The service was great. It's harder to judge because I both led worship and taught, but I thought we hit it out of the park. Our team did so well and God gave me some grace to share some final thoughts with a community of people that we truly love.
There was a song by Janay E, a photo collage (video), another video (with many people sharing, the last of which was Mark Macknight, my former colleague and lead pastor), some gifts, and a lunch to follow (packed I might add)
Both before the service, after the service and during our church lunch, people were so nice. Their words of kindness and appreciation were much appreciated. Actually, since our announcement people have been so good. They've commended us for our step of faith, thanked us for all that we did, shared some personal thoughts and words, and made us feel so glad to be a part of their lives.
CLC is a great church. Why? Because we've become a family; a community of people who discover life together and embrace one another in the name of Christ. It has been a joy for Janet and I to have served and lived among such wonderful people. Like any church, nothing is perfect. But when the church is perusing God's dream for themselves and their local community, it really is a beautiful place...a beautiful people.
For my final talk I tried to remind us all that the church is beautiful. There are so many reasons why, but we focused on, 1) the way we worship 2) the community we are becoming & 3) the story that we share. I'm not ignorant of the fact that the church is messy and that we've done some really stupid things. I've seen my brothers and sister in Christ be foolish and I've also partaken in my fair share of foolishness, but the fact is that the church is beautiful because Christ makes us beautiful, never more so then when we worship in spirit and in truth; with one hand up (to God) and one hand out (to our neighbour) - when we serve as and for our community - when we share our story with a world that desperately needs it.
I've seen so many people come to know God and grow closer to Him the last 8 years. I've watched people become followers of Jesus and then watched them 'be Jesus' to their world'. My family and I have become so connected to people there that we really did feel like family.
All I can say is, so long CLC. Thank you for your love and affection; thank you for allowing us to graft ourselves to you; thank you for giving me freedom to express myself; to lead, to grow, to teach, to sing, to create, etc. My wife (Janet) thanks you as well, for giving her a place to share her gifts; with kids, with moms, with volunteers and in various programs. My kids thank you for helping them grow in God and building community. And thank you for your willingness to be stretched and move towards God's purposes.
This is not goodbye, but see you later.
At this point we still don't know exactly where we will be and in what capacity we will be serving the kingdom. What we do know is that God is faithful and he is working while we are waiting. This step of faith we took is one that we can all take. It will look different for all of us, but the feelings and emotions may be similar. Our fruit doesn't always show in the outcome, but in the obedience. We
are excited to see how God brings this all together. That's the fun part.
Stay tuned for part 3 of this story...
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