Changed lives are so hard to measure and yet they are something that every church desires to see. (at least, I hope we do) Every once in a while, we have the opportunity to see someone whose life is in the midst of a God transformation. Let me tell you about a young man in our church. I received a phone call yesterday from this young man about an upcoming youth meeting in our church. He wanted to come but he had already committed to a previous event with his scout troop. We talked about his choices and I did not encourage him either way. I wanted him to make the decision and did not want to get in the middle of a family decision. Scouts has been a big part of this young man’s life and I did not want to discount the effect. He thanked me for the time and hung up. Several hours later, I received a text from the young man that simply read – ‘coming 2 youth’. My first reaction was hesitant. I wondered if he felt pressured . Then, I was reminded of the scripture in 2 Corinthians that talks about being a new creation. It talks about old things passing away and new things coming. Isn’t that transformation! This young man was willing to sacrifice something that was valuable to him in order to connect to a group that is going to help him grow closer to Christ. I am so proud for him. My prayer is that we are all able to follow the example of this young man.
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Here is a simple thought – God is Creator. I have grown up in the church for most of my life (high school and college years are a different story) and I have always thought of God as the Creator. The Bible teaches us that God created the heavens and the earth. I look around and see leaves changing and I know that God’s creation is in the midst of change. While this may seem very simple, I never really thought much about God as a present day Creator. For me, God as Creator was always a thought of past creations. I know it sometimes takes me longer than some people but I have learned so much over the past year about God as a Creating God. He is still creating.
When I came to Cartersville some fourteen months ago, I did not know a single person. I moved my family here with the passion to start a church. I am sure that I had ideas of what I would do but I have learned that I am much more effective when I tap into what God is already doing. Church at The Well is not my church. It is God’s church. I have met people that literally said that they were ‘waiting on us’ to move here. They didn’t know me. They simply knew that God was calling them to something. I have met people that moved here years before I did and were searching for something. They just didn’t know what they were suppose to do. I have met people that moved here about the same time I did and just didn’t know how to connect. I have also met people that were not even thinking about church. Looking back over the past year, I could give you story after story of people that God has (and is) bringing together to be part of The Well. I stand here amazed that God created His church and has been planning and creating for years to get us to the place where we are today.
As I sit and write this post, our church is three days away from the launch of weekly services. We have prayed and prayed. We have planned. We have prepared. We have promoted. We have done everything we can do to be ready for this tremendous day. Just think, you don’t have the opportunity very often to watch God create something out of nothing. Despite all of our efforts, I still find myself standing in awe of what God is able to do. One of the ways that we have promoted our church is to purchase the cover of a local magazine here in Bartow County – Bartow Buzz. The magazine got delivered today. I just checked my email and I had an email from a person who has lived here in Cartersville for a couple of years. She told me that her family just never found a church that they felt comfortable. She said that she had seen signs for The Well but never even knew what we were or even cared to find out. She said that she had prayed LAST NIGHT for God to guide her to the place she needed to be to connect to Him. Today, she got the Buzz in her mailbox. She said she knew nothing about The United Methodist Church. She said she knew nothing about modern style of worship. She has never heard me preach. But, she said that she also knew that God wanted her at The Well on Sunday. I have no idea if she will become a member of our church. But, I know that God is working in her life. God is reaching out to her.
That is a comforting thought. It brings me hope and peace because I know that God is continually reaching out to me. God is working to grow me toward Him. When I look at myself honestly, I find it overwhelming that God is still creating. He is creating in me. He is creating through me. The same is true for you. Isn’t that cool?
