Church Planting... A Great Joy!

As I sit down and begin to think about the journey that the Lord has brought me through over the last few years, it is hard to stay seated. Reflection for me brings about a desire to run around my house like a crazy man screaming the praises of God. There's no doubt that ministry is one of the hardest adventures anybody can ever endeavor themselves in. Interestingly enough, it is also by far the most honorable and rewarding work imaginable.

There's nothing more difficult than trying to deal with the unbalances that come with church planting. The random phone calls, the untimely meetings that are necessary, the family needs, the financial stresses and the burning desire to fulfill what God has called you too. All of those things have the ability to bring upon great amounts of stress. Yet the rewards of seeing just one person having their life absolutely transformed by the grace found in the Gospel of Jesus, trumps any amount of difficulties.

This past weekend I had the privilege of baptizing 11 people in our service, as the rest of Netcast sang loudly their praises to our King. Some of those baptized were very close friends of mine, while others I didn't really know well. Nonetheless, the beauty and power that is found in a life transformed by Jesus continues to fascinate me. When service ended, I rushed into the city of Boston and performed a wedding for two friends of mine, which was beautiful. It was small, intimate and fun. In addition to that, I was able to walk this couple through pre-marital counseling and saw incredible growth in their relationship and walk with Jesus over the past few months.

When I eventually came home that night and laid down in my bed, absolutely exhausted, it occurred to me that in the course 10 hours I witnessed 11 people outwardly demonstrate their identification with Christ in his death burial and resurrection and then I visibly witnessed two people becoming one flesh through the covenant of marriage.

 Honestly, can you think of anything in all of the world that you would rather be doing? I feel like I am literally living a dream.