In Support Of My Friend Chad Stewart

My church has lost its Pastor. He had been gone since December, and now with his death, we are left with a void. This is not to say that our church staff hasn't done an amazing job in his absence, they have. Our associate pastor Chad has taken the reigns, not so much out of his own desire but really much more out of necessity.

It's like in those old westerns, where the reigns of the stagecoach gets cut, and all of a sudden someone has to jump in and bring the stage under control at great risk to themselves trying to keep it from crashing. That is the situation Chad has found himself in.

I can honestly say that I would not want to trade places with him at all. He has been put into a very tough and challenging position, yet has risen to that challenge in a most admirable and noble way. Hired in to be our college and career pastor, he had the added responsibility of youth pastor when ours left, and then when Pastor David left, our church board tapped him to become our associate pastor, all in the course of a year's time, and I might add that none of this had been discussed when Pastor David hired him. Oh, and don't let me forget, he also got married in that time as well.

Chad has had to fill some pretty big shoes when it comes to teaching and leading my church, but he does have what it takes to fill them, and I see that growing with each passing week. This is not his first dance so to speak, he helped to pioneer a church in Missouri and was an associate pastor on staff there. It was after leaving that church that he decided to go to Bible School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. God has been leading him on a path laid out for him before the foundations of the world. I know in my heart that Chad has been placed at my church for just such a time as this.

God does have a handle on what is going on at Word of Life. Nothing in the last several months has caught Him off guard, and He for sure didn't say, "Well, I didn't see that coming." Pastor Chad is at Word of Life because God wants him there. The best thing we as a church body can do right now is to support his leadership, get behind what he is doing and stay humble before the Lord.

I know that people tend to want to give their opinions about what should or shouldn't be done in these types of situations, heck, I've even been known to be kind of opinionated from time to time. (Ha!) But right now, we should keep our opinions to ourselves, pray (A lot.) for the staff and the board for the decisions that they have to make concerning our church's future and listen very closely for the Spirit's voice about what our part is to play at Word of Life. (And then do that.)

I wanted to write this blog this morning in the hope that it might help bring knowledge to others so they would support Chad Stewart in the job that God has for him at Word of Life. God has great things in store for us as a church, and we will see the continuation of Pastor David's vision for reaching people grow and grow. So let's not worry about what the future holds, let's just get behind Pastor Chad now and follow where he (By the Holy Spirit) leads us.

I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down In My Heart

Last night at my church, we experienced a time in the Presence of God unlike the which I've not seen in a while. Our Associate Pastor Chad preached a sermon about joy, and how we as Christians should be the most joyful people on the planet, yet most days if there is any joy in our hearts, we have forgotten to notify our faces.

Joy is not an emotion, it is a fruit of

the Spirit. And as Chad said last night, an orange tree doesn't have to work to produce oranges, they just form naturally. Now there are things that you can do with the orange tree to make it's fruit become larger and more succulent, you can add fertilizer and prune the tree.

And just as it is possible to do that with a natural orange tree, we can also do that to ourselves spiritually. We can add fertilizer to our hearts, through reading God's Word and prayer. We can also do that by helping others when they are in need. As Christians, we are suppose to be faith people, and in last night's service I was made aware of how far from faith I have been lately. There have been things in my life that have brought stress, confusion and strife, and instead of doing what I've learned and been taught all of my Christian life, I just laid down and let the enemy run rough shod over me. Well, no more.

Life is hard, that is a fact. Life is good, and that also is a fact. These two things at times seem to be at odds with each other whenever we try and reconcile the two into our daily lives. See, being a Christian doesn't mean that we float around on flowery beds of ease, not at all. The early day saints had it rough, Roman occupation, being chased out of cities for spreading the truth of Jesus and what He had done. That was definitely not an easy life.

We are instructed in Scripture that it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) And Jesus told us that in Him, we might have peace or joy. (John 16:33) So joy should be a mainstay staple in the Christian life. I wonder then why it isn't always? It is a choice that we have to make to overlook the things in our lives that cause us to not be joyful, and decide to be joyful in spite of what the circumstances tell us.

This is not always easy, and it appears that this is the thing that the Lord is instructing me in at this point in my life. Now I'm not complaining because I know in the end it will be for the benefit of me and my family. So now I will pick up the joy that is in my heart, which is my strength and I will put it on my face so that those around me can see the fruit of joy begin to blossom in my life.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!