March was the busiest month I have had since I finished my last church role on December 31. I drove well over 2,000 miles and had to take about a week or more to recover from the travel. One conclusion was made after the travel and ministry out of state – I do not possess the call to itinerant ministry. While serving one single church comes with its own stressors, I know that is my calling.
March has been full of lots of lessons too. Some of those are not yet blog worthy, but they will be posted at the appropriate time. God is doing some of His most refining work in me at this moment. When you remove the ministry and all that comes with it, reality rises to the surface. I am having to come to greater levels of dependence upon God than I have in a while. God used one preacher to convict me with the truth that I often rejoice more in the resource than the Source – the Lord. I remind myself daily of the One who helps me in all things.
Without further ado, here are the highlights of the month:
March 1 – My most recent ministry invited me back to show their appreciation for my service to the church in its final days before they were adopted by a larger church in the area. They prayed over our family and provided some much needed gifts. It was a sweet time of seeing people we dearly love as they are adjusting to this new season of ministry.
February 27-March 5 – My oldest daughter was home for Spring Break. This went by WAY too quickly, but we had a good time together. We ate at Olive Garden and went to see “I Can Only Imagine 2” on March 2. We also hung out at home a lot, watched movies, and she got to meet up with a friend in the area. We made our way to take her back to college on March 5 and just got off the exit when a piece underneath my car popped loose. Thankfully, it was a $20 repair.
March 5-6 – As I couldn’t make the long drive from Alabama to North Carolina that night, I booked a hospitality home through ServantCARE. This ministry has prayed for me and provided necessary resources during ministry transitions. This particular aspect of the ministry was not one I had experienced until recently.
The host couple graciously provided the upper level of their home for my accommodations. They graciously blessed me with meals, kindness, and prayer. I believe it gave me a glimpse of the hospitality provided to some of the early apostles as they traveled from town to town doing ministry.
March 6-13 – I won’t go into a lot of detail as I already covered this in a previous post, but I was able to stay with my oldest son for a week and minister with him and his music ministry during revival services. It was one of the most precious weeks of ministry I have ever known. It was difficult to return home in some ways after seeing God move the way He did, but I was also glad to get back home to my wife and younger kids.
March 15 – I attended the most recent church building where I was the lead pastor. The church merged with another church after I left, which is why I said I attended “the building”. It continues to grow and minister powerfully in the community. I was so glad to see the familiar faces of people I dearly love. Many of them still credit me for the blessings they experience now, but I know God did what HE did because the people prayed.
March 16-22 – This was Spring break for my school-age kids. We took one day for a fun outing and spent the rest of the week at home. I was still trying to regain my energy from all the travel, so a week at home was just fine with me😀.
March 22 – I was blessed to visit a church I helped a few years ago with the music ministry while the church was without both a pastor and worship leader. The pastor came on board while I was there, and the worship leader started right after I left. Both are doing wonderful work.
March 28 – My daughter’s chorus teacher was in the orchestra for a musical at a local college and encouraged his students to attend, so our family went. It was wonderful!
March 29 – I attended 3 churches that day. The first church is a small revitalizing church that is being helped by another local congregation. They celebrated their partnership by planting a covenant tree. It was a special time with 36 in attendance. That may not be much to some, but one of the ladies was so thrilled to see that many in the room.
Following that service, I drove to the church that one might call the pinnacle of my ministry. It was the church where I was licensed and ordained. God touched the music and discipleship ministries in amazing ways during those years. It was a sweet reunion, and I’m so glad I went back to visit. The Lord led me to visit as many of my former ministries as I could. There are two between 3 1/2 to 5 hours that I have yet to revisit, but I did drop in and meet the newest pastor at one of those while I was visiting and ministering with my son. I hope to attend their centennial celebration in November.
The day ended at my new regular church. The pastor preached on the events leading up to Maundy Thursday and closed the service with the Lord’s Supper.
April looks like it could lead to a return to bivocational ministry. I have been in conversation with a church about a pastorate, and I have an upcoming interview with a Christian organization that would be my weekday employment/ministry if the Lord allows. Both of these opportunities are still in the decision phase. Please join me in praying for God’s will and provision.
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