The Unconnected

We were surrounded by people who felt disconnected from God. Many wouldn't go to any church in the area. Maybe what we needed was a new church to help them through this process of getting connected. I felt a strong pull toward this. I also felt scared to death. So I finally spoke with my wife about this. Kathy was supportive. A few weeks later, my pastor gave a message entitled “A Branch is Rising”. He shared his thoughts on the need for Culpeper Baptist Church to start a new congregation in Culpeper. I couldn’t believe my ears. When God speaks, He speaks through a lot of people!

The Next Step

The first Tuesday of November, I was having lunch with an interdenominational group of Christian ministers. I happened to be sitting next to the Director of Missions for the Shiloh Baptist Association. Lanny Horton is a great guy with a heart that longs to see God's Kingdom grow. He was instrumental in bringing new churches to Culpeper. So I casually asked him when Shiloh was going to start a postmodern church.

Without skipping a beat he replied, "I don't know. When are YOU going to start it?"

I nervously laughed and shared some ideas for a new kind of church, but left it at that. Lanny wasn’t done. He called the next day and asked me again about starting a new church. He called a third time the following day with the same question! I had felt God calling me to be a creative messenger, but I didn't think of God calling me to plant a church. He would make that clear later on.