As I was writing The Turning Around Part Twenty, I thought about the entire almost a year-and-a-half that has passed.

I thought about the time from the sudden unannounced resignation of the last pastor that tried to pablum-drivel us into emergentcy to what appears will be a new pastor in early 2007. I thought about how the church went through schism and eventually suffered approximately 40% loss in membership. I thought about the 40% and how the majority of my friends at the church at the time of schism became the 40% that left.

Some formed a ‘home church’. Some went to the sister church across town. Some went to other churches altogether. Some went to a seeker-sensitive church who never referred to themselves as a ‘church’ but as an ‘acronym apostolic’ similar to a popular online file-sharing format. Some went emergent while others went to churches enamored with the purpose-driven life.

I received their e-mails and calls inviting me to defect with them and join their respective new communities. However, as I prayed about this, I heard two words scream inside of me that to this day, I believe is from the Holy Spirit:

NO!!!

STAY!!!

Saying NO was what I did and deciding to STAY was how I obeyed the Holy Spirit.

As I look back and saw how a church made the painful decision to get back to the delicate balance between Word and Spirit at the potential eminence of being taken over by Presbytery and a shakeup of elders would have occurred, As I and many others mourned the death of the pastor emeritus that was the first one in the church to talk about Word and Spirit and the delicate balance, As a church got together and prayed and apologized for what had happened, As the church decided on ministry instead of marketing, exegesis instead of experiences, expository instead of esoterics, and pastors instead of politicians, the decision to stay was definately the right one.

Now I can’t wait to experience the blessings and harvest that is about to come forth.