a disciple's blog

This Sunday we'll finish up our series "A Roadmap for the Journey". My sermon title will be "Walking with Confidence" and our scripture reference will be 1 John 5:14-21. We'll look at four ways to walk in confidence in our spiritual journey. They are:

A Prayer Filled Life
A Growth Focused Life
A Truth Filled Life
A Faithful Life

See you on Sunday!

This Sunday we'll continue our series "A Roadmap for the Journey". My sermon title will be "Lighten Your Load" and our scripture reference will be 1 John 5:1-13. We'll look at how to lighten our load of four specific burdens that can crush us in our spiritual journey. They are:

The Burden of Disobedience
The Burden of Discouragement
The Burden of Conflicting Claims
The Burden of Uncertainty

See you on Sunday!

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ has always been an adventure but never so much as this past year.It's hard to believe that just one year ago I was a Pastoral Intern at North Hills Church in Phoenix, Arizona. I sometimes wonder how I got here. The story is simple enough but it just went by so fast and is so...well, unlike us. We're not risk takers as a rule. Our life has always been very predictable but God had other plans.

I was working at North Hills and preparing for the ministry when we got a new Senior Pastor. He was coming into a tough situation with tough decisions to make. I had been praying for God to direct me and my family and show us when the right time would be to step out an pursue a job in ministry when we got the word that half the pastoral staff would be laid off including myself. I took that as a very good hint that the time was now.

I assumed that God would keep us in Arizona after all my wife and I had lived there our whole lives but I didn't want to put limits on God's will for us so I decided that I would apply for any job that sounded like they were looking for a pastor like me. I applied to churches in Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Alabama. I prayed that God would put us where he wanted us and I promised that we would follow.

The first call came from Porter Russ in Alabama. They were looking for a pastor like me but weren't sure if I'd be interested in them. They were a small church looking for a shepherd but needed someone who could be bi-vocational. I've never felt led to be bi-vocational. I wanted to do the Lord's work full time but I was intrigued because Porter kept using the word shepherd and mentor and that is just what God has called me to be. They weren't looking for some great theologian or teacher, just someone to lead them into a closer relationship with God. I told Porter to keep in touch and to pray about God's will and I would do the same.

Well, God just kept opening one door after another and his hand seemed to be in every decision we made. We went to visit this little church in Northern Alabama and fell in love with them and the town. The church council decided they could afford a full time pastor and that I was the one for them. One month and a big move later, I woke up in Alabama.

I still can't believe it sometimes but I'm happy and for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm living the life that God has called me to and not just going to a job each day. Now I have to admit that being a pastor is a lot harder job than I imagined but I'm learning and growing one day at a time. I know that I will make mistakes but that's how we learn and I know that God walks with me each step of the way.

Welcome to A Disciple's Blog! I'm new to blogging. I've done Facebook and I'm trying something called Twitter but I've never blogged. So why blogging and why am I calling it A Disciple's Blog?

I'll answer both questions at the same time. I have a heart for discipleship. I consider myself a disciple of Jesus Christ...a follower, an imitator. I'm not perfect. I'm not a mirror image of my Lord but I want to be and I believe that God wants us to invest in the lives of others. I believe that God wants us to share our lives with one another; to encourage, to build up, to allow others to see our shortcomings and our failures; to hopefully learn from them and not make the same mistakes. That's what love does and as disciples, we are called to love one another.

I don't know if anyone will ever read this blog and if they do I don't know if they will learn anything but that's not up to me. I'm willing to put my self out there and share my life and my thoughts... It's up to God how my offering is used.

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts as well.

God Bless,

Larry