Together

I've been off the blogosphere for a while, as it's been a little hectic lately.  I'm happy to be back, and wanted to share what we've been up to.

On Sunday, March 1, we had a crazy day.  I got to be a part of something that most pastors never get to be a part of - serving as pastor of a merged congregation on launch Sunday.  In fact, I have been a part of three things most pastors never get to be a part of.  I was blessed with the honor of starting a church 10 years ago, and I have been grateful to see that church launch a 2nd campus in Grayson.  Over the last six months, I have had the privilege to lead that church into a merger with a church that has been around for 166 years for a newly merged permanent campus.  Planting a church and merging churches are both crazy endeavors.

There is so much power in merging congregations.  In many ways, it is much like a marriage.  The first few years of marriage you have to find your way a little.  A church merger includes lots of 'finding your way' in the relationship.  It's incredibly complicated.  Merging finances, getting a new name, and combining leadership are actually the easy part.  The hard part is merging cultures.  Whether it's 10 years or 166 years, churches develop ways of doing things.  Just like a marriage, a merged church has to learn how to do things together.

But merging a church is a beautiful thing if God's Spirit is in it.  I am reminded that I have new friends with which to do ministry.  Many of these new friends are already near and dear to my heart.  I would never have known them had we not walked down this path.  They are beautiful disciples of Jesus.  Like a marriage, a merger is an admission that we need each other to be our best, that life was not better alone.  And it's beautiful when it works.  There is great power and beauty when the Body of Christ unites and says, "We are in this together."

I'll admit it's messy.  There is no easy way.  There are bumps and long hours of prayer.  There are hiccups.  Every marriage has them.  You expect it in marriages.  We should expect it in mergers.  But we keep learning.  We learn to be better spouses.  And we learn to be better brothers and sisters in Christ.

And, like a new marriage, their remains the promise of offspring.  When young parents have children, the realize that through the messiness of the early years and the hiccups and the hard work, there are actual humans that wouldn't be here without them being together.  Their love and commitment to one another allowed a little one to be nurtured.  Young parents have a child or adopt a child and realize they have a bigger purpose.  It wasn't just to be together.  It was for the new life that emerged that they are now raising.

That's a church merger.  It's not just being together.  It's not just that together we can be better, pay the bills sooner or be with one another.  It's that together, we can bring new life into relationships with Jesus that we could not have done apart.  Suddenly, we have a new purpose.  This week, my wife and celebrate 14 years of marriage.  At this point, I can't remember life without her.  There was a time, though, in the early years, that I could.  Time and life and welded us together.  I don't even remember me before her.  I think that's how church mergers are supposed to work.  There will come a time when we can hardly remember life apart.  We'll be raising new kids together, and no one will recall there was a time it wasn't like this.  We'll just embrace the present.

That day will be here before we know it.  But it wouldn't happen without the faithful pioneers at Harmony Grove United Methodist Church and The United Methodist Church of the Way.  Somebody had to go through the dating and courtship, pre-marital counseling and wedding.  Somebody had to go through the early years.  I'm so honored to serve the men and women of God who have done just that.  After one whole week, on a Saturday night before our SECOND Sunday together, I find myself more excited than ever about ministry.  I feel like a newlywed.  If you're around the area, I hope you'll come check out what God is doing at Harmony Grove Church of the Way or Gwinnett Church of the Way.  You can get directions and worship times here.