give up to go up

below is a post i totally hijacked from james ridgers blog -  http://www.jamesridgers.com

i was planning on sharing this info, but he did such a brilliant job - here it is …

 

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The Change

I will be transitioning out of leading the worship ministry at The Summit over the next couple of months and in to something new and exciting at The Summit.

The Reasons

There are a few reasons, the biggest and most obvious being because God wants me to. Trust me, I’ve fought the flesh on this for a couple of months because I love being a musician and I love leading the music and the worship at church and I love the team of amazingly talented people that I get to lead. But nobody wants to end up like Jonah, right? Sometimes it sucks to obey God, but even when that’s the truth, the reward, whatever that is, will be far greater than my pathetic human wants and desires.

Secondly, it’s no secret that Rhonda and I have been spending our Friday nights at Saddleback’s ‘Celebrate Recovery’ ministry for a while. Through the process and involvement and learning and all that goes with that ministry, we’ve developed a deep desire to see people set free from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Seeing the struggles that people had during the ‘My Secret’ series at The Summit last year was an alarming eye opener that we all struggle with issues from our past and our present that we need to overcome. Rhonda and I will ultimately be launching and leading a Celebrate Recovery ministry at The Summit.

There are other smaller reasons that contribute to this; my job is requiring increasing focus and dedication, Rhonda and I have a desire need to spend more time together, we want to be serving and leading together etc.

The Clarity

This is a healthy change. No, really. This is something that Rhonda and I decided upon before talking with Scott & Mary. It’s really that simple. This is something we asked for, not something that was asked of us by anyone.

Once we’ve found a new worship director, you’ll still see me in the band from time to time, just not every week, and not as the band leader. I’ll still be playing, probably every few weeks or once a month or so; the musician in me won’t let that die.

Also, this doesn’t mean I’m stepping away from serving or stepping away from leadership. Rhonda and I will both still be deeply involved in serving and leading at The Summit, just in a different capacity.

The Next Step

This is where you can help. Obviously we need to find a replacement for me. There are various avenues and resources available to us, but the best thing we can all do is pray for God to bring us the right person, and to give Scott and I the wisdom needed to fill the worship director position. Please pray with us for all this and for a smooth transition.

That’s enough for now. I’ll have some more posts coming this week expanding on a few thoughts that I’ve been mulling over as a result of this. The truth is that I’m incredibly excited and incredibly motivated by this.

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i’m so proud of james and his sensitivity to follow God’s lead and take a risk.  i know how much james loves to play, sing, lead and build the team.  mary and i have found ourselves at the crossroads of incredibly tough decisions and have learned that when we GIVE UP WE GO UP! 

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.”                Jesus, Luke 19:36 (MSG)