In the words of the great philosopher, Garth (Wayne’s World), “We fear change”. But the reality is that a change is gonna come. It has to. I miss my boy being a baby, but if, at four, he was still like a baby then there would be a serious problem. Change, I am afraid, is here to stay.
So here we are. We’ve just come back from a fairly disastrous sabbatical, feeling more stressed, more tired and less equipped to do this job than ever before, and in 6 weeks time, we say goodbye to half our leadership team, including Duncan and Emma, who have been our associate pastors for ten years, and Rob and Kay, who have transformed our kids work into the most incredible operation! On top of this, we watch three other couples go with them – all of them friends and great co-workers in this mission we find ourselves in.
They feel scared as they step into the unknown and try to obey God in ways that they have no models for. They step out of financial security, spiritual security, emotional security and a brilliantly crafted kids’ work (which they shaped) and take a blind step of faith that God is in it all.
For us, new leadership team, new associate pastors, new kids work co-ordinators and a sleep-deprived pastor who does not really know which way is up at the moment. Add to that the four independent prophecies about a storm coming.
Exciting, hey?!
But, actually, it is exciting. Very exciting.
One thing is for sure, we cannot just carry on. It will be a new start for Southampton Vineyard as well as for the Thornhill project.
I remember the early days when we did not have a clue what was going on or what to say to people or what advice to give or what the answers were. Sure, we made some howlers, but, there was a scary need to be dependent on God. If God did not do something then, frankly, nothing was actually going to happen! And so God did do something – all the time!
It feels like that again.
God, if you don’t do something that we are in trouble because we don’t have anything else!
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