Mountains, Dancing, Donkeys and Such

Notice that was dancing - comma - donkeys... not dancing donkeys!

You may be familiar with the New Testament Scripture in which we are told… “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Today as I sat in the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Outpatient Cafeteria area, I realized that the mountain that needed to be moved was not necessarily the mountain in front of me, rather it was the mountain in me. When God first called me to this ministry I felt so unskilled and equipped for the call. The easy thing would have been to laugh and say un-uh God, I can’t do that. Being one who loves a challenge and an opportunity to walk hand-in-hand with the Lord, I said “yes”. The truth is, I wasn’t skilled or equipped, but God didn’t let me stay that way.

What He began doing in me has been built one step at a time.

Sharing the story one person then one church at a time.

I will be brutally honest here and let you know that when God called me, one of the biggest hang ups I had was the fact that I don’t have a college degree. I did get a ticket at USCU once for parking in the wrong spot, and I did raise a college graduate. A simple high school diploma is the only thing I have to offer. I felt like it wasn’t enough. But there we (Madonna and I) sat today; blown away by the skill and equipping given through the grace of an able God. We were there to receive a check awarded to Wellspring Living SC from the kind and generous folks from the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Foundation. As I looked around the room it was very humbling to see our “peers” from other places around Spartanburg and the Foundation Board as well. I realized God had used this plain ol’ girl from Greer and given her an up-close and personal look from the top of the mountain. I once heard Beth Moore say…”if God doesn’t move the mountain, then after you’ve climbed to the top of it… dance”.

Thank You Father for the day You asked me to join you in this mountain climb of dance that we call life, and we call ministry. My motto (stolen from Allen Cantrell) is “any old donkey will do”. And thank you for asking this donkey for the dance of a life-time.

It was a grand view indeed. It is a grand dance indeed. Proof once again that God doesn’t always call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Soooooo…. If you have heard a voice call out to you and say… “would you care to dance?” So what if you have two left feet and no rhythm. He has all the rhythm that you need and will lead and guide every step of the way.

Wellspring Living SC received funding from the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Foundation that will be used for fitness equipment, art therapy supplies and contractual counseling services as we serve women through the Wellspring Living SC Home.
We are so excited that the Foundation Board felt that we were at a place worthy of their trust and expertise. We are honored and thankful for their funding and pray that this is the first of many opportunities to come.

Oh listen, I think the music is about to start. Gotta’ go dust off the dancing/mountain climbing shoes!

Coming Out & Going Public

One of the terms Hub (pastor at Milestones) uses when people cross the line of faith is to encourage them to go public with their decision. One way they can do that is through baptism.
Well I have already been baptized twice, and desperately wanted to be a third time while I was in Ecuador a few years back. The waters proved to be too deep, too fast and way too cold for that to come to pass. I probably would have been swept down stream and could at this point still be MIA.

I have known for a few weeks now that I was about to experience a milestone in my personal life, as Milestones Church experiences one of its own. On Sunday, May 23rd, I will be one of twenty-something people being ordained as the first group of deacons in our church.

A little history... Milestones (formerly known as Spartanburg Community Church) has existed for thirteen years and from the beginning has been lead by a group of Elders. That is one of the most refreshing things I have encountered in our time there. No committees, no voting.... no issues! The Elders are the leaders and decision making group. This soon to be ordained group are simply servants to the families that are assigned to us. We won't have to worry about policies, procedures, hiring, firing or anything of the sort. I think there are nine women, we are so excited to be serving the single moms and single women in our congregation.

I loved it when Hub preached about the qualifications and talked about how the elders had reached this decision, and shared about this brave step of having women deacons. We will not be known as deaconesses, because that is not a term you see in scripture. He also gave the example of Phoebe from Romans 16:1. She was cited as being a servant of the church.

I have been sort of quiet about telling people about this next step. Mostly because I did not want to seem like I was bragging. Partly because I know that some churches have such strong opinions about deacons in general. Some don't allow divorced men, others do. Some churches already have women deacons, some have women pastors.

One night at one of Sarah's ballgames, Gretchen just out of the blue said "have I told you the subject of my next paper?" She had not, and when she said it was on Women Deacons... I almost passed out. I then asked her if I had shared anything about women deacons lately. I had not. As I shared with her all that I shared above, she concurred that what our Elders had concluded was right in line with her research on the subject.
Isn't that just like Jesus to give sweet confirmation in a time and place to be least expected?

So, on the eve of my ordination, I have decided that I too would go public. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to know and serve the six women and their families that have been assigned to me.

Please be in prayer for me and my counterparts as we gather tomorrow evening for a milestone at Milestones!

P.S. . . . I could not resist the song! Hope it doesn't offend~