"Is this Tom?"

Yesterday Sam's teacher called to talk to Juli. She is going to be volunteering in the classroom and she wanted to work out some details. Juli wasn't home so Ms. A started passing on the information to me. For some mysterious reason, mid sentence she asked, "Is this Tom?" I've been called a lot of things in my life, but Tom is not one of them.

It's funny as I think about it, because it's kind of like what the first months of church planting are like in a new area. Nobody knows your name. Everyone you meet, you meet for the first time. You have no history with anyone . . . and . . . sometimes you get called Tom. It's a far cry from being the founding pastor of a church for 7 years where everyone knows your name. It's quite different than singing a new song you wrote in front of a couple thousand people in an area you grew up in.

Here, well, I'm Sam and Spencer's dad. I'm the guy who still has Illinois license plates. I'm the crazy neighbor on the ladder trying to paint trim while putting his life in jeopardy. I'm the mysterious pastor without a church, who says he's come here to start one. I'm the dad who sends his son to school in a Bears jacket. Sometimes I'm even Tom, Juli's husband. In fact Juli led a retreat for college students this past weekend for Cornerstone, the church we planted in LaCrosse. I came Saturday night to lead worship and only 2 out of the 15 students knew who I was. This is my life right now.

I think it's God's gentle reminder that it's not about me. We are here to do His work and not our own.

Pioneering a church (starting from scratch, nothing, zip, nada) usually takes about 18 months to get off the ground. It usually takes about 36 months to be self supporting. Please keep praying for Juli, Sam, Spencer and me as we do our best to keep trusting God and live faithfully in the present.

For His Kingdom,

"Tom"