A Big Decision?

Right now I'm feeling the weight of what seems like a big decision for our church. We are currently at over 90% capacity in 2 services at our current meeting location (public high school). It's been a fantastic location for us and we've really enjoyed it, however, we just don't have that many empty seats at optimal inviting hours.

So, we are investigating three options:
1. Doing more services at our current location. We are requesting permission for this now.
2. Moving to another bigger rental location. We're investigating all our options in town currently.
3. Leasing and renovating an existing location. This seems to be the most affordable option to have a space 24/7, but it's still not cheap at all.
4. Buy property and build a building. This is an exciting thought, but totally unrealistic at this stage of the game for us.

This is the question I'm asking, "What will help us reach the most people in this city?" Another question that must be asked at the same time is, "What can we realisticly afford? What is a good stretch for us and what is too much?" These are the questions I'm asking at this point, but I'm not sure how we will find these answers. This is what's "keeping me up at night."

I want so badly for us to make the best decision and I don't want to harm our church or the momentum we're currently experiencing. But I'm also asking, "Where is my faith?" Is it in my ability to make perfect decisions? Is it in my ability to gather all the right data? Is a great leader the one who knows all the right things to do? Or is a great leader the person who seeks wise counsel, works hard to gather accurate data, lays all his agendas before the Lord, and says "God, lead us and we will follow."

I'm trying to figure out all of this right now. This is my faith in action in leadership in the local church and I'm grateful to have the opportunity!

Indescribable

A little over a year ago I posted a thought called "In Between" at which time I stated our great need for God to provide for us in many ways if we were to become the church God is calling us to become. So, I thought I'd give an update.
We still have so very far to go and the opportunity before us is incredible! However, the last 14 months have been amazing. We have seen God provide competent passionate people, abundant resources, and favor in this community beyond what we could have hoped for in this timeframe. It is so exciting!
So, even though we still have a ton of needs ahead of us, I want to at least pause and celebrate what God has done thus far. I realize that I am having the opportunity to participate in something special and I am truly honored to be part of it.
If you ever find yourself in the best college town in America on a Sunday morning, come by and take part in the fun!

Beautifully Chosen

I am bit unique in that I've really not had much experience with girls in my life. My parents were divorced when I was about 5, I have no sisters, no girl cousins, and I have only two boys as children. Bonnie is really the primary girl that God has put in my life and I am blown away by how much better a man I am as a result of her presence.
So, I am well aware that my life would be so much more rich and full if I had a daughter. I have wanted this for some time now and we just haven't gotten pregnant again. Well all along the way, I have had these crazy thoughts about adoption. I feel like it would be such an amazing adventure to welcome a child who has no home into ours and make her our own. To treat her like the princess she was made to be and to help her experience the love-rich home environment that her heart longs for. So, we have decided to do just that. We are pursuing international adoption from China and we are so very excited.
We're just getting started in the process and it's a very long and expensive one, but I am fully convinced that the reward at the end of this journey will be more than worth it.
What would it be like to be left all alone? What if you had no mother or father who knew you intimately? What if no one made you feel like a special unique individual, but rather you were just part of a crowd of the unwanted? How would you manage those feelings?
Then, what if someone went through months and months of hard work and preparation and thousands of dollars of expense to seek you out? What if they prayed and prayed for you and then traveled thousands of miles, leaving everything else behind, just to welcome you? What if they worked ahead of time to prepare a place for you so you would feel warm and special? How would you manage those feelings?
This is the journey our family is starting. We welcome you to share it with us!