"God teaches us to pray by inviting us to do the impossible." ~ Pastor Carol Grossman Prayer is a big part of how I got started on this church planting journey so it may not come as a surprise that I thought I was an expert at prayer. But just a few months in, God is already showing me I had a pretty limited understanding of the purpose and power of prayer. What I had was a comfortable routine marked by lots of obligatory prayers, prayers of gratitude/thanksgiving, prayers of

"Set your alarm for 9:38 every day. Use this as a reminder to pray for laborers to enter the harvest field." ~Gregg Tipton That was the challenge posed to me a few years ago by a friend who refused to let me get comfortable where I am. It's a challenge based on Matthew 9:37-38 where Jesus tells his disciples that the harvest is plentiful - there are tons of people who are desperate for the hope, relief, and joy that comes from knowing God (more on this in a later post) - and

In the morning we are going to meet together to celebrate Jesus and enjoy being together... and I have to tell you that I am in the process of going to a new city to plant a church. I have been intimidated by this day ever since it became clear that God is calling us to go - second only to the intimidation of having to tell our kids that we are going to move away. Some of you will be mad. Some will be sad. Some won't care at all. Several people will come up with reasons why t