It's almost midnight I'm really tried I want to go to sleep but I can't. I have been thinking a lot about the future. Before we became Senior Pastors at Dahlonega Assembly of God my prayers mainly consisted about finding the direction the Lord wanted us to go in. Now as Pastors my prayers are asking God to help me find and maintain balance in the direction He's put us in. There's a lot at stake here; learning how to maintain a healthy marriage and family life while developing a healthy church family as we go in a new direction at the same time is freakin' hard and at times overwhelming.
As a husband I need to maintain a level of HOT passion in my marriage. Listen if I can get passionate about church I better get and stay passionate about my wife! Even before we got married I committed to my wife that I would never sacrifice her or our kids on the altar of ministry. So as we start this new adventure at Dahlonega Assembly of God I am trying to keep that commitment. The reality is that there is so much to get done that if I allow the "stuff of ministry" to overwhelm me I know that my family would be a causality of "church life".
And then there is our new church family. I am so honored to be their Pastor. There is not one single person that I can honestly say that I can't stand. I know...a Pastor shouldn't say that but let's be real there are some crazy church folks out there. As far as I can tell Dahlonega Assembly doesn't have any crazy church folks...yet.
But here's what's keeping me up right now. Our current worship leader is an amazing man of God and has been doing a great job but because of his job he will be moving in the next couple of months. When he told me he was moving I freaked out a little bit...okay I freaked out a lot! WHY...because WORSHIP IS HUGE in a church. If your a Pastor you know how important it is to get the right person for a position like this. So as I think about the future of our church and the growing list of topic and situations to address worship is on the top of that list. I am praying that God will send us a person that loves to move people into God's holy presence. I'm not looking or wanting a "worship leader" I'm praying hard for a Worship Pastor. A person who has a heart to come along side of me and Pastor our church in worship. I'm looking and praying for a person who knows that worship isn't about them but it's all about connecting church and unchurched people to God. I'm looking and praying for a person whose willing to come to Dahlongea Assembly of God and serve with a humble heart.
So as you can tell I have a lot on my mind. I know a "Pastor" shouldn't talk or think like this, that I should be this "super spiritual" person with no stress or worries but the reality is that I'm a normal person. Being a Pastor doesn't disqualify me from the crazy moments of church life or home life. But in those crazy moments I got to remember what Jesus said in Luke 12:31. If my goal continues to be to enlarge the Kingdom of Heaven then all of these things that I'm thinking or worrying about will be taken care of in God's time. Anyway it's time to hit the bed so I'm going to take Jesus' advice in Luke 12:25 and go to sleep so with that I say good night and I'll blog to you in the morning.
2 comments:
Pastor Gabe - I'm glad to see you had a blog update and something you said moved me to send you a comment...Being an "adopted" member of DAG(by virtue of Jeannie and helping with things for the church) I have been amazed to hear and read about the things you have been doing with the church...I will admit that I have never been a very religious person probably because the pastors I went to when I was younger did not seem to have the passion you do for life...They did not inspire they lectured..You can tell that you speak from the heart and speak honestly...At the end of your blog, you had made a comment that a pastor shouldn't admit to life's stresses and frustration but I think that's what makes you a better pastor. If you as a pastor were to act as if nothing bothers you, then there is no way I could believe that you understand the life trials that I would be seeking your guidance for. Although it is too far to come on a regular basis, I am going to make an effort to come up soon and hear you in person instead of second hand or by blog...Thank you...
Laurie thank you so much for the comment. It's great to know that my crazy thoughts are encouraging someone. As you can tell I am not the greatest writer in blogger world but I believe it's important that I find venues to share my heart and thoughts. You see I was raised in the church all of my life and I got to be honest I had alot of great experiences in church with that said there were also moments that weren't so great for our family and church. I have seen to many pastors get to big for their pulpit and hurt people because they constantly lived behind a "pastoral mask". I don't want to have some professional religious arrangement with God I want a fluid, thriving, and healthy relationship with Jesus. That's way I believe it's important for Christians to be transparent and authentic with themselves, others, and the world. Thanks for taking the time to read my crazy blog and leaving a comment it really honored me and my wife. Also THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping Ms. Jeannie. You are a HUGE blessing to Ms. Jeannie and to our church. I hope to see in you soon. God Bless!
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