Thursday, October 29, 2009

New Beginnings

Last night marked the official announcement of the hiring of our new minister. Matt Springfield will be joining us here in Huntsville. They are moving in the middle of December with an official start date of January 3, 2010.

So, for one full year we will have been without a full-time preacher. For one year we are experiencing a desert of sorts in our transition. So much has happened during this time. Figuring out who we are as a congregation. Searching through many resumes. Having many conversations, some difficult and some exciting. Learning that I am not in control. Hearing the call to trust God. Finding clarity and confusion at the same time. Loving others. Battling Satan. Searching for God in the midst of it all. It has been a full 2009.

I stand amazed at what 40 years of this might look and feel like. The forty years of Israel's wandering in the desert is hard to comprehend on the edge of our own new beginning. We hardly setup camp and here we are moving on to something new already.

Well, despite our desert's brevity, I'm excited about this new stage in the life of our congregation! Having fresh eyes to see us and what God is doing is a much-needed thing. I'm not sure if this is blasphemous, but we will have a new voice of God in our midst, someone new to speak God's word. God certainly speaks in many ways and in various forms.

Will we have ears to listen? Will we have eyes to see? Will we have hands to serve? Will we have mouths to praise? Will we smell the aroma of Christ in our midst?

I am confident we will! I praise God for this new beginning.