GuineaField

EXPLORING THE PROBLEM Church planting is a rush, an adventure, an intoxicating ride.   Church planting is discouraging, a disaster, an uphill climb.   And more often than not it is all of these at the same time!     As I think back on four years of ups and downs of church planting at Grace I've come to wonder if at times I was on the verge of the disorder some psychologist call bipolar.   If I understand correctly, a person with this disorder will go through extreme highs (manic) and extreme lows (depressive).   These two emotional opposites swing back and forth forming a yo yo of personalities and emotions.   Riding the church planting roller coaster can wreak similar emotional havoc.   If you don't even out the emotional ride you will develop two personalities as a church planter and neither extreme are consistent with the 'sober mind' required of a minister of the Gospel.   The bipolar dynamic-some of this cannot be helped. ...

I had the honor of presiding/preaching the Gospel at Etta Brown's Home Going service last week. She was such an encouragement in her faithfulness. "Pastor Tim, if I'm not at church I'm in the hospital." What a great example she is compared with those who miss because their child's friend has a birthday party... "So we'll just have to miss this week." She shared a sweet testimony in fighting dialysis, Parkinson's, and still attended faithfully. Etta was baptized at Bethany Baptist church in 1937! Her sister is still a pillar of that church and I enjoyed getting to know her as well as others in the assembly. According to this sister, it was "the first black church to move uptown." It's growth and stability is due to the Lord's using the efforts of a Dr. William A. Jones for 43 years. He was a Pastor that wanted to be sure to teach the Word academically. There were reflections to his desire to teach his people the w...