This is Surreal

One of my prayers over the past few years was to be in a healthy church. This became motivation to answer the call to return to seminary. That decision led to the desire growing from just being in a healthy church to desiring to “be in a healthy church and help other churches become healthy.” That is where it stood. Two and one-half years later, it led to a doctoral project on helping move church guests to become family…assimilation. This was one portion of our church’s vision as we moved forward.

My desire and our church’s vision unexpectedly collided and allowed me to complete an assimilation strategy for our church as my doctoral project. The Lord seemed to be fulfilling my desire to be in a healthy church…plus I finished the degree, which I perceived as a calling. This seemed fine until my project supervisor, my mentor in the program, said of my project, “I can see this thing having a life of its own.” Those words stuck. I had already been approached about putting the work into a book. This seemed to be affirmation that others could benefit from the work.

The idea began to have a certain concreteness. It seemed possible. It seemed that I should continue forward, sharing the research findings and the story of how our church’s assimilation plan came to be because of research and discovery. Perhaps other leaders and other churches who could benefit by learning how to help the guests God brings to their churches to become fully-engaged church members.

Now it seems the Lord is answering my prayer to be in a healthy church and help other churches become healthy. I continually remain amazed.My book released a couple of weeks ago. It has been a best-seller in a category on Amazon two times. A state convention purchased one-hundred copies to give to some of their pastors, and one association purchased twenty to give to theirs. I have the pleasure of leading those men through the process in an upcoming meeting. Our church is going to walk through portions of the book in January.

What began as a missing piece of a revitalization strategy became a doctoral project and a book. People are seeking me out to help them. I am truly seeing prayers answered. To God be the glory! I am amazed. This is surreal.

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