The Beginning of the End

We had a whirlwind of a weekend! Sunday was my last time preaching and Jenn and a few people from the team were able to lead worship. It was really fun--I enjoyed teaching and I felt like I was able to honor the people of this church who have been so gracious to us in the past seven years. After church they threw us a "going away" party and I was surprised at how many people turned out to hug us and tell us how much they would miss our team. It was a good time--I think we all felt loved.

The next couple weeks are all about closure. I don't know if I'm going to be able to fit in all the last minute meetings with different people, but I'm working on it.

Coming up for air.

The pace is beginning to pick up as we come into the home stretch in our transition to Durango. We are working on the final details of selling/buying and moving. The Daniels leave on June first and Jenn and the kids and I drive out on the 11th. We are still waiting for Peggy's house to sell as well as the Daniels' properties.

This weekend (May 28th) is my last chance to preach at SVCC as well as the last opportunity for our worship-leading team members (Heidi, Daena, Jenn, and Steve) to lead worship. Last week I found out that the church is going to have a special offering for our team and throw us a party after church this weekend. I am grateful for the gesture--especially in light of our process with church leadership over the past several months. For me, it is an indication that we have, indeed, handled ourselves wisely in this transition--to the point where the SVCC leadership feels they can support us in this way.

I can see that, while our team is excited about the transition, we are also beginning to feel the stress of the move. I am really praying that God's peace prevails while marriages, parenting, finances, and relationships are being stretched to their max. I am also praying that I am able to be wise and insightful in the way I lead this team through this time. I'm not entirely sure what I have to offer them, but I sincerely want to serve them and honor the incredible risks and sacrifices each of them is making in pursuing this call.

We are still praying for the funding to show up and for the provision of jobs when we arrive. The next time I post here, I will probably be living in an empty house out of a suitcase in Salinas hoping all our stuff made it into storage in Durango safely! Thank you to everyone who has been following our journey here and supporting us in prayer!

The Johnson's Have A House!

It's true! Jennifer was successful in her mission of picking and buying our new home in Durango in three days over this past weekend. She managed to find a house that she really likes, fits our needs, has a large enough man cave (garage) for me AND fits in our price range. Perhaps one of the best features of this home is it's location in a great development surrounded by neighbors who we can get to know and may potentially be impacted by CTK. Peggy also put an offer on a home contingent on her Salinas house selling.

So, we have the Daniels moving on June 1st, I will be moving Jenn and the kids on the 14th of June and I will rejoin them on July 13th followed shortly by Steve the first week of August (Peggy will move as soon as her house sells--please pray that that happens soon!). We are all anxious to get there and begin construction of our new faith community. I feel a little like we are all jumping from a plane. We're jumping at different times, but all going to the same place--and I won't feel right until we are all safely on the ground!

We are still watching the support come in. So far we have an amazing group of people supporting us prayerfully and financially. Right now we stand at about 25% of what it would take to support us for the first year, so we could use prayer for more support and for quick hiring at new jobs in Durango for Steve and I.

House-buying Mission

Jennifer and Peggy left today in the wee hours of the morning for Durango to take a whirlwind tour of all the (six) houses in our price range, intent on making an offer on one of them by Monday! This is, of course, exciting and mildly terrifying. I am really praying that Jenn is able to make a choice with confidence that she is informed and wise and Spirit-led. I'm looking forward to this experience for Jennifer--naturally, I want her to find the right home, but I also want this to be an opportunity for her to grow in trusting her intuition and experience God's blessing in a personal way. I can't wait to see what I am able to post here Monday!

Yippee!

I just got back from a meeting with our realtor making a counter offer on the sale of our house! We are very excited to see this go through and simultaneously overwhelmed at the thought of what it's going to take to get us out of our house by June 9th when my job here isn't really done until July 15th. In any case, we are extremely grateful for this to be happenning. Along the same lines, it seems that Peggy has a potential buyer for her house as well (she should know this week) and the Daniels are waiting to hear about the financing for their home.

The next step for us will be for Jenn and Peggy to fly to Durango and pick out new homes. We could really use prayer for the orchestration of this home transition. At this point, it looks like Jenn and the kids will have to move in the middle of June and I will be staying here until the middle of July. This is not my ideal scenario, but we are willing to do what we have to in order to leave Salinas well and get ourselves to Durango.

I am filled with a sense of relief at passing this milestone in this process. I'm thinking that it will be important for us to stop and acknowledge this moment before we become inundated wtih the details of "the next step".

Getting Practical

As the weeks wind down toward our departure, I am seeing more and more of the practicalities involved in our transition. There are things that were once part of the distant landsape--details that I envisioned happening, but never considered how--that are now quickly approching as relevant needs. Steve and I need computers. There are other things we need too...a moving company, a way to transport our cars that won't make the drive to Durango, etc...but right now I'm thinking about computers. The CTK office in Durango will basically consist of whatever chair we find ourselves sitting in. The good news is that our ongoing expenses will pretty much be hot chocolate and coffee (depending on who you're talking to). On the other hand, we will need at least computers to be able to maintain communication as well as manage small groups and teaching. Now that we've come to this place, I'm really not sure how this is going to happen. We are looking to God to provide what we need, of course, but I'm very curious as to what that will look like. I am facing the reality that, in a couple months, some other guy is going to be sitting at this desk in front of this computer and my "palm pilot" will be what I say when I'm referring to writing things down on my hand with a ball point pen. This is not to say that I am afraid we will not get what we need to accomplish what we've been called to do--on the contrary, I am excited and look forward to it. I guess it's just interesting to be in this place where these things are no longer ideas...dreams...concepts, but realities. I like making plans. I love to dream up how things could or should be--infact, sometimes I think I'd rather plan and dream than make the plan or dream happen! Well, it's time to make things happen and implement the things God has shaped in my heart and mind for so many years up to now. Whew! What have we got ourselves into!!??!! In the timeless and eloquent words of Mike Yaconelli, "What a ride!"

I have never felt more alive than now--trusting God to put legs to a vision that is so pristine, so beautiful, so reckless and dangerous that you're almost afraid to actually live it out! I'm on the edge of my seat...I'm my brother, Tim, when he was six years old standing up in the theater in the middle of the movie because the story is too intense to sit down. I'm terrified that this will all fall apart and I will fail some of the most amazing people I've ever known and at the same instant the thought of what could be is too beautiful to pass up!

That's good stuff...I'll have to put that on my palm pilot!

New Partners?

Well, tomorrow Steve, Jenn and I are driving to Truckee, CA (about four hours away--near Tahoe) to meet with some people from a church there who might be interested in partnering with us in Durango. One of Peggy's friends (Jenn's mom) from a long time ago is now attending a church in Truckee which turns out to be a town very similar to Durango in terms of size and tourism. I guess the church in Truckee is starting to put together their missions program and is interested in what we are doing because of the similarities in the two communities. This is an exciting proposition not only for the potential financial implications, but for the inspiration of having other church communities interested in our vision for Durango. Just the thought that someone would want to hear more about what we're doing is incredibly validating. We are praying that this will be a fruitful trip and that God would use this new relationship to build up the kingdom in both communities.

Matters of Prayer

Well, we are in the downhill portion of our journey to Durango. Houses are on the market, replacements for our jobs are being found, and opportunities for closure are being sought. Right now, the matters of greatest concern are the sale of the Johnson's and Daniels' and Peggy's homes. The housing market is pretty slow (for this area) right now, so we are really hoping the sales go quickly so we can then turn our attention to buying homes in Durango. Peggy's replacement as admininstrative assistant to the worship pastor at SVCC has been found! Fortunately the replacement is willing to wait until Peggy moves to step in, so Peggy has that income until she is ready to go. Steve has set up the Nexus (college/career ministry) with new leadership that is already beginning to assume responsibility. The search continues for a new youth pastor to replace Chip at SVCC. We could use prayer that they are able to find someone who will not only do a good job, but specifically someone who will be able to bond with the group of local youth pastors in the Salinas area.

I could personally use prayer for wisdom and discernment as I complete my final months as youth pastor. I am really struggling with the dynamic of making plans and laying the groundwork for a program I may or may not be present for in the coming months. I would appreciate prayer for clarity and direction as to the status of my job and continuted favor with the leadership of SVCC.

Another matter of prayer is the ongoing discussion of what Chip and Steve will do for work. We are having some great conversations about our philosophies of bi-vocational minstry. Right now, we both feel pretty strongly that we don't just want to work to supplement the church's ability to support us, but we want to do work that will establish cerdibility for us and CTK in the community of Durango. I've even met with a local tow truck company owner to see if I might be able to get some training to qualify me for that line of work should it be available in Durango. Heidi is also trying to figure out what her work situation will be when we move. She wants to find the right balance between community connection and bringing in the funds necessary to live and invest in the church.

Overall, we are excited about the coming transition--impatient even--as we count the weeks until we get to move. I am especially excited about the Daniels' trip to Colorado this coming week. They will be seeing Durango for the first time since commiting to be part of our team months ago! I am praying that they will be overwhelmed with a sense of affirmation of their decision to trust God in this great adventure.

Introduction

If you read the intro to this blog you know the basics about what I’m about right now. My goal is to use this as a forum to flesh out some of the concepts and ideas I am thinking about in the formation of what will be Christ the King Community Church Durango. If you need more background on CTK, visit the website at www.ctkonline.com which is quite extensive in communicating the values and focus of the organization. Suffice it to say that our church community strives for "deliberate simplicity" and cultural relevance over tradition and religion.

I will also be using this blog as a place to voice our specific prayers and matters of concern—both to inform people and to create a record of our journey in establishing this church community.