An excerpt from #Reflection Week 1:
“Can I be honest? There have been occasions, I’ve thought about quitting as the pastor of New Passion. Pastoring & being in ministry can be tough. You dream dreams & hope for things much quicker than they become reality. It’s tough building a new church in a military & Govt. community, and was made even tougher with some issues we had to deal with in the past….I’ve told Nicki on a few occasions I’d rather go be a janitor at a church where I can personally sit & be inspired than to continually deal with the same struggles…..
….Do you know what kept me from quitting & continues to keep me from quitting? Sure, this is what God called me to do, but in the Bible God calls people to do stuff all the time & they simply ignore him….you know it, because there’s stuff in your own life you’re not willing to do or willing to give to God because you just don’t want to. You’re “called” to do it, but you just don’t want to do what you’re called to do, so you don’t do it. It wasn’t just because I was called to pastor New Passion. What keeps me from quitting is YOU!
It’s your life change! You’re an encouragement to me. When I hear New Passion was someone’s last chance they were giving church or God; when I hear that the light bulb finally switched on & you finally understood the gospel during a sermon; when I hear someone has spent more of their life outside of church than in it, but God changed them here; when I hear how God worked in your life at New Passion & helped you give up drugs, alcohol, pornography, or some other vice. Your life is a letter of recommendation of the Good News’ power; your life story encourages me & keeps me from giving up, because I see clearly how real it is. (Sermon text: 2 Corinthians 3:2-3)
