The Treasuring Christ Together Church Planting Network consists of former and current church planting residents from Bethlehem Baptist Church and the Bethlehem church planting staff. Four times a year, the network gathers in some part of the country for a couple days of prayer, planning, training, and mutual encouragement. We met last week in Raleigh, NC, where Sean Cordell, former BBC resident, planted Treasuring Christ Church in 2005. It was so encouraging to see all that the Lord is doing in and through this young church plant in downtown Raleigh. If you would like to get a feel for a few of the former BBC residents and their church plants, look here…
My father, aka “Pops,” came to visit last week. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him. He loved on the children, sent Molly and me out on several dates, and treated us all to a trip to the Minnesota Children’s Museum in downtown St. Paul. What an amazing museum! I think I enjoyed it as much as the children did. The photos below were all taken there.
I had the privilege of giving the devotion before communion during both of the Sunday morning services last weekend. It was a tremendous blessing for me. I had no idea it was being filmed. You can view it above.
My children only saw snow once or twice in Mississippi. They hardly knew what to do with it when they saw it this morning (on October 10th!). Olivia figured it out pretty quickly, however. What do you do with snow? You eat it!
I was commissioned last weekend, along with Jason Vaden, as a pastoral resident of Bethlehem Baptist Church. I cannot describe what a blessing this was for Molly and me. We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the kindness of God during this season of our lives. He has graciously provided us with a tremendous opportunity to serve and grow in an amazingly joyful, God-glorifying, Christ-exalting church. We are very, very thankful.
Pastor John Piper praying during our commissioning service
Molly’s parents, who were visiting from Pennsylvania, were able to join us for a Bethlehem staff picnic at Hidden Falls Park. We thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship, the ultimate frisbee, and the S’mores (Isabelle for sure!). The three men pictured with me below are Kenny Stokes (church planting pastor at Bethlehem), Cleon Engel (church planting coordinator), and Jason Vaden (other church planting resident). Click the photos below for close-ups…
A couple times a year, the Bethlem pastoral staff heads out of town for a few days in order to spend time fasting, praying, and planning together. I had the privilege of attending my first Pastors Pray and Plan Retreat last week at Ham Lake, a small lake about 30 minutes north of Minneapolis. It was an incredible privilege to observe godly pastors working together humbly, prayerfully, and tirelessly(!) in a concerted effort to glorify Christ by shepherding more faithfully the flock among which God has made them overseers (Ac. 20:28). Sleeping outside under the Minnesota stars wasn’t too shabby either!
Click above for close-up of Bethlehem pastoral staff at Ham Lake
By God’s grace, we arrived safe and sound in Minnesota near the end of July and are now slowly unpacking boxes and settling into our new place in Richfield. Richfield is a small suburb about 10-15 minutes south of downtown Minneapolis, where Bethlehem Baptist Church’s downtown campus is located. That’s where I’ll be officing for the next 12 months or so, Lord willing. The children love it here so far. Augsburg Park and Library, which are both right across the street from our new home, offer them plenty of room to roam and lots of things to explore. We cannot describe how grateful we are to be here and have this opportunity to take part in the Treasuring ChristTogether church planting residency. We have lots of work ahead, but first things first, right? And here’s the first item on our agenda…
