God Knows

The phrase "God knows" holds great power. There have been times in my life that this thought had the power to make me feel uncomfortable. Other times this phrase evoked more questions like, "If He knows, then why?",but today as I ponder this thought it fills me with confidence and hope. It has been nearly 18 months since Amie and I chose to follow God's leading to come to Woodstock and eight months since our family finally arrived. Somedays we felt like we were right on track. Other days we felt as lost and as out of control of our futures as possible.

Today as I look back to the past 8 months I can see how God has led us at every turn, but in those moments the uncertainty of the future clouded my view. The compass at times seemed to spin in all directions and thoughts like, "am I going the right way?" were often, but God knows! Looking back and seeing that my feelings of uncertainty did not negate the fact that God was leading brings the confidence that the next step of our journey is already planned by God. That gives me such hope because even though I may feel like, "am I on the right track?" or I may question what's around the bend...God knows.

I guess what I am trying to say is that even if right now you don't feel like you have everything figured out in life and your future is uncertain God knows. As you pursue Him and the path He has for you you can be confident that He is more able to keep you going in the right direction than you are able to get yourself lost. God knows....stay close to Him....you'll get there...I'm confident of that.

Embassy Metro Church has Officially Launched!

This has been the busiest two months of my life as we have worked toward launching emc. Right now all of us staffers have full-time jobs so this has been draining, but we have seen God provide the resources and strength to make it happen!

Sunday was a great success. The emc team blew my mind and made me the proudest pastor ever. You all we're amazing and gave 110% all weekend. Your labor of love made the difference seeing how we had many people who had checked out of church say that this is just what they've been looking for. The most exciting thing is that we had two people make decisions to begin a relationship with Christ. Rock on!!!

The weekend was not without its mishaps. It started on Saturday when we were suppose to all meet at the theater to practice set-up. All of the staff and a bunch of the team worked late on the final touches. Everybody left our house by mid-night or so and Jared and I had a couple other things to finish up. Long story short I fell a sleep making soemthing on the computer and Jared sat on the couch to take a break. I think you know where I am going with this. Yes your faithful and fearless leaders slept the sleep of the sleep deprived and we didn't make it to the theater until 9:00am (one hour late). Thanks to the emc team for understanding and not ripping on us too much. On launch day we had a breaker pop a few minutes before service and a few other small things, but for the most part it went really smooth. Oh, I fell off the stage....no I'm kidding, although I do anticipate that happening someday.

I'd like to finish today by saying thank you to all who have made the launching of EMC possible. First, thank you to everyone who has been calling EMC their home during our pre-launch stages. Your patience, giving, and labor of love are amazing! Thanks for all the support we have received from family and friends. You know who you are. We also want to give a shout out to Pastor Blair and the Mansfield First Assembly of God family in Ohio who helped with finances, leadership and encouragement. Another big thanks goes to the Georgia Ministries and Resource Center of the Assemblies of God for partnering with us financially helping us with our equipment. Finally, we want to say thanks to Bill & Lara Randall at the Serene Bean Coffee house and Dr. Lisa Chrismer at the Chrismer Center for being friends and offering us space to use while we were preparing to launch. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to God for giving us this vision, equipping us for this vision, and leading us at every turn. This is for you Jesus. I love you and trust you will use our efforts to affect our region, bringing many to a life lived with you and for you.