A New Season

I've finally made a decision. The process of finding a new job has taken forever! About 8 months ago I really felt like God was calling me to change jobs. I didn't know what that would look like. I've gone from every extreme imaginable! Some of my options were 1.) move to Cincinnati, work in a restaurant, help with a homeless ministry, and just have fun with friends for a while. 2.) Be an elementary school teacher in Jacksonville or Atlanta. 3.) Work in corporate America, make lots of money, pay off debt, and then work at a church or help with a church plant. 4.) Live at home, and be more involved in actually doing Family Ministry.

This was the hardest decision I've ever made. I've had so many sleepless nights and I feel like my stomach has been hurting sense October. I love the people at Christ's Church and I have made friendships here that will last a life time. I am closer to people in Jacksonville then I am to my own family and people here that I would die for. But I really felt like God was calling me to go.

At first I wanted to just run away and have fun! I'm young, single, and have nothing holding me down. And then I wanted to find a job and make lots of money. But all of those were ideas I was just juggling in my head. However, as circumstances arose and decisions had to be made, reality began to sink in. This is really going to happen. And as I began to act on my ideas, my true passions and true goals came into light. I realized that I can't just work a normal job. The thought of working 8-5 with no purpose and no meaning became my biggest fear. There is so much more to life then just existing and paying bills. I also realized my desire to be deeply involved in a church. I realized that these were things that defined me and drove me everyday -- to remove them would throw me into a whirlwind. As I was praying about what God wanted me to do, some of my friends began to call me about ministry opportunities at their churches. I talked to so many churches! Some were huge and some were small. Some had women elders and some were 20 hours away. As job offers were coming and flight plans were being made, I realized I needed to put some things into perspective.

I was comparing alot of jobs by the pay check, church size, and proximity of my parents. Um, shouldn't it be about where does God want me to go? I could have gone to a church that had thousands of people, was about to build a huge children's building, and give me a nice paycheck. But that's not what it's about. It's about God and how I can impact others for Him. I didn't want to go to a church that was in the Bible Bell and had good Christian churches on every other street corner. Where was I needed and where could I make the biggest impact.

First Christian Church of Orlando contacted me about a year ago with a job opportunity. I turned it down and never thought twice about it. It was a small church and I wasn't keen on the idea of living in Orlando again. However, it kept coming up. And the Youth Minister called me several times through the year. I know the Youth Minister and the Senior Minister pretty well. They are both amazing men that strive to serve God in everything they do. I finally decided to send them a resume, just to say I gave them a chance. However, as I talked to them and the elders on the phone, everything was seeming to click. I visited the church a couple times and I really felt like I was home and could see myself doing ministry there. It was weird, because when you put all the pros and the cons on a sheet of paper, FCCO was not the place for me. But my God is way bigger then pros and cons. Eventually it all came down to impact. The opportunity for ministry and growth in downtown Orlando is huge! There are so many hurting people there that are looking for answers. There are so many venues to meet nonchristians and invite them to church. And at FCCO there was a need. Many of the churches I interviewed at could hire anyone. If I said no, they'd be on to the next candidate. And they were all easy. They'd be easy jobs, where I'd have to do is sit in an office, plan the curriculum, recruit volunteers, and fill out paperwork for approval. I need a challenge. I need a drive and I need a goal to strive for. I want to get people excited about serving Christ and telling others about Him.

So lets go! Here I am Lord, Send me. Send me wherever you want me to go. I'll go to a shack in Haiti or I'll go to a church of 20,000. I'm yours Lord, everything I've got, everything I am, everything I'm not. I'm completely yours.

So, I'm packing up my office and I'm going to First Christian Church Orlando. This is definitely not a good "career" move, but this is a great ministry move!

In trying to figure out God's will for your life Andy Stanley says, "The problem is not God's unwillingness to communicate, the problem is our unwillingness to follow through. Because there is a tendancey on our part to say 'God I want you to show me what to do, so I can consider it and put it in my basket of options....' God does not give us direction for consideration....God waits until we're at a point in our lives where we say 'God, I don't care what you say or what the answer is. The answer from my perspective is YES, YES, YES! Now what do you want me to do.' When you get to that point personally, you're going to hear from God loud and clear. Because God loves to give direction to his children, but he does not give out information for contemplation and consideration, He gives it out for participation!"