Dual Employment

Disclaimer: The following could be considered a little rant and may be more for those church folk that read.

Ya know I was reminded this week why we are so intentional about being bi-vocational/dually employed, whatever you would want to call it. I had a friend tell me about another church plant that has disbanded and the different groups of people have gone their separate ways. Hear me now and don't forget that I said this.
The Lord can realign passions, change paths, direct people in different directions. Here is what I am saying: it is often that a change of direction is accompanied by a change in a money situation. Once again, this is not an indictment, but a severe flaw in the way we do things. Being a leader in the Church is so tied to a full time vocation and there are flaws to that line of thinking. I spoke to a pastor friend of mine that was telling me about a time in his pastoral ministry where his church couldn't pay him, in fact he told them not to pay him but rather concentrate on the bills and they would figure it out later. Now the Lord worked through it and brought the funds needed to pay him and pay the bills and it turns out to be a tremendous story of the Lord working in situations. (Some members who had moved away were led by the Lord to give an offering to their former church as a way of continuing to show faithfulness to those who had loved them)
But think about this: when a church comes to the point of deciding between paying the pastor or keeping the lights on, that is a tough spot to be in and the ministry of the Church is severely hurt. The first Church in question has been doing some great things, I have been in awe of the direction they are going and many of their ideas I have applied to what we are doing. So this hits me pretty hard because I have seen such camaraderie with this crew.

But we do what we do (being bi-vocational) for these reasons:

1. We meet and impact more people, hands down, this way rather than being full-time and trying to find ways to be with people.

2. Financially, it frees us up to be able to use funds raised to minister and not pay our bills.

3. When times are lean (like now) or people aren't giving then we can still continue on the task to starting Biblically faithful/culturally relevant churches in the Dakotas.

4. Whenever anyone asks me if I wish I could be full-time and supported by an agency to start churches, I emphatically say no. It is so un-natural to employ someone to connect with people who are not in church by employing them to be a full-time church person. I know for the Robinsons and for us, we are so thankful that we get to raise support from various sources: people and churches, our jobs, and a mission agency.

5. This is how I see it as the most helpful: Abby and I pay our bills, the mission agency equips us financially to do ministry and our supporters fund big projects and other on-going and future mission efforts.


So this isn't saying at all that we have THE WAY or we are totally correct but this is a convictional thing for us. We are totally understanding that the Lord changes directions etc, but at the same time we want that to be the Lord, and the Lord alone, and no other peripheral issues to be catalyst for changes.

Please hear that this is not a slam on anyone, rather it is an explanation from real life situations on why we are so intentional about the direction we are going. We are hopefully learning from the successes and mistakes of others that have gone before and to be totally honest are striving to be great examples of following Christ.

4:30, 4:30 in the morning

Just so everyone knows the typo errors are for good reason. I leave them because you need to experience the real experience because as my wonderful big sister says int he comments, I am totally fried by this time of night. HAHA

Winter has come to the Northern Plainss. The temp is in the teens and yes snow has fallen. We enjoyed or first decent snow today. It started snowing around 1 and didn't stop till around 5:30 (P.M.). We had a fab night frequenting one of our usual spots. Get to take some cool steps with people and we are thrilled about that.

Then we went to a holiday party with Abbys co workers and it was wonderful, chatting with new friends and getting to know each other better. This was a huge step and we are starting to do some more stuff here. It was cool for me as a husband to see how much these people love Abby and get along with ht.

So now the part we are all waiting for

Where else would......

1. I was propositioned by a girl with her BF in tow (weird)

2. Super slow night but me and shanna and suzy had fun

3. Got to drive shanna home to moorhead.

4. Had a couple of boys" that for whatever wonderful Reason couldn't stop knocking things over

5. Chairs knocked over, table knocked over.

6. Trash everywhere in the dining area

7. I was so proud of my co-workers for cleaning up so well before I got there and then when we closed

8. The weather brought out a particularly committed groups of fri night partiers.

All around a nice slow pita Pit day nothing crazy to report...

What a Weekend

I'll have pictures up soon, so the story will have to suffice.

Thanksgiving was fantastic! We stayed here and hosted a friend from Louisville, Hilary, who is seeking the Lord's will as to whether the Dakotas are where God would have her. She and our friend Sam from BW's, whom we've talked about before, but this is the first time Sam has come over. It was a fabulous time, we had so much fun with them laughing, telling stories, and just genuinely enjoying each others company.

We then took Hilary to Sioux Falls on Friday so that she could see that city ,and what's going on there. We got to take her through Wahpeton, Watertown, and Brookings, and tell her the vision we have for starting Churches all throughout the region, and  in particular up and down I 29.

While spending time together we found that Abby, I and Hilary all have similar passions, gifts, vision, and desires to follow Christ. It was refreshing for us to meet someone that we instantly became friends with. Abby and I also saw a definite future ministering along side Hilary.

While in Sioux Falls, the DBC put us up in a hotel. covered our meals, and paid for our transportation expenses. It was a wonderful time for Abby and I to get away and to get to know another city more intimately. Thanks to Jim and Lisa for hosting us, Zach and Jen for showing us around, Karen for covering all the details, Travis and Becky for letting us in their home and showing us what the Lord is doing on Summit. And to Set Free Church, Church at the Warehouse, Ridgecrest, and Crosspoint, thanks for you kindness and showing us how to love people just for who they are.

I'm having an excited dad moment

Sorry for this, well really I'm not, I am having an excited dad moment. Check it out

summer missionaries

We are pumped to have the opportunity to have some summer missionaries (interns you might call them) this summer. We are in the very beginning stages of talking, getting to know one another. From there we will send out applications, interview and hopefully bring some of them up here. Each of the people we have gotten to know have been great and we are so excited to get to know each of these talented guys and gals.

We are pumped to have Living Hope in Bowling Green partner with us in sending us names and talking to students on our behalf. Matt, the college minister there is doing a fabulous job of raising up leaders and ministering to the students there at WKU.

So please pray for us as we get to know these students and as they contemplate their summer plans and which direction the Lord is leading them.

"why we do what we do"

We had an absolutely fabulous trip a couple weeks ago. We traveled from Fargo to Minneapolis to Nashville to Bowling Green to Nashville and back again. We got to see family and friends, speak at a meeting in Nashville, and then two churches in Bowling Green, as well as a conference. It was a great time and got to meet some fabulous people.

While we were in Nashville we got to work on a video that tells about us, what were doing, and how you can help. We were talking to the guy doing it, Jeff Henry, and he asked me how I would describe the direction we are going.

I said, "We want to study the culture so we can get to know people to share the Gospel in hopes of starting Churches.

Culture

People

Gospel

Church

I had someone this week ask me to explain better why we are doing the specific things we do. I am endeavoring to, at the end of every post, tell why we are doing the things I talk about, but I am sure it would help for me to just give a blanket here.

We love the people here in Fargo. We have never loved a place and the people in that place more. And I know this isn't a news flash, but we are here to plant a Church. I know, catch you're breath and move on, haha. We realize that loving a people and a place doesn't necessitate a new Church popping up. We have to be out there meeting more and more and more people. So what do we do to accomplish that end. Work at the Pita Pit, YMCA, go to the OB, B dub's, concerts, coffee shops, shows, donate plasma, workout at the Y, and among other things join different groups. Ya know it might look like we moved to Fargo just to live our lives up here the way we would have down there in Nashville. Well there is some truth to that, we do firmly believe that every Christian is called to a similar lifestyle that we are leading, but there is a difference, not every Christian is called to start Churches in Fargo.

But we are living out the life of a missionary here in Fargo, which in many ways is a real natural thing. Living day by day looking for oppurtunities to talk to people about who we are and what the Lord has done in our lives. So we are here living intentional lives in order to be apart of what Christ is doing here in Fargo and our prayer is to see Churches planted.

"a picture is worth a thousand words"

So we've been working on getting some materials together to tell people about the Church we're planting. So we tontracted one of our good friends Rachel Utecht, she and her husband Jeremiah have become wonderful co-laborers in expanding the kingdom of God in Fargo. Thanks to you guys for your help and I hope we can use this amazing gift again in the future.

Whoa.

My friends (do I ever sound like a former presidential candidate?)

This has been a heck of a week. Between voting, working, various meetings in Mandan and all sorts of other things, it's been crazy. On top of all that, I survived a BLIZZARD. You don't have to tell me twice, but yes, we did know that we were moving to the northern plains. The meeting was in Mandan, ND, which is the sister city of Bismark. As I was heading out the door on Wednesday, Abby was acting more worried than usual about me leaving. She mentioned shortly afterwards that there was badweather approaching Mandan. I travelled on I-94 heading west, the weather was quite windy, but fine for the most part. Bismark was a different story. When I got there, it was 15 degrees colder and very overcast. I went in a store for 20 mins and by the time I came out, the bottom had dropped out and there was a ton of wind and rain. That evening, it didn't snow at all, but it rained up until midnight. At 3 AM, I was awakened by a tapping sound on my hotel room window. It ended up being sleet, which didn't stop until today. There were 40 mile per hour winds with gusts over 50. 18 inches of snow fell, and in some places, there was a thick layer of ice under it all. The reason I was there was because of the annual meeting of the Dakota Baptist Convention. It was a great time of meeting people from all over northern plains. We were missing around 40 people, but it was such a blessing to meet everyone. Ryan Bell at Dakota Hills, and Andre' and his lovely family at the Indian reservation on the Candian Border were just two of the several great people I met.

Here are some blizzard highlights.

1. Wind so strong that when you're facing it, you have trouble breathing.

2. Being blown over by the wind after getting to the gas station, only to find that it was closed.

3. Learning that my money clip fell out of my pocket when I fell.

4. Going out to find it, and getting blown over again.

5. Driving back from the church with a car full of people, and hearing an older pastor ask, "why is that pole in the middle of the road,?" then telling him that was the sidewalk, not the road.

6. Fishtailing and almost losing control of my car on I-94 coming back.

7. Experiencing 50 mph gusts of wind against my car.

8. Talking to someone who spent the night in his car.

9. Seeing hotel workers that opted to stay the night rather than brave the elements.

10. Taking 2 hours to get my car out of a parking lot. Some lady also decided to park her car in the middle of the lot, and the snow drifted up 6 feet beside her.

11. Walking through snow drift that was up to my waist that had blown up against my car.

"4:30 well actually 5 in the morning"

So this installment of 4:30 in the morning will be the craziest and wildest yet. It is so late/early that Foxnews is starting their morning newscast. WOW

It is all a blur, today is Halloween, well yesterday was if your being technical. Imagine with me 200+ drunk young people in Halloween costumes. It was crazzy. We were so busy that I couldn't take orders from people because the line snaked around so far of people waiting for their food.

The night began with a great dinner with theMedfords and Drew Hubbard, he is visiting Fargo figuring out how Living Hope in KY could best work with us this next fall. Drew and I spent a lot of time downtown with the crowds that were collecting all over the place. Then came 12:30, time to go in. Here is the recap:

I was called a "great ringing up man"

"My favorite pita dude"

"Ohh, you're dressed as a pita guy".

I was hugged by sarah palin, a gypsey, and beyonce.

I female boxer grabbed my shoulders, reaching over the counter to do so (weird).

Given 5 dollars for knowing what the west side story was.

For some odd reason had to witness 3 different couples kissing, 2 heated and I mean heated political debates.

Had to run off the kids at 3:15 because they didn't want to leave.

Was promised everything under the sun if I would give then ........ or .......... for free.

I saw smurfs, fairies, vampires, quail man, Austin powers, bumble bees, ghost, Frankenstein on stilts, 80's weight lifting star, and a whole host of others.

There was so much it would take such a long time to go through, please call or email and I will say more but some of the people who come are starting to recognize me other places and it looks like some great stuff is happening.

Please forgive the typos.

"whoa"

So we awoke Sunday to a startling surprise, yes it was snowing. Short lived and it barley stayed, but it most definitely snowed. Last Wednesday we had saved up enough money to buy Abby a remote starter for her car. We have asking around over the last few months what we needed as prep for winter. Well, they said "you need to buy a remote start for her, you don't need one." That made me laugh and I took their suggestion. I shopped around, found the best deal I could, and we love it. The remote starter is manufactured by a company called Astro Start with some great security features and good range; we are very pleased with this product.Sunday was a big day for us we joined Temple Baptist Church. Pastor Dude Garret has been a huge encouragement to us. Emails, comments on the blog and over all support he has made the transition to Fargo so much easier. Thank you to Temple Baptist Church for your warm welcome and taking us in as members.Lastly, we have been under a mountain of letters, stamps, envelopes, and printing. We are almost done, but people I have to tell you when you are trying to keep everyone up to date on what is going on it takes a long time to put it together. Thank you to everyone from Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Dakota and everywhere in between that are supporting us through prayers, emails, phone calls, and monetary help.Many people have been asking us to give them tips on how we do what we do. We couldn't do it with out support, you need people behind you affirming you saying, "We believe in what they are doing, and we are showing that by walking this road with you."