Ten years??

On February 3, 2001, Ebenezer made a bold and daring move.  Some said it was a great one.  Some said disastrous.  They called their former youth pastor as their senior pastor.  And life has never been the same since …

And I realized this week that the tenth anniversary of that day had passed.  I will never forget that day, nor will I forget the events leading up to it!!

Ebenezer had been through some tough years (some of which I was a part, and some before we came to Florence).  In August of 1999 I was asked to preach for six Sundays while the Pastor Search Committee found an interim pastor so they could begin their search.  I’ve been doing that almost every Sunday since then!!

But on the Sunday the vote … the Sunday when I had to preach a trial sermon … WOW.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt that kind of pressure or been on that much of an emotional rollercoaster in my life!!  You cannot imagine and I hope you never have to experience it.  It really brought me face-to-face with how much I love Ebenezer and how much I really had to trust God to carry me.  I’ll never forget that day!

When I look back over those years, I KNOW God was in control and had a plan because there is NO WAY I COULD’VE MADE IT WITHOUT HIM!!  We’ve been through some really tough times and some great times, too!  And I can honestly say I’ve never been more excited about what God is doing in this place than RIGHT NOW!!  My prayer is that He will restore my first love for this place and keep leading all of us toward HIS goals for Ebenezer!!!