I have left the tribe…

13Apr07

While I was at the Tulsa Workshop I received a call from Gary Garrett of the First Christian Church in Mena, AR. He offered me a position as a part-time youth minister for their congregation. After visiting the congregation a few times I accepted their offer. It is a little over 2 hours away and so the commute is a daunting task, however the leadership of this congregation is just what my wife and I have been praying about. We would have loved to have been able to work with University Church of Christ in Conway but there were no part-time positions available. Karen and I wanted to work with young people some where and this seemed perfect except for the drive. They have also been very understanding about my fire department job and are working with me so that I can be effective in my ministry there. They are very grace driven and want to see their young people be taught not entertained. I told them that I refused to be a babysitter or to just entertain their kids and they thought that was great. Mena is a beautiful part of the state and I would love to be there full-time when I leave the fire department one day. The Christian Church is so much like the Church of Christ with the exception of the singing, although in my experience thus far the Christian Church is less anal about issues that do not matter. This congregation wants to live outside the walls of the Church and I love that about them. We are going to miss University Church very much even though we were only there for a short time. University was very similar to First Christian in there theology and ideas, also we will miss our relatives that attend at University very much, especially my Uncle Tommy and Aunt Carolyn. Getting to see them often had become one of the highlights of my week.

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