Praise the LORD!

At 11:30 this morning I received a call from Dick Jones, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in New Braunfels, TX. He told me that the session voted to extend me a call to be their Assistant Pastor of Youth and Family.

I responded with a resounding "yes!" We could not imagine a better place to be. I will be doing exactly what I have been longing to do, and we could not find a better match for my philosophy of ministry. There is every reason to go to this church. Pastor Dick kind of reminds me of my PawPaw too.

The area is certainly different from anywhere Hilary or I have ever lived. We'll be living in the hill country of Texas. New Braunfels is 20 minutes Northeast of San Antonio on I-35, and it's about 45 minutes from Austin. Compared to Jackson, New Braunfels is paradise: its population hovers around 50,000; the crime rate is non-existent—they have an average of one murder every 2 years; the economy is booming (Texas is one of the economically strongest states, mostly due to their conservatism; isn't it odd that the former president was previously the governor?); the housing market is stable, and Texas largely avoided the sub-prime loan fiasco. New Braunfels is also a tourist trap: it is home to the top-rated water park in the USA, Schlitterbahn. It is going to be drastically different from Jackson and Redeemer; but, Redeemer is not where God has called me to be. 

God has not called me to multi-ethnic ministry at Redeemer. Many people have asked me why I am not applying for their youth ministry position. This is the primary reason. I simply do not feel the call or the gifting.

I certainly have a heart for reaching the local community—that around the (any) local church—and that always means ministering to those who are different. I certainly believe that the body of a church should reflect the local community. I also reject the ecclesiastical trend to move a church wherever the folks in the church are moving, so that it stays white, middle-class, and suburban. I fully agree with Redeemer's vision, and I love what they are doing, and I love all the people with whom we have fellowship and have ministered among. But, it is not our home any more.

We have not set a moving date yet, nor do I have a date I am supposed to begin work. We want to move soon; Hilary will only get bigger, more tired, and less mobile as Little Toot grows. We hope to be there in two months. There are still many things to sort out before the move, and the main factor will be how quickly we can get them done. Number one on the list is finding a place to live; we don't want to move there to live in a cardboard box and a storage unit—not that the church would let us, of course.

The top five things we are looking forward to are (not in particular order):

1. Being in/near a city with better birthing options than Jackson,

2. The opportunity to do full-time ministry in exactly the capacity I feel called,

3. Being in a great church that is Word-centered, growing, and engaging the culture,

4. Being near April and Chris,

5. and, Being near the Bassetts, who are like my third favorite family, after my own and my in-laws. Hilary likes them a lot too.

It is going to be very, very, very hard to move so far away from our families and all our friends who are in Jackson and up-and-down I-55. We know that God is giving us even more family in Texas, but we will miss our close friends, family, and the folks at Redeemer tremendously; we do not want to lose touch. It will be nice to be able to establish our own family and traditions; yet we know we will be missing the help of our parents in the child-rearing process. Though, we certainly want visits as often as possible; and there are always extended stays with family.

My posts always seem to find more length than I intend to give them. So this is the end. Bye Bye, now!