A Perpetual Season of Change

As I replace all the sunshades in my vehicles with snow brushes to scrap the fallen leaves and frost from the cars in the morning, I realize that one of life's relentless realities is that we all face ongoing changes - changes in relationships, in living arrangements, in our work, at play, our physical bodies, our spiritual life, and the list goes on and on.  Sometimes, I do wish that I could find that perfect Groundhog Day and re-live that day over and over again (perhaps tweaking it just a little bit here and there). And for those of you too young to remember Groundhog Day, here is a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)

We just had an Australian family come to visit us for a week, having not seen them for a decade, and it was wonderful to recall and reflect on all those memories that we had treasured within our hearts - memories built on a year-long mission project with their home church in Adelaide.  They were joyous and glorious memories and experiences that we shared.  In some ways, as we laughed until we cried telling stories after stories, i believe that we wished we could do it all over again.

But the reality is that we cannot and the fact remains that those cherished memories are the result of two main factors: 1. We embraced change.  Change is inevitable and a constant in our life and the sooner we come to grips with it, the accepting we become of change.  2.  As we embrace change, we learn to step out in faith and place our trust in God. As perfect as our Groundhog Day may be, it is still pale in comparison to what our final destination has to offer.  As much as we want to stop and smell the roses, we must not forget that we are ultimately going to meet the gardener.

“Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Certainly at Simply Church we are undergoing some growing pains and are facing some changes and challenges ahead. Our current facility at St. Paul's is getting a little tight - just like my pants.  Our tent-making model is being revamped so that I would become a full-time pastor. This requires that we move from a church-plant to a fully independent church. Of course this will impact my computer business as I remove myself from the daily operation of the company by hiring more staff and implementing more structure to replace my role.  Pastor Lew Worrad will be taking on more teaching and preaching responsibilities in the interim in order to help us through this migration and growth period and we are thankful for his help.  As well, we are helping Pastor Lew establish a living legacy of his teaching and preaching material - much of which we will be posting online and possibly publishing in the near future.  I am certainly, to be frank and honest, fearful and intimidated by what lies ahead. But on the other hand, the possibilities of what may lie ahead excites me greatly. And I hope that you will join with me and the Simply Church family and be part of this great journey.
For His Glory,
PT