Hey everybody! I just wanted to take some time and put out here on the blog some important changes that are taking place at The Ridge. It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly a year since Emily and I moved back to Knoxville (June 30 of last year)!
The last year has been a tough one for Emily, Chloe, and me. Emily's pregnancy was stressful, but Chloe was our "little" miracle child when she was born in November. There's too much to share about that here, but Emily will if you want!
Chloe has had a disposition toward giving us first-time parents little scares by being sick a lot. Fortunately, after getting ear tubes about a month ago, Chloe has only had one infection of any kind! That's kinda nice, because since leaving the hospital in November, three month-long ear infections (requiring 3 different meds and two shots), and five other infections. Chloe's went to the doctor more than 20 times this year from January to April... And to Children's Hospital for tests twice.
We are by no means complaining, since we have a healthy child! Many other parents care for chronically ill children with major health issues. We have been very blessed to have Chloe and have all her "issues" be minor. But, as a first-time Dad, this has not been something I could have been ready for, that's for sure!
Talking about numbers, Emily and I have driven more than 4,500 miles since our church planting journey began, visiting churches to raise support for our plant, meeting other pastors, and being the subject of prayer from entire churches (thanks alot for those prayers!). Chloe has already been to 7 states outside Tennessee!
So, it's been a wild year in several ways, incuding being a church planter and first-time dad while also working full-time at a retail establishment (HoneyBaked Ham Store) and watching our old townhouse in Charlotte sit on the market while we have been unable to make payments on it.
To be completely honest, much of our human "planning" for our church plant has been completely tossed asunder over the last 12 months by God. I have come to realize over the past year that the church planting experience is a wonderful tool that the Lord uses to enact major remodeling in the spiritual, physical, emotional, and social world of the church planter and his wife and family. I have found that this "remodeling" has to occur before the church planter and the church plant can be effectively used by God to lead others to Christ and to spiritual growth.
Relatively little has gone "according to plan", from the recession affecting the lives of so many of our Ridge Church folks and our personal fundraising efforts, to Chloe's doctors' visits, to needing to work full-time at a non-church job to support our little family.
I was once pretty upset at all the stuff that didn't go the way I wanted it to over the last year. However, God has changed my mind about all of it. I have been supremely humbled by the Lord since June 30, 2008. He has grown me in many, many ways. I have seen Him at work, come to a new realization of His Sovereignty in my life, and finally given the totality of my life over to His control and guidance. This is tough for a Type A kinda guy and Type A kinda girl (Emily).
Anyway, with regard to our important Ridge Church changes: We've found that we are a little "ahead of ourselves" in acting our age as a church plant. Just like Chloe should be expected to act like a 7-month old, our church should act its age as well. We want to offer God a Sunday worship gathering that is worthy of His greatness. We want other people as the Body of Christ at Ridge Church to be involved in serving and leading. We want to be a healthy church planting family and make sure that we have healthy time and involvement boundaries. This way, Emily, Chloe and I have our priorities in order and enjoy the family God has blessed us with.
Last Sunday at The Ridge, we shared that our church is going to move to meeting twice monthly on Sundays. We are seeking to "act our age" and strive to be a place of spiritual health for the planter, God's people, and our city as we remember our focus must be upward on God and outward on others, not inward on ourselves.
I have created a PDF document from my PowerPoint slides that we talked about last Sunday. I'd love for you to read it if you'd like to learn more about our re-commitment to our Ridge Church Vision and Values and also to the Lord, each other, and our community. Feel free to check it out here, and also feel free to email me any comments or questions you may have.
Emily, Chloe and I continue to be committed to this great adventure that God has called us to, and we want to encourage you to stay the course with us as we move forward under a renewed sense of the Holy Spirit's leadership.
Have a great week!
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