from tragedy to triumph...

Wow, after more than 8 months since our house fire and living in an apartment and then a hotel, we are finally home. We are busy trying to get things put where they belong and Chel is adding her finishing touches as a decorator/designer. This is right up her ally, although I tell her Rome was not built in a day. Her response, "That's because I wasn't there!"

This has been a year of trials and without bitterness. Through every trial we have remained faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. We just believed we were being attacked by the enemy and we remained constant in the belief that God would help us prevail in the end. We prevail with God, we always prevail with God.

This year my greatest lesson learned was that I needed to rely on God's timing and let His Spirit lead me in His strength alone. Throughout my life I mostly did things on my own, even in ministry I find that I have been guilty of running ahead of God. So God has taught me how to trust more deeply, wait for Him more patiently and depend upon Him completely. I must wait on the Holy Spirit to lead the charge in making His work effective through me. So I wait and when He speaks I must obey and when He leads I must follow. Through the tragedy/trials of this year God has taught me how to wait for the Holy Spirit and how to let Him do the work through me rather than me doing the work through me.

When I was on my back with sickness or blown away by the fire or deeply grieving at my brother Glenn's suicide leaving me not at my best, God was working in spite of me. Through this God reminded me that He was at work and that I must trust Him to accomplish what we were needing to do together.

As I look at the Disciple Driven Church Project I am amazed at what God has done to advance His plan for Disciple Driven Churches in America. Even though some have said this cannot happen in America like it is happening in Africa, yet we are seeing God do it here in St. Louis and other places where leaders have been trained to honor Jesus by fulfilling His mission. God is doing here what only God could do. I have learned that while God uses us, our need for God is greater than His need for us. To be eternal fruit bearers we must lean less on our own abilities, talents, gifting, experience and more on God to lead the way. Doing ministry my way at 12 hours a day leads to little or no fruit. Doing it God's way for only seconds brings in a harvest much larger than we ever dream possible.

There's more to come, so stay tuned!