A momentous Occasion!

This is a momentous occasion — My first Blog after being named Pastor at South Memorial Drive Church of God in New Castle, Indiana. 

It kind of seems a little surreal at the moment that God has chosen Stephanie and I to lead this wonderful group of people. I can say that because from Thursday through Sunday last week Stephanie and I spent most of our waking hours getting to know the people at SMDCOG. We have found so many wonderful people with loving and caring hearts. We also found people that love to laugh, who might be a little ornery, who might be a little “eccentric,” and people that care deeply about their brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I just started in my quick study of 2 Corinthians this morning. Being consumed mentally with this new adventure we are on, I am sure it influenced my thinking as I was reading it. I was captivated by these verses:

“We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.” (2 Corinthians 1:12-14, NLT)

I always get hung up on the word “holiness.” The Greek meaning of the word has nothing to do with our usual view of someone holy as being someone perfect. In this case I believe the meaning could be better understood as “someone who is free from pretense and hypocrisy.” That was our desire this weekend. We wanted you to know who we were. We tried to give you a picture of who we truly are, not some picture of a “holy,” flawless couple, but a couple of servants that try hard to please the Lord. 

What Paul is saying here is the same message I give to your NEW CONGREGATION. We had the opportunity to share much of our lives this weekend. We got to share our hearts and I pray that you sense our sincerity and our willingness to be an open book. Like Paul said, we have nothing written between the lines and we really live a simple life of loving God and trying our best to depend on God’s grace, praising him at all times, and following his will. We are far from perfect, but we will work tirelessly to serve you. We can’t  rely on our own limited wisdom. We have to be full reliant upon the wisdom that comes straight from the Lord himself. 

SO, HERE WE GO!