NEW YEARS DAY 2006

Indescribable...that's how I'll remember 2005. Last night, we had an end of the year service, and as that song was playing I thought "Yep, that's a word to describe one of the fastest years of my life." We said goodbye to some special people last night, Chris and Kelley Butler, and they are off to serve God in a new place this year, and I know they will do a great job. As many said last night, God used them to make a big impact in many young people's lives...and even a few older people, too. This year is the beginning of a new chapter for me, really it's more like a new book, yet to be written. What will the plot be? What will the theme be? I'm really not sure, and I am trusting God that He will make it clear. We also remembered the cross and what it means last night, and I thought about how that theme of the cross always needs to be at the forefront of ministry, the great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. I wanted the last thing that Chris and I did together to be centered around the cross, and it was....he took the base of the cross up to the front of the worship center, and I brought the cross down the aisle, and then held on to it as we listened to "The Old Rugged Cross", which was one of my dad's favorite songs. I held on to the cross for what might have seemed like a long time...."I will cherish the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown"...I really thought about that last night. As we move forward to another year, sometimes we want to hang on to those special times, but we have to move ahead...it's human nature to compare and long for the past, but I think it's the nature of Christ to look ahead expectantly for what is to come. After all, because of what HE has done, we have hope for the future, and man, do I need to remember that today. There will never be another year like 2005, and there will never be other summer ministers like Chris and Kelley, and we should not look for that or try to replace them...each person that comes into our lives is unique. If you are reading this from the LBC family, pray with me that God will send us people to work with us, that will help us to grow in ways that we can't even imagine. God is so much bigger than we can even imagine! Lord, expand our vision and thank you for your grace, for special people and memories, and for giving us a hope and a future!
Keep Believing!
John