Pursuing endurance

"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness." - 1 Timothy 6:11 ESV

We don't really use the word steadfast anymore, but endurance relates most of the message of that word. The problem with pursuing endurance is you have to endure something unpleasant in order to accomplish that. Right now, my family is traveling a difficult road for the Lord, and with God's grace, we will endure!

To our Parkhills family, thank you for praying for us. Each kind word and thoughtful prayer gives us more encouragement and hope than you can imagine. Please understand that we love the people of Parkhills, and we do not bear any ill will toward the church.

I know there are concerns about the way my leave was handled. Make sure you share with the pastor any concerns you have, and follow the guidelines in Scripture to avoid gossip and dissension. Go to the ones who have offended you and tell them. Then prayerfully seek reconciliation. If you act according to the will of God and instruction of the Bible, God can be glorified even in the midst of this difficult time!

I am just now able to put my thoughts down because I needed some time to refocus and listen to the Lord. The last three weeks have been emotionally taxing.

Last week, Jennifer and I sat down at Starbucks while the kids were in school. Jennifer picked up a book by Jerry Bridges called Trusting God. As she read one of the chapter’s on adversity, I could see her spirit lifting. One of the things it said was that when you are in the midst of adversity, focus on the positive consequences. We started listing off a few together while we sat there. First, we needed this break. The last 12 months of dealing with the church budget was like an ever increasing burden (keep in mind that the rest of the staff and church still feel this burden). Second, we needed family time. Between my ministry responsibilities and extra jobs, Jennifer and the boys don’t get to spend enough time with me.

Ever since that moment at Starbuck’s, Jennifer and I have been looking for the positive, and praying for God’s grace to ignore the negative. Next thing you know, God started moving.

Last October, Jennifer and I got to spend some time in Prague with my sister and brother-in-law. While we were there, we enjoyed participating at their church plant called Bridge Community. This visit planted a seed in my mind about church planting back in Texas.

Once we got back, I planned to continue serving at Parkhills until God made it clear that He wanted us to step out and start a church. As usual, God’s timing was not the same as mine and now we find ourselves at a crossroads. Jennifer and I have visited churches in the area that are looking for a Student Pastor, and we believe that God has something else in store for us. Then God started pounding church planting into our hearts through godly people, Scripture, and amazing circumstances. As a result, Jennifer and I have decided that we want to become church planters.

This week I sat down with a local Pastor who started a church 20 years ago. He gave me some valuable insight and challenged me to sit down and develop a vision for the church that I wanted to Pastor. As I prayed and worked through that process I have found several opportunities to partner with other churches who have a similar vision. Right now, Jennifer and I are praying about those opportunities and that God would open the right door and close the wrong door for us.

We would greatly appreciate your continued prayer for our family. We have some big decisions ahead of us, and we need clear direction on how to move forward. I’ll keep you all posted as things develop.

Thanks again for your prayers and support!

Until the nets are full,


Brian, Jennifer, Siler and Caleb