Oh the Possibilities

 

Well, here is more info in the Fillmore situation.  When the pastor took over a year ago, the church had a consistent core attending.  He then set about thinning the flock.  In a year and a month, he thinned it to 3 people.  He told the DOM he was resigning in three weeks (two weeks now), and recommended selling the property and closing the church.  Andy, the DOM, said he was going to try to keep it going and asked for an old church role to which the pastor responded by saying the people that were there when he first came were evil and one couldn't build a church with them.

 

Adios, pastor!  I happen to know these people, and they are not evil.  In fact, we built a rather close-knit fellowship with them.  What they are is a fellowship of largely immature believers who need a shepherd.  The good news is several have been contacted and said when the pastor is gone, they'll be back.  They may have to call it Phoenix Church or Resurrection Fellowship. "Up from the grave we arose" can be the theme song.  The bad news is that a year ago the church had roughly 15,000 in the bank.  Now, no one knows for sure.  We do know that he has tried to sell one of the church mobile homes to a man, and that scares people. 

 

So why does this leave me with possibilities?  Because it is entirely possible that I could end up there again.  In fact, if they called and offered me the position, I would probably go there instead of seminary.  Why?  These people mean a lot to me, and more importantly, this is the community I feel called to.  When I'm through with school, the plan has always been to go back to Utah and help start a Christian school in Fillmore.  That's the vision God gave me when I first visited there.  A mission school to train missionaries in a cross-cultural setting to be missional in all their attitude and service.  No more forcing the "Bible Belt" culture on the non-Bible Belt tribes in America.  Well, we shall see where God leads.  However, as a side note, last time I was set and ready to go back to school in Texas, and my financial aid had cleared and everything was fine with my world... I heard of a church called Fillmore Baptist Church for the first time and in a month, was seving as its pastor.