We could pick any number of tunes to soundtrack our
support raising journey. Some popular
choices might be Survivor by Destiny’s Child, The Final Countdown by Europe,
Roundabout by Yes, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been
Anything We Could Control by Tame
Impala—considering our context and the fact that Tame Impala are from Perth,
Australia this one makes me laugh pretty hard and is a personal favorite. All are funny and in some cases appropriate. But if I had to pick one song, it would be
Some Days Are Better Than Others by U2.
I’ve loved this song for a long time.
It serves as a reminder not to be weighed down by circumstances of the day
but that some days really are better than others and it’s cool to acknowledge it. My favorite line: “Some days it all adds up and what you’ve got
is enough.” Some day soon, right?
In this process of support raising it’s easy to let my
feelings be dictated by how many pledges we’ve had that week or day. If we’ve had multiple pledges I find myself
feeling proud and searching for the magic formula to keep this run of pledges
going. On the flip side, if it’s been a
while since we’ve had any pledges I find myself searching for what I can do to
get things going again. And in both
scenarios I often succumb to anger, which is ultimately born out of a sense of
embarrassment of how long this process is taking, worrying what others might be
saying or thinking regarding the slow-ness of our journey, and the fact that I haven’t been
able to make it happen. And in my head and heart I make it
all about me trying to earn favor with God so that He will release the funds
for us to go to Australia. It becomes an ultimate thing. And when I
make support raising the ultimate thing—the thing I put my hope and trust in
and it lets me down. Every time.
This is not the gospel.
The gospel frees me (and all of us for that matter) from this
self-centered way of thinking and trying to earn favor with God resulting in
some warped transactional theology. If I
do this than God will do that. Friends,
the work was done at the cross. It is
finished. I need to hear this every
minute of every hour of everyday. Of course there is work for us to do in support-raising. We do it. Some days we do it better than others! We believe God has gone before us and raised up those who will partner with us. It's our job to be obedient by sharing about our call and asking and waiting on God to provide. The reality is God doesn’t need us to do His
work. He's graciously invited us to be a part of His
plan and share the Gospel with everyone we meet-- Christian and non-Christian. We all need the gospel. Everyday. As we finish out our support raising
process let that be your prayer for us each and everyday: that we remember God
has done the work and our trust and hope is in Him and not in the
work of our hands.
We’ve been Face Timing into
meetings with our core group in Australia to stay connected and continue to
build relationships with those we’ll be working with once we’re in Perth. This is important as they prepare to move
into the launch phase of church planting. It’s exciting to see God raising people up to be a part of His church
and we cannot wait to get there and join in the work!
This summer we went to New Mexico to visit
friends and meet with some churches about support raising. When we booked that trip I had my doubts about
how well we’d be received at these churches and if we’d see any support raised
at all. I was wrong. That trip has turned out to provide not just
of a number of new partners but a source of continued encouragement.
It all began when a few years ago when Missy started her job
as a gifted and talented education specialist.
One big aspect of her job is working with the parents of her
students. And since Mis has those
students for 3 years at time she’s able to build great relationships not just with her
students but also those parents. In a handful of instances some of those parents have become
friends after the students have moved on to 9th grade.
That’s case with our friends, Amy and
Josh. Josh works in the film industry
(Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and countless others) so they split their time
between Saint Louis, MO and Albuquerque, NM.
Early on in our friendship we were able to share about our call to Perth
with them. As far as we knew they
weren’t churchgoers and were unclear where they stood in matters of faith. They asked some great questions about our
work and seemed genuinely curious in regards to our faith and excited about us moving to Perth to help plant a church.
When they invited us to visit them in New Mexico- it was Amy
who was eager to have us contact churches in the area to share with them about
our work and see if they’d partner with us.
Once we got there we were surprised and excited when they told us not
only that they wanted to partner with us but also that they wanted to open
their home in Saint Louis this fall to host support raising events. Missy and I cannot begin to describe the
source of encouragement Josh and Amy have been in this process. We praise God for their friendship and
hospitality!
On the evening of November 7th, Amy and Josh will
be hosting a dessert for us at their home at 6:30pm. This will be a great opportunity for us to
share more about our work with potential partners. We've invited a number of folks but we also want to invite those who live near St. Louis join us and bring a friend who might be interested in hearing about our work in Perth. If you’re interested in coming please respond
to this email for more details!
Thanks for reading and more importantly thank you for your
prayers. We are some thankful for all of
God’s people who are with us in the journey!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Andy & Missy
