A turn on the trail

After six of the most liberating, challenging, joyful, heart-wrenching, Christ-honoring, spiritual-warfare-filled years of our lives as the founding pastor of Journey Church in Monticello, I resigned today. It was a gut-wrenching decision.

I communicated to the amazing members of Journey two weeks ago that I had been contacted by Northstar Church in Blacksburg, Virginia. After a very long process with them that began last November when my name was submitted to their pastor search team, they had called to say that they were focusing on me as their next pastor.

They flew my family in this past weekend to meet members and leaders of the church as well as preach in their worship services on Sunday. Afterwards, they graciously and officially invited me to serve as their next pastor. Northstar is also six years old, and their founding pastor resigned at the end of last summer.

We asked for a few days to continue in prayer. (Who wouldn’t say “yes” after a weekend of being treated like royalty?) Today, we called to relate our acceptance of their invitation. We are overwhelmed with conflicting emotions but are completely confident in our Lord’s direction to this new season of life and ministry.

The emails, texts, tweets and phone calls today have been extremely encouraging. We are truly blessed with amazing friends and church members – both at Journey and now at Northstar. I ask that you would please be in prayer for both churches during these days of transition and new direction.