I took this photo on a recent road trip through Cleveland. I wanted to capture the architectural beauty of this church before nightfall. I didn't notice the name on the street sign, illuminated by the setting sun, until I uploaded the photo later.
How many of us can make full sense of the road our lives have taken? Three years of grad school at one of the world's top universities followed by three years of unemployment and counting....
If you had told us Dave would become a pastor instead of a research chemist, we'd both have laughed our heads off. He hates public speaking. I grew up a PK (preacher's kid), aware that people with their criticism chow down on "Roasted Pastor" every Sunday afternoon.
That's why we were planning to start an "Un-church." Meet in a cafe or bar. Dress down. Eliminate structure. We prayed and dreamed about it for a year, certain God was speaking. All we needed was a place to meet. And a confirmation. We were not going to jump on a church-pioneering bandwagon.
One day last spring the phone rang. There's an empty 1860's church down the road. Would we like to oversee it? Pastor a church plant complete with stained glass windows and a steeple?
We laughed our heads off. Then we said, "Yes."
That's where university roads can lead you. On September 2, Dave and I will begin as the "Pastoring Couple" of Wellsburg Neighborhood Church.
We don't know if Dave will ever darken the doors of a laboratory again. We don't know much of anything. What we do know is that following God's plan is the best way to live. Not always the easiest, often the craziest, but the very best and fullest way to live. We have proven it, time and time again. Now we're buckling our seat belts, ready to begin the Greatest Godventure of our lives so far.
Will you pray for us?