to Alabama. Mr. Ellis then changed the subject and said, “Tommy is here so he can head up the construction that we need to get this place up and running.” Next thing I know, we are taking measurements and laying out plans for how the coffee shop will be set up… just like God told me, only I didn’t know the contruction would be starting so quickly. Later that day we were meeting with the electrical and plumbing contractors to get the specific power and water requirements. The best part is that Mr. Ellis is paying for all the construction up front, he told me he would roll the costs into my lease and I could pay it back to him that way. I was blown away. I still havn’t signed a lease or paid anything more than my deposit. God is just doing it all and I am very thankful. I can’t wait to see what else He is going to do with this coffee shop… and the church He will raise up around it.

We are still praying for guidance and provision concering the coffee making equipment. We are also praying for Tommy and his crew as they work, give them safety and skill. We also need God’s wisdom and guidance as we apply for permits and licenses; and his grace in compliance with building codes and inspections. I am also praying that we will be a good witness to Tommy and Mr. Ellis.

God is so Good, We worship and praise Him in the spirit of Joshua 23:14:

…and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.

Our new address (6-4-08)

2008-06-24T11:01:00.004-05:00

Praise the Lord, the uhaul is unpacked. We got the keys to our townhouse late yesterday afternoon. (disclaimer: not all these pics were taken on move in day... actually none of them were but just work with me here ok?)

Welcome to 134 North Springview Dr.

Here is our new "hood", would it have killed them to leave a tree or two?

Just as we opened up the truck to start off loading it a pop up storm started dumping torrential rain on us. I had to laugh! So we praised the Lord in the storm and spent the next two hours inside putting away the few things we got off the truck and completing our move in inspection.

Our garage/storage unit.

Finally the rain stopped and we got back to unloading everything.

The "Man Corner"

The living room

Denise had this awsome idea about buying couch covers instead of new couches. It was kind of a no brainer, $100.oo for covers or $1500.00 for new couches. Anyway, when they arrived we quickly found out that "one size fits all" is not always the case but with some cut, cut, staple, staple, tuck, tuck we got them looking pretty decent.

The Kitchen

The dining area

I want to thank the Lord for a few of our new neighbors (Bobby, Anwar and Basil) who graciously helped us offload a few of the heavy items. My two mighty girls helped me with the rest. We finished up at about 10pm and headed back to Sam and Selina’s for a late Taco Bell supper before showering and crashing.

Our new address is:
134 North Springview Dr.
Enterprise, AL 36330

Unfortunatly our Verizion cell phones don’t work very well down here so I suspect we will be getting new cell numbers withing the next week or two. I will update the home page when I get my computer up and running at the house, Sam doesn’t have dreamweaver on his.

We have arrived (6-2-08)

2008-06-24T10:59:00.000-05:00

After a longer than usual drive down (11 hours instead of the usual 9) we pulled into Sam and Selina’s house on Saturday the 31st at 10pm central time safe and sound. Praise the Lord! We spent our first Sunday in Alabama enjoying the Sunday morning service at Calvary Chapel Emerald Coast via the internet and resting. Monday morning we will be securing our rental place and runing some errands. Lord willing we will move in on Tuesday and start the next chapter in our lives, setting up shop in suite C of Ellis Plaza.

Boldly Going!

Prayer Requests (5-31-08)

2008-06-24T10:58:00.000-05:00

Please pray for the following:

1. Safe travel, I am very intimidated by this huge moving van and car dolly.
2. Help unloading when we arrive, or for super strength for me and my mighty girls.
3. Provision and direction as we get this Coffee house up and running. I pray God’s Spirit will give me the skill and forsight to know how to do something I have never done before.
4. Most importantly, what is the next step in getting this church planted? I have lots of ideas but I want His guidance.
5. Comfort for Denise and Rebekah as we adjust to this new place and home.
6. Protection and wisdom for Nathan during his senior year at Fayetteville Christian School back in NC.

We are so thankful for all the prayers of our friends and family and smile as we remember you all in our prayers.

Moving day (5-31-08)

2008-06-24T10:57:00.001-05:00

It’s Saturday morning, today is the day we finally step out into the adventure God called us to almost 5 months ago. The Uhaul is packed, Nate is moved in at the Thayer’s house and the papers are all signed for the closing on Tuesday. We have said our sad goodbyes to so many of our friends here in Fayetteville and were sent out with hugs and blessings. We will miss Fayetteville because God has blessed and grown us here; but we have set our faces like flint to go to Enterprise. It’s a scary thing to leave your home for the unknown, but God reminded me not to set my eyes on the things I don’t know, but to set my eyes on Him, who I do know. We praise our God and worship him this morning for calling “such as us” to do this new thing. He is so good!

A change in plans (5-27-08)

2008-06-24T10:50:00.002-05:00

We had the best time in Alabama 2 weeks ago. We went back down thinking we would find a rental place so we wouldn’t have to move our things twice. We had also started thinking that we would look and see if perhaps the Lord was leading us to a different location for the coffee shop. Denise and I weren’t sure why, it was kinda like the story of Jonathon and his armor bearer in 1 Sam 14; we thought, lets just go and see.

Well, as we were driving around with Denise’s long list of rentals to look at we had to pull over to enter an address into the GPS. We were driving along Rucker blvd (which is the only road in Enterprise that goes to… you guessed it Fort Rucker) and we pulled into the parking lot of Ellis Plaza which had a For rent sign in the window of suite C. Denise said “you should call the number” to which I replied “Naa, lets keep looking". I wasn’t immediately impressed with the property - boy was I wrong. Denise insisted I call so I hopped out into the cool rain and peeked into the window as my cell phone rang. I spoke with the owner who said he could meet us there in a few minutes. Since we had some time to kill we entered the building for a look-see. The inside was very nice. The other tenants in the building included one of the largest Real Estate Agencies in Enterprise and a small Law office. Denise decided to go talk to one of the agents that was a friend of a Sam and Selina’s while I continued to look around.

Ellis Plaza... Calvary Chapel Enterprise?

I noticed that the building has a double door entrance and many offices and even a large conference room. It also has an empty 2nd story. When the owner, Mr. Ellis arrived we went and looked into the suite we were interested in leasing which was perfect for our coffee shop. It was even on the end so we could put in a drive thru if we needed to, though routing the traffic could be tricky. As we were discussing the details of how the lease would work, Mr. Ellis said “Hey, let me show you this…” He walked me out to the back of the building and showed me a large, unused warehouse. It was like the sun coming up at dawn as my brain finally connected all the pieces. Not only was this building perfect for the coffee shop, this building had everything we needed to house a Church. As I stood there telling the Lord “Tell me NO now Lord… this is too perfect” I looked out the large warehouse door and notice a huge empty field right behind the building. I looked up at Mr. Ellis and asked him “Do you own that field also?” He smiled and said “yes I do.”

Suite C, the new location of Boldly Going Coffee shop...

I wonder if he has a price in mind to sell that building for… since I strongly suspect that the Lord intends it to be Calvary Chapel of Enterprise in the near future. He is so good

Why Obey? (5-7-08)

2008-06-24T10:22:00.001-05:00

In my devotions this week I came across two passages (Deut 28, Psalm 78) that made me want to give a short testimony of God faithfulness to our family and why we are choosing to obey Him in this season of our lives. Deuteronomy 28 talks about the blessing of obedience and the curse of rebellion. Psalm 78 talks about the value of remembering God’s past faithfulness and passing that on to our children. This testimony is for those who ask “How do you know it was God?” or “How can you be sure?”

Back in 1995, I was in the process of changing my job in the Army. I had been a Military Policeman for 6 years but I wanted to do something different so I went thru the training to become a Chaplain’s Assistant. The school was up at Ft. Monmouth, NJ and I was away for about 8 weeks. When I returned I was transferred to the 82nd Airborne and eventually found myself assigned to the Division Artillery Chaplain section. There was Chaplain Griffin, Staff Sergeant Wooten, Chaplain Albertson and me. I loved it.

About a year later I ended up back in New Jersey to attend another school, the Basic Non-Commissioned Officer course, which I would need to get promoted to Staff Sergeant. During my two months there I heard from the Lord. He very specifically told me that I would be shown an opportunity to enter into the ministry and I was to take it. I knew this meant that I would be getting out of the Army. I had 7 years in service at that time and would have 10 yrs in service when my enlistment ended. I called Denise to tell her and she said God had told her the same thing, the same day. We knew this was Him. We didn’t know when or what but we kept our eyes open. Three years later the opportunity came. We were invited to come on staff at Calvary Chapel in Fayetteville as the church administrator (that what you call the church secretary when it’s a guy. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. The pay was less than half of what I made in the military and there was no health insurance. On the plus side I would be able to live in the church parsonage and we would be given free tuition at Fayetteville Christian School. At first my heart was torn. Was this the opportunity? Was it wise to step out and take such a low paying position? How would we live without health insurance? I got mixed advice from those we sought counsel from and didn’t find any comfort there. It came down to this… were we going to obey the Lord and take our chances with him or seek safety in the hands of the US Army? We chose the Lord, and in Oct of 1998 we joined the staff. We have never regretted it.

God is so faithful. We loved our time in the parsonage. I could walk to work. Nate and Bek could walk to school because Fayetteville Christian School shared the church property with us. My job in the church office was fantastic and God used me to get all the church’s files and finances straightened out. We had lots of opportunities to minister. In the first year I went from church secretary to overseeing the administration of the whole ministry. I oversaw Sunday school, Nursery, Scheduling, Planning, Logistics, Admin, Men’s ministry and home fellowships. The only thing I didn’t do was teach on Sunday morning and counsel. As hard as it was at times, I wouldn’t give up those experiences for anything. By 2003 I was ordained and my title changed to Asst. Pastor. Everything was very good… then God chose to start the next phase of the plan.
The main problem at Calvary Chapel in those first years of the new millennium was sharing space. We had two ministries on our 11 acre site and our Christian school was growing far faster than the church was. We clashed about everything. Pastor Joey and I often mused about what it would be like to just be a church and deal with church issues. That musing turned to prayer which turned to God leading. We had to make a decision. Would we follow God, sell the property, give up our safety and security on Ireland Dr. and move out to build a building we didn’t have the money to build on property we didn’t yet have or stay and continue to clash? I remember having a long talk with the Lord in the backyard of the parsonage. We had such a perfect situation there. Why did we have to step out in faith again? Well we did step out and God proved Himself faithful as He always does.

I remember one very specific incident that God used during that time to get me thru the uncertain days while we were building the new church. In December of 2003 Denise and I had purchased a home, since we would have to move out of the parsonage anyway. God was so gracious to us, I didn’t think we could ever find a better house than the church parsonage but God never ceases to amaze me with His blessings. On the first morning I woke up in the new house, I remember sitting in the sunroom, reading my Bible and thanking God that we were given such a nice place to live. I told him “I can’t believe I get to live in such a nice place”; He told me that I would sit in the new church building and say “I can’t believe we get to worship in such a nice place.” God reminded me of that promise to comfort me many times during the next few years, especially when we were short of money and I didn’t know how we would ever finish the building. But true to his word; in March of 2005, on the day before the final inspection, I was sitting in the café of the new building waiting for the fire alarm guys to finish working. I started looking around at everything God had done and the words God had spoken to me two years prior came pouring out of my mouth. My eyes welled up with tears as I said “I can’t believe we get to worship in such a nice place.” God is faithful!

Now, 3 years later we are ready to step out again. God has spoken to Denise and me and told us what He wants us to do. Yes it’s more challenging this time but is there any question in my mind about what we should do? No. God has shown us that He can be trusted, even when we don’t fully understand the how’s and why’s.

We are signing a contract (5-7-08)

2008-06-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

I know its been a while since our last post but…

Praise the Lord, after only 3 weeks on the market, we have accepted an offer and will be going to the Lawyers office on Thursday to sign a contract to sell the house. We are selling to a wonderful young couple with two kids. We had been praying that the Lord would send us a buyer who would love the house like we do and be blessed in it. It was so fun to see them walk thru the house. The look on Wendy’s face reminded me of Denise when she saw the house for the first time. We are very excited that this couple is buying it. Here are a few things you can be praying for over the next 30 days as the closing date approaches.

1. That everything goes smoothly with the sale process (inspections, appraisal, paperwork, red-tape…)
2. That God would bring His peace and blessing over the house
3. That God would preserve the house for Wendy and Robert, protect them from things breaking, pests moving in, pools flooding.

Thanks for your prayers…

The Announcement (3-1-08)

2008-06-24T09:42:00.003-05:00

Pastor Joey made the announcement of our departure in a rather unique way last Sunday. He was leaving that morning to go on the annual Fayetteville Christian School senior missions trip, so he video taped the announcement and we played it that Sunday Morning.

Sad Day (3-7-08)

2008-06-24T09:41:00.001-05:00

Today was my last day in the office. It was kinda bittersweet to have to pack up my books, take down my pictures and clean out my office. I took my first load home thursday, heavy stuff like books and files. Today was mostly clean up, patching holes and painting over them. I printed and folded my last bulletins, deleted my email account and “sterilized” my office computer. I’m gonna really miss those dual monitors.
I still have to go in tomorrow (Saturday eve service) and make sure the everything is covered since Pastor Mike is out of town and I will be playing escort for a guest speaker next week. I will also continue teacing Bible 101 on Wed evening and high school Sunday school until I leave (or get replaced).
Nathan asked me if I was still “Pastor Stephen?” I told him yes, but I won’t be using that title for a while… I’ll just be Stephen until God raises up the church we are going to start in Alabama.

Barista 101 (3-19-08)

2008-06-24T09:23:00.004-05:00

I started my training to learn the inns and outs of making and running a coffee shop last week.

Welcome To Cactus Creek Coffeshop in Raeford, NC

Ground Zero, where the Noobie Barista gets his baptism by fire... err steam.

Day 1: I spent the day with Mike Birkey who owns Cactus Creek Coffee. We started with a partially dissasembled expresso machine to show me the guts (yeah it was gruesome) and all about how it works. I took in most of it, but the really important parts were the safety shut off valves, the wrong noises one can make and why, the gagues and what they mean. From there, we went into the serving area to see how espresso is made, what it should look like and how much should be in each drink. We had to make a few things and unfortunately drink them (yum!), I also learned about fraps, smoothies and syrups (again learning about quantity to ensure consistancy). Our last stop was in the roasting room. In here I learned all about the different coffees he roasts and how they are roasted. I even got to roast some (well watch actually.) We talked about a few other things, I asked a bunch of silly questions and then Mike sent me on my way. I feel like I can intelligently discuss coffee now - great job Mike!

Na, I'm not really working here, I couldn't get Sandra to take a pic while I was working.

Day 2: My day started early as I showed up at the Raeford Rd. Cactus Creek location. I met Sandra who is “The wo-Man” (as far as making coffee is concerned). She walked me thru a few things and then BAM people started coming. I learned to make so many things that morning I didn’t think I could possibly remember it all, but it was fun. I quickly noticed how she seemed to have a relationship with many of the customers, they would discuss things that are going on in their lives and with their children. I can see how this business will open many doors for ministry. I throughly enjoyed my first day.

People drinking coffee I made, we dragged the dead and dying out before we took the picture

Sandra the Master Barista. Mike may have trained me, but Sandra showed me how things REALLY work :)

Day 3: and on have been more of the same, learning a few new techniques each day and seeing how the business flows, I am amazed at how quickly time flies by. I think I am getting close to being able to take the ball and run with it… Lord willing we will be up and running before I forget everything I have learned.

I wanted to take the time to thank God for hooking me up with Mike and Sandra. I can’t believe how much time and effort both of them have invested into learning this business. To this day I have not paid a dime to Mike, I havn’t signed any contracts or made any commitments. Mike Birkey is a great businessman and Christian brother.

Oh, and his coffee is fantastic… go to his website or his store and buy it up.

Prayer and fasting (3/29/08)

2008-06-24T09:21:00.001-05:00

Greetings friends,
I have it on my heart to start praying and fasting over a few things now that the time is getting short for us to move down to Alabama.
I learned alot about prayer and fasting this last year at CC Fayetteville. I hate to admit that I havn’t been much of a “faster.” I remember when I was a new Christian I tried a 24 hour fast and got very sick. I realize now that I was under the impression that God would be impressed if I showed Him how much I could suffer. Well I suffered alright. Back then I didn’t understand fasting, I didn’t understand the purpose of fasting and I wasn’t seeking God about anything in particular… it was just a ritual and God squashed it. I went many years before I considered fasting again. Last year Brett (one of our Elders) found a tape series by Dr. Charles Stanley on the purpose of fasting and prayer and shared it with us.
Here is a link to that teaching.
I was blown away. Now that I was armed with knowledge I joined my brother elders in fasting and prayer and this time everything was different. I didn’t get sick, I heard very specificlly from the Lord and we were drawn together and had unity to act with one heart in obedience to the Lord. It was fantastic.
In this spirit I wanted to ask if there were any brave souls who would like to join us in praying and Lord willing fasting for the following things:
1. Very specific guidance on exactly how to start this ministry in Enterprise. Starting a Bible study is the obvious first step but if there is any guidance on what day to hold it, where to meet, what part of the Bible to start in and anything else the Lord wants to do that we are not thinking about; these are the things we want to hear.
2. Pray for the people who will be involved in the new work in Enterprise. Pray that God would draw those who desire to hear the Word, worship in Spirit and truth, fellowship, build close abiding relationships and serve the Lord.
3. Pray for the people that God will raise up (eventually) to serve as worship leaders, nursery and sunday school teachers, elders, deacons and whatever other ministries He will use this part of His body for in Enterprise.
4. Pray for guidance and provision to purchase and start the coffee shop which will be our “tent making” while He raises up this new work. I want it to be all He wants it to be. I want to walk step by step with Him and not get out in front (in the flesh). I need patience, I want so much to get started but He has us waiting on Him at the moment. I am sure this will all make sense in the end, help me to be obedient and rest as we wait on His perfect timing and plan.
5. For our Kids, we need guidance on whether we should homeschool Bek or enroll her at Enterprise HS. We are also waiting on the Lord to show us clearly how to handle Nate staying in Fayetteville.
6. We are also seeking guidance and provision as we sell the house here in Fayetteville and finalize the myraid of details necessary to move.
Thanks so much for reading this and for praying with us. If you would also like to join us we will be fasting on Wednesdays (perhaps other days also as the Lord leads.) Please feel free to post here (or email me privatly) if the Lord puts any specific things on your heart as you pray.
finally, I wanted to share these links with you which have some great guidance from a friend and former Pastor at CC Fayetteville on planting a new church:
Church Planting Pointers Session I
Church Planting Pointers Session II
Church Planting Pointers Session III

Pics of the coffee shop (2/26/08)

2008-06-23T23:39:00.006-05:00

Here are a few pics of the coffee house we were planning to buy. Obviously we didn't end up buying it. So why did I move this post? Mainly so I could practice putting up a post with pics. Looks cool eh?

The Front Window:

The main dining area, yes that pattern is painted on the floor.

This is the serving counter

Behind the counter, I know you have always wondered what was back there

Prayer Requests (2/27/08)

2008-06-23T23:33:00.001-05:00

1. Pray the Lord would go before us and prepare the way. Prepare hearts for His Word, give us favor as we purchase the coffee shop, show us where we are to live and what school Bek should attend, or should she be homeschooled?
2. Wisdom about the finanacing of the coffee shop purchase, I have a peace about waiting on Him to provide, but that organizational side of me wants to be “doing something". Show me the next step Lord.
3. Provision for the sale of our home, give us peace as we seek you on the means to take care of the second mortgage. thank you Lord for providing Matt and Stacy to buy the house, I pray their house will sell at just the right time.
4. Leading in the many tasks, we feel overwhelmed at the multitude of things that need to be done, I know that is not from you Lord. Help us to know what we should be focusing on now and what can be done later. We want to be in step with you not running around like chickens with our heads cut off.
5. Nathan, show us how you want us to handle him staying in Fayetteville. Who should he stay here with? How will the relationship between him and his host family work out? Is it your will for him to come with us? If so, please work in his heart to make that decision on his own.

A Little History (2/26/08)

2008-06-23T23:31:00.001-05:00

I thought I would give a little background into how we got here:
I have been an Assistant Pastor at Calvary Chapel Fayetteville, NC for 10 years, I love my job, it still blows me away that I can get paid to serve the Lord. I love serving with my Pastor and friend, Joey VanDeusen. I even love living here in North Carolina. I think I would have been content to continue being an Assistant Pastor for the rest of my life. Until the inevitable happened…
A few years ago Pastor Joey seriously hurt his back. He spent a few weeks in the hospital and had a few surgeries… he also had an extended period of recovery at home. He was out for a few months. I had covered for him in the past plenty of times but usually only for a week or two while he was away on a mission trip or out of town for the weekend. When it hit me that I would be “the pastor” for an indefinite amount of time while he was recovering I was overwhelmed. I love teaching, but I had never had to do all of it. What if someone needs to be counseled? What if a funeral needs to be performed? Who will do all the visitations? These were all things Pastor Joey did while I took care of all the administration and different programs. I cried out to the Lord to give me the ability to do whatever came up… and He did. I found that I really enjoyed ministering to people, much more than I did just crunching numbers, running schedules, buying supplies and the myriad of other random things that need to be done around the church. God was showing me that my time as an Assistant Pastor was going to come to an end, but I kept that to myself, like Mary I treasured these things up in my heart.
Last year Pastor Joey had to take a sabbatical for about 6 weeks due to health reasons and I had to be the Pastor again. This was a very difficult time in the ministry of Calvary Chapel Fayetteville. The Elders and I had to really seek the Lord in a way we never had to before. God is so faithful, He carried us thru some very intense warfare and He brought peace and unity in the midst of the storm.
God is so good.
It was also at this time that I finally voiced my desire to “eventually” be a senior pastor. The reaction amongst my brother elders was interesting. One said “Um… ok well I’ll pray God leads you in that.” Another of my brothers told me “No, you don’t have a pastor’s heart, you are an administrator.” That’s not exactly the reaction I expected. I was crushed. Did I miss something? God ministered to my heart a day later and reminded me that I don’t work for men but for Him and that I don’t need mans approval or permission to pursue His calling. That was freedom! It helped me to put down my fears and just serve him in the place he had me.
By September 2007 Pastor Joey was able to return to the ministry, our troubles were not quite over but he was healthy and we were glad he was back. It was such a strange year; we went from his health problem to serious financial problems. It was thru this that God decided to start moving. We had no problems paying all the church’s bills, but we did have trouble making payroll at the end of each month. We prayed, we fasted, and we even talked about getting part time jobs. We finally had Troy Werner from Calvary Chapel Lynchburg come down to give us some counsel. He said not to worry about the finances, this happens in every ministry from time to time. But there was one issue that needed to be fixed; we were overstaffed.
I found out later that Joey and the Elders started seeking the Lord for the solution to this dilemma. Then one day, in late Jan 2008 Pastor Joey called me into his office and told me that my last paycheck would be in August. He said that he and the elders thought that now was the time for me to step out and start seeking the Lord about my desire to start a church. In his words this was “a nudge out of the nest.”
Let me hit the rewind button now and go back about 8-9 months to a dream that I had about some dear friends of ours that moved down to Ft. Rucker, AL back in 2006. In the dream I was just hanging out with them, it was great! When I woke up I knew that the Lord wanted us to go down there and start a Calvary Chapel. I shared the dream with Denise and we decided we would pray about it, you know like “that would be nice to do someday.” It seemed inconceivable that the Lord wanted us to go NOW… We have two kids in High School and next year would be Nathan’s senior year. We have bills to finish paying off. In short it wasn’t a convenient time. I am learning that convenient isn’t in God’s vocabulary.
It was a bit of a shock when Joey told me I only had 7 paychecks left. But because of the dream, I knew almost immediately where I was supposed to go. The next question was, “Ok what am I supposed to do to feed my family?” Again God had prepared me ahead of time. I have wanted to start a coffee shop for years, but since I had a full time job I never acted on it. The next day as I was praying about what to do God reminded me of the coffee shop Again I shared this with Denise who said “Ok, are you sure you don’t want to just get a job?” After a little prayer on her part she was on board too. A day or so later Denise was checking out the Real Estate websites to recon the housing market in Enterprise and low and behold there was a Coffee Shop for sale just down the road from Ft. Rucker.
Now, when people ask me, “Are you sure this is the Lord?” my reply goes something like: “I told my wife that I would be out of work in 7 months and the plan God gave me involved, selling her house, leaving at the beginning of our son’s senior year, moving to a small town in Alabama and starting a new business which neither of us have any idea how to run;” to which she replied “Ok.” If you have ever wondered what Sarai was like just look at the picture of my wonderful wife. I dont know of a greater confirmation that God is guiding than when both husband and wife have a peace and are in agreement about everything God is calling us them to do . Praise the Lord.