My wife and I recently celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful time, as we stole away together for a romantic night away. We celebrated with food, a riverboat cruise, and Napoleon Dynamite. We celebrated because...

We're still here.

We have kept our promise. Neither of us have died. Our anniversary is a celebration of survival.

I realize that does not sound romantic. We should celebrate the love, or passion, we share. But, our world is filled with couples that celebrate their love...and split up later. Promises and commitments aren't about the emotions of the experience (although there are many). Promises are about honoring the words you have spoken.

We spoke words of meaning 16 years ago and have not broken them...ever.

This Sunday, we celebrated our 1st year as a church at Four Hills. God called us to do it. We listened to Him and stepped out on a limb. Others stepped onto that limb with us. We committed to make this place into a church for imperfect people. And, after 1 year...

We're still here.

It hasn't been easy. There have been highs and lows. But, for every disappointment, God has opened an opportunity. We don't celebrate our excitement or our unending enthusiasm to plant a church. Those things ebb and flow, after all. Instead, we celebrate a promise we made to the Lord to plant this church, and His promise to be faithful to our efforts.

Lots of churches fail within the first 6 months. It's been a year. We celebrate survival. God is faithful and...

We're still here.

Today, the lawnmower at the church broke.

Again.

Thus far this summer, I have replaced a battery, a fuel line, a fuel shutoff valve, and safety contacts under the seat. Now, the drive belt for the mowing deck has snapped. This happened in the middle of cutting the 6 acres surrounding the church. I could not stand to leave it undone, so...I used a pushmower on the rest.

I may have lost 10 lbs. in the process.

I find it funny that my life as a church planter has led me to wear so many different hats. I can honestly say that I never thought I would become a yard machinery mechanic, but...someone has to do it. Our church consists of many great people that have helped me with many different things, but when the rubber meets the road, most of them are working their jobs during the hours I am repairing mowers.

Here are some other hats I have worn in the past two years:

Chef - I am not a great cook. In fact, my wife might tell me that I am awful. But, if there is a hot dog to be grilled, I will grill it. Burgers, too. I can cook just about anything on the grill now. What's that? You want meatloaf? Grill.

Accountant - My previous bosses will tell you what a horrible person I am with numbers. We have a church treasurer, but...as I said before...the day job interferes with him handling the everyday finances of the church. So, I put on my accountant hat. It becomes easier when I realize that it is God's money I am dealing with. Somehow, it makes me far more diligent.

Kids Worker - Our people do a great job with children's ministry. But, if I want them to step up to the plate, I have to be willing to do my share, also. Each Wednesday night, while the adults do their Bible Study, I play with the kids, teaching them Bible stories, while playing kickball. At the end of the night, there is always a snack...and I am always worn out. It keeps me young.

Painter - I have painted more than you can imagine. I didn't know how to paint until one of my members taught me. Now I have a roller and I am dangerous with it. We painted our old church building. We painted our new church building. We painted Veggie Tales characters on the walls of the nursery. We painted chalkboards and dry erase boards. Now...if I could just paint my own house.

Electrician - I realize that I should have a license for this one. But, sometimes, you just have to get stuff done. We have wired lights and sound gear. I have traced bad lines back to their source. I even discovered the hard way that our fire alarm system doesn't work properly.

Landscaper - That is my fancy term for saying that I cut the grass. A lot of grass. Sometimes, I get the mulch out and do the flower beds. It is fun. I have a tan.

Tentmaker - Okay, I don't literally make tents. This term is often used to describe a pastor that works a job in addition to his pastoral duties. When we started our church, I worked for the cable company. After a while, I was able to become a full-time pastor. Now, we are to the place where we have a chance to grow and minister...if I am willing to wear this hat again. I am, so on Monday, I will begin another "tentmaking" job. It is a hat that I must wear from time to time.

Storyteller - I could say preacher or teacher. But, to tell the truth, I do not wear those hats. But, I love to tell stories about Jesus and His Word. I love to see the look on the eyes of the people when I am telling it well. The Word of God is life, so it should be told with life. I have become a masterful storyteller and I think that is one of my favorite hats.

Cowboy - When I need to dress up for an event, I do it. This past Sunday, I was a cowboy. It was hilarious. Our church had fun. I even wore a cowboy hat. Not bad.

It's been fun wearing my writer's hat for a bit. But now, there is a lawnmower to fix. I gotta find that hat to put it on. Ah, the life of a church planter.

I realize that I usually begin my posts with a scripture. I know that every post has some deeper meaning or some type of life application that stems from the situation that I am writing about. I am sure that you expect lots of things when I post something.

But...this isn't one of those posts.

This weekend, Four Hills Church will celebrate its One Year Anniversary. It has been about two years since we originally conceived the church that now resides on Zhale Smith Road. It started with a couple of people in a Dunkin Donuts in New Jersey and now, well, let's just say that things have come a long way.

So, I thought I would take this chance to note some things at this milestone:

1. Our church looks nothing like I thought it would. You know how you dream things and then, the reality looks far different. This is one of those situations. Only, in this case, the difference isn't bad...it's amazing. I always said I wanted a church that was different from the others, but I always envisioned a church that looked the same as everyone else. I am pleased to say, we went for different...and different is what we got. We have a family filled with normal church rejects and I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

2. Things progressed much faster than I thought they would. Looking back at our initial planning, we assumed we would be a portable church for at least two years and that I would be bi-vocational during that time. Amazingly, God has provided a way for me to devote my time to the church and for us to be in a building that is dedicated to our uses...in less than a year. Wow!

3. Helping people is harder than I thought. In my mind, I had this idea of a church that helped the community and the people in that community. It turns out, that is easier said than done. For one thing, it costs a lot of money to help people. For another, people run and hide when you offer to help them. They are waiting for the other shoe to drop. But...we have found a way to help, through our Angel Food Ministry and our benevolence fund. In our first full year, we spent more money on others than on ourselves. Not bad.

4. When we said we wanted to minister to kids, God took us seriously. We committed to being a church that valued their children. We decided that we would attempt to minister to them in a highly-prioritized way (we just had our 5th Sunday Family Worship and it was amazing). God, being the One that listens when we pray, decided to honor us with a ton of kids. That's right, our downstairs children's ministry competes in attendance with our upstairs adult worship service. Thank you, God, for taking us seriously.

5. When everyone gives, things can happen. For a small church, we have an unusually high percentage of givers. In fact, it is uncanny how many of our people participate in that part of worship known as the offering. Our income has increased with each season and we are coming to realize that the more we give away, the more God trusts us with. A giving church is blessed by giving people who are blessed by a giving God. Nothing wrong with that.

6. Miracles happen when you call on the name of the Lord. We have story after story of miraculous events in the lives of our people. Some are financial. Some are emotional. Still others are actual physical miracles. Heck, my grandmother was dying in a hospital and now she has recovered with doctors hanging their mouths open wondering how. We prayed. We believed. God delivered.

7. Family can get on each others nerves. We have said from the beginning that we want Four Hills Church to be a family, no matter the size. We have experienced love, redemption, jealousy, in-fighting, and restoration. It feels like...um...a family. It makes me smile to think about it.

8. People have begun to read the Bible. That may seem like a no-brainer. But, the churches of today place a pretty heavy priority on worship and leave a good chunk of people out there feeling good, but not reading. We are excited that our people are opening up the Book that matters and giving it a chance. God works through His Word.

9. There is still so much to do. In the next year, we are wanting to get a full-fledged youth ministry going, along with Men's and Women's ministries, some form of boys and girls clubs, and a stronger outreach effort. It would be a pretty lousy excuse for a church if we just thought, "Things are good. Let's rest now."

10. We know that God is faithful. With a long road behind us and a longer road ahead of us, we can take this moment to thank God for His faithfulness and to trust that it will continue. Isn't it good to know that He delivers on His promises? Isn't it good to stand with Him?

Time sure does fly...but...

We've only just begun.

Happy New Year!

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. - 2 Corinthians 9:13

They tell me confession is good for the soul. It seems like a pretty nice adage. In fact, I can remember many times when I had been guilty of something and...when the time of confession came...sure enough, it felt great to let the truth be heard.

Of course, when the Bible speaks of confession, it has two distinct approaches. The word "confession", as it appears in the Old Testament, is a clear statement of sin guilt. The people would confess their sins and God would be faithful to forgive them. In the New Testament, the word "confession" is almost exclusively used as a means of declaring the Lordship of Christ. A person would confess Jesus as Lord or confess the gospel of Christ.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but...those sound like complete opposites.

When I think of confession, I almost always think of the "sin" confession. Maybe it is the dominance of the Catholic faith in the U.S., but, in my eyes, I must confess all the wrong in my life. How cool is it to learn that, with Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, my confession no longer is about my sin, but about His victory over that sin.

So, without further ado...my confession:

• There are times when I wish I were not a pastor, but Jesus reminds me that He is the shepherd and not me.
• I have sinned more as a Christian than before I was a Christian, but His blood covered ALL of the sin, so I am white as snow.
• When people talk about the end of the world, I roll my eyes, but when Christ does come back, He will be returning for me anyways.
• I am often a horrible father and husband, but Jesus has blessed me with the most wonderful family that they keep me in line.
• I have failed in ministry more times than I can keep count, but He continues to call me onward.
• I find there are times that I do not like people, but Jesus reminds me that I am loved, so I must love others.
• Jealousy consumes me when I look at other churches and their pastors, but Jesus offers swift reprimand and then gives me a hug.
• I cry a lot more than you might imagine, but Jesus keeps my tears in a bottle.
• When I stand before Jesus, I will have very little to show from my life that isn't shameful, but He will look at me and say, "Well done", not because I am great, but because I am weak and I let Him be strong.

There you go. Confession is good for the soul. After reading this, I am reminded that it is all Him and none of me. He is Lord.

It's a good thing, too.