Church Planting Life So Far

Planting a church is a ton of work.  It’s not that the work is difficult, but man is it selfless.  One of my biggest struggles thus far with this whole process has been giving up my personal time to intentionally be around other people.  I knew this would be a struggle so I began praying about it before we even moved here.  What is amazing is that now, after living this intentional life, I have seen the Holy Spirit working in those we have built relationships with, and it makes every minute of this worth it!

Our church that we have planted runs a little bit differently than any other church I have been in.  The most significant structural difference is a church service.  We don’t have one.  When I invite people to church, I don’t invite them to church.  They are invited to a weekly Bible study that we have, or into a disciple group.  The Bible study consists of our two church planting families, and a new middle school student.  Our disciple groups consist of neighbors or co-workers who we read a large portion of scripture with.  We meet weekly and discuss how we are living by what we read.   

What I like the most about the set-up of our church is, I have to be intentional.  It is my job to make sure the people I am meeting with are shown the truth of God’s word.  If I truly want to show them Christ, I can’t rely on a pastor or church service to do it (Granted I do ask Dave a ton of questions!).  I have to not only act out my faith by showing love, but I also have to be up on my game when it comes to God’s word.   One of the greatest things about being part of a disciple group is that I am held accountable each week to read scripture. Sometimes that means the entire book of Isaiah in two weeks, or the book of James 5-7 times a week.  How can I expect to disciple someone and help them follow Christ and God’s word if I don’t know it! I certainly still don’t know all of it, and that’s why I have an amazing church family to help me and guide me, but I have learned so much through the amount of Scripture that I have been reading. 

I have been asked a couple of times by different people, “Don’t you miss singing and worshipping with other believers?”  The first time I got this question, it wasn’t something I had really thought about.  I do like singing with other believers, but I sing by myself all the time to God and just hadn’t noticed it.  The second time I got this question, my answer was, “No.”  To be honest, I don’t miss it.  I know I am exactly where God wants me to be.   I don’t feel like I need to sing with a crowd of other believers to be sustained or renewed.  It kind of shocked me when I came to this conclusion because I really do love singing with other people. I just don’t miss it, crave it, or feel like I need it. 

If it is Gods will, then one day, Sentral Church will have an actual service in an actual building, with a worship leader and a crowd of people singing to the Lord.  Until then, we have a primary focus of serving God by making disciples who follow Christ, study His Word and make other disciples who do the same.   We don’t need anything else right now.  

Month Two

My how the time has flown!  It seems like just yesterday we were unpacking the last box.  Our new married life has begun and is filled with 40 hour work weeks, meeting and building relationships with new neighbors, and trying to find the time to actually go out and explore OKC a little bit.  With those schedules and our new OK Driver Licenses, we definitely feel like this is home.  People told me Okies would be wierd, and I have been asked by many how the people are here.  So, after some quiet deliberation I can honestly say that either they are normal, or I am just as wierd with them.  I will say that when you tell an Okie that you will have Jolly Jumps at your block party, they look at you with a wondering expression of what on earth those could possibly be.  Other then that they're pretty normal.  

A conversation came on the radio the other day that got me thinking.  It was actually a few weeks ago and I thought, "I should write my next blog post on this topic."  Well, 3 weeks later, here it goes.  

I feel like I know more people who rededicate their life to God then those who become Christians for the first time (as if you can become Christian a second time).  As this thought occured to me, I had two main questions pop in my head.  The first: Why does becoming a Christian not always work the first time?  That lead me to the second question: If people become a Christian and truly follow Jesus then they wouldn't have to rededicate their lives again, so were the people rededicating their lives actually Christians?  I am sure some were (because I was), and it sure makes the case for discipling.


I have been at youth conferences where many students go up to the stage to rededicate their life to Christ and it's a victory, but then three days later, they are living exactly the same as they were before they came, saying the same types of words, and negative statements.  I feel  as humans, we have great intentions, but we are very set in our ways.  It is difficult to completely change your lifestyle after one decision.  

So, whether a person rededicates their life to Christ after falling away or chooses to follow Christ for the first time, discipling is very important.  It is what every member of our church chooses to do on a weekly basis.  It is an intregal part of who we are.  Not only do we teach and build each other up, but we are reading the Bible with people whose worlds are going to be turned upside down when they realize they are not following Jesus and choose to make the incredible decision to act out the faith they thought they had. When that happens (because it will) we will continue discipling them, then they can disciple others.  Slowly we can begin to wipe out the rededication aspect of Christianity where it will no longer be necessary!  I can't wait!

Week Two

I feel like we are home.  It is amazing to me, but I don't think I have very felt this way about any place that I have ever lived outside of Roswell.  I am very grateful to feel so comfortable because in 4 days I will be starting a new job, completing tasks I have never before attempted, and doing my best to trust that God will give me the knowledge and connections to get it all done.

When I moved to Scotland for my Masters degree, I remember having to completely change the way I spoke in my courses and writing.  The people I met there, primarily my professors and colleagues, spoke with a large academic vocabulary.  This is normal in classrooms, but in my mind and probably in reality, they spoke this way in their everyday lives.  Everyone was so knowledgeable.  I struggled to sound as knowledgable and well educated as they did.  Eventually my vocabulary began changing and I didn't feel quite as uneducated (even though I have had a great education).

Moving back to Roswell scared me.  Not everyone used the academic vocabulary I had grown accustomed to and I was afraid I would lose that as well as all the knowledge I had gained.  I felt like I was going to be dumbed down if I stayed too long.  I'm sorry.  I know that is a terrible thing to say, and I have such amazing, smart, respectable friends and family in Roswell, but it wasn't Edinburgh and I may have turned into a bit of a prude since I actually believed that.  I tried so hard to get out of Roswell, but God had other plans as all those who know me understand.  As those plans were taking shape and I was going to be staying in Roswell, God was shaping my heart towards his and kind of slapped me in the face.  Side note: God doesn't care how much your grieving, if you  need humbling, he will humble you.   That slap consisted of God reminding me that the amount of knowledge in my mind and the vocabulary I use do not make me who I am.  My identity is not found in my education, my vocabulary, or what I know.  My identity is found in Him.

I share this because I am beginning to go back into that world.  The world where vocabulary, specifically academic vocabulary, is important.  The world where I need to be able to understand the English language in all aspects.  I still have so much to learn.  The difference now, is that I understand that my identity is in Christ.  God has given me this position and I know that he will give me the knowledge and words I need to succeed.  I am so excited to be back in the world of international students and I can't wait to see how God will use all of this for His glory!!!

Week 1

Many people hate change.  Hate is a strong word.  Change is definitely hard, but it can also be exciting and renewing.  Change and I are very familiar. He visits me often lately and when he does, its always in a dramatic way.  To me, change is dramatic, and I do my best to live a drama free life.  Thankfully, his last visit was welcomed! David and I just got married, went on our honeymoon and are now unpacking our new apartment in OKC.   It was not easy leaving my friends in Roswell and moving even farther away from my parents.  However, this change needed to happen.  Now that we are in Oklahoma, I feel like I have lived here for a while; like it is home (despite the boxes I still need to unpack).  Now that I have begun this new chapter in life, I have never been more certain that this is where I am supposed to be.  I feel like everyday in OKC so far has been a constant reassurance of that.  I am so excited to begin my new job teaching ESL and meet so many new people. 

I have caught myself at more than one point feeling like I am a missionary.  What’s odd is that this is how I should have been feeling my entire Christian life.  My prayer for myself is that this responsible feeling will not go away.  I need to continue with this mindset for the rest of my life.  It definitely makes me aware that every moment is a missional moment and every person I meet may be someone that I can build a relationship with and lead to Christ.  That doesn’t mean that I have to tell them about Jesus right away, but it does mean that every word I say and action I make can impact their decision for Christ.   All this has really been heightened since most of the people we meet want to know why we moved here.  When we tell them that we moved here to help plant a church, we are already putting it out there that we are Christian and I personally feel a huge responsibility to not mess that up by saying or doing something stupid.  So, I would like to ask anyone who reads it to please pray that I don’t mess this up.  Its super easy to do which is why so many people dislike Christians.  I would love to meet those people and be someone who helps change their mindset. 

My soon to be ending blessing

After John died, my goal was to get out of Roswell, NM.  Neither of us ever wanted to come back here to live and here I was.  Although I knew John had nothing to do with it, I would get mad at him often after he died because I didn't want to be here and he was the reason I was here.  If he wouldn't have died, I wouldn't have to be in Roswell.  Obviously it was many one-sided conversations I had to work through during the grieving process.  Even in the midst of those one-sided conversations I could picture him smiling and saying, "If only you knew what God is doing..."  I don't know if people in Heaven can see and know their loved ones future, I don't even know if they care, but it was a comforting idea that I would allow to briefly come to me in those moments.

What I didn't see was that God had other plans for me that I never in my life would think I would even enjoy.  Those plans turned out to be the biggest blessings of them all.

As I was able to talk to my students today about religion and faith, I may have made a mistake in telling them that I never wanted to work All Saints.  The statement, or rather answer, came up after we had a pretty in-depth discussion about faith.  The conversation took place after I placed a pretty condescending comment about Christianity up on the board and told them to read it, then write down points to help them defend their faith.  My goal in doing this was to get them to a point where they can stand up and defend what they believe and why they believe it.  I also told them that they may not be able to convince anyone that they are correct, but they at least need to get to a point where they can say what they believe and why they believe it.  The conversation that followed became very much a question and answer session where we discussed Catholic views vs my views.  My students soon learned that I do not believe in Pergatory, that works can get them into heaven, that Christians can go to Hell and that baptism does not save them.  I won't go in to all the details, but I really enjoyed that conversation.  After all was said and done, one student asked me, "Ms. Hale, if you don't believe all this stuff, why do you work here?" That was when I answered, "Well, to be honest, I didn't really want to work here, it was basically the only job I could get. "  Of course many, "Well, thanks Ms. Hale's" followed.  Thankfully the conversation didn't stop there.  I was able to tell them that since John died, this school and each of those kids has been one of the biggest blessings in my life since John died.  They then felt better.

It is very true.  As I looked today at my mostly empty classroom, it is a plethora of bittersweet feelings.  I am so excited to leave and follow God's next plan for my life.  I have no reservations about that whatsoever.  At the same time, that classroom was not only my first classroom, but those kids I have known for over 2 years and while we have had our up and down moments,  they are my kids.  The people at that school are some of the greatest people I have known and it is still strange to me to think that John will never know them.  However, David has gotten to know them and has heard many stories about each of those kids.  It is all part of a new chapter, a new plan, and new beginnings for us all.  I look forward to seeing and hearing what God has in store for all of those amazing kids and can't wait to see them again and tell them what God is doing in Oklahoma!

So long yet so much to say...

I have to admit that I absolutely dislike speaking publicly! And as much as I like the idea of blogging, once I get behind the keyboard, I begin to feel the same way about writing publicly.  I don't know if it's because I feel like I don't sound educated enough or that I don't like sharing my life with people unless they ask first.  I almost feel intrusive, like I am putting myself out there assuming that what I have to say is worth reading or hearing.

That said, so much has happened since the last blog I published on this site.  God gave me the strength to make it through the greiving and the loss of a husband.  Moments still tend to creep into my life at the weirdest possible times, but I don't let them get me down.  I have too many blessings to be thankful for.  In less than a month I will be getting married to a wonderful man who I absolutely adore and who adores me as well!  Within our first weeks of marriage we will be moving to Oklahoma City to help plant Sentral Church.  With all of these things going on, how can I not want to be a part of it and of what God is doing in my life.

This will be a short blog, because there is not a whole lot I want to say for tonight.  I have to start off slowly into this whole blogging thing if I am going to keep it up.  When I try to say to much I get overwhelmed and end up saving my post for another day. (I have about 7 that have been saved and probably won't be posted ever).

More to come who knows when...