Pastor Steven preached not long ago about "The Promise, The Process and The Payoff." It was a sermon that impacted me greatly. I blogged about it here. Little did I know that God wasn't finished teaching me this principle. The last few days have been difficult.
Over the last four years God has been teaching me a great deal about humility, honor and authority. I'd love to say that I've handled this season of teaching well but at the beginning of the lesson I was less than mature. I'll spare you the details but through circumstances I've learned a great deal about how to honor God.
The biggest thing I've learned is that in order to honor God I must honor the authority He has placed me under. This is a principle, not an opinion. I haven't always done this very well. A little less than three months ago my family and I moved from a church we love, friendships and family to follow God's call on our lives in Charlotte at Elevation Church. I was asked to serve as the Family Pastor overseeing the ministry of Children and Students. This has proved to be a demanding and difficult transition. I have enjoyed so much serving our church along side so many talented and committed volunteers. I believe we are on the cusp of seeing God do some amazing things in the days ahead.
As we move forward I will be serving in a different capacity. I will now be giving more focus on Ekidz as I serve as the Children's Ministry Director at our Providence campus. This is a sudden shift but a shift that we believe will allow me to give even more focus on what I have been passionately doing in my short time at Elevation. Though this may not have been what we had originally planned we know that God is at work and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve Him in any way.
Just so there is no confusion at all I want to be clear about the reasoning behind this change. There has not been any moral or ethical failure on my behalf. This decision was made to utilize my gifts in the best way possible for the good of the church and me. The leadership of our church has a great responsibility to manage and lead in a way that will serve God best. Decisions like this may not always make sense to everyone but they are approached with much wisdom and prayer. I personally trust and believe in the leadership of our church and I am excited about the new way I will be able to serve in a specific way to the families of Elevation Church. I know that this, just like my previous role, may not be the only way I will be asked to serve. The process is just that, a process. My hope is to be faithful with whatever I am called to do as long as I am capable of serving.
I want to thank Anita, my incredible wife, for loving and trusting me through all of this. There is no way I could have made it through these last four years without your love and support. I love you!