Farewell to Morton's

Thursday Emily and I had the chance to visit Morton's one last time- and take advantage of our last complimentary dinner.  We found that watching my now former co-workers do what they do best was the best possible way to say farewell.  

For nearly five years I waited tables at their Louisville restaurant, learning much from a company that is particular about everything.  At Morton's everything has to be done just so, and it has to be done very well- a standard that anyone would benefit from being held to for five years.  As a result, they saw local business rise during a recession, filling some of the gap left by sharply declining convention business.  They are the number one diner-rated special occasion restaurant in Louisville, and it's because of the good work they let me be a part of.  

God used Morton's to allow me to work for a rural church for three years, one that couldn't have otherwise afforded me a livable salary.  He used Morton's to allow me to graduate seminary and start our marriage with savings instead of debt- something almost no one in seminary gets to do.  Through it I was allowed to bring the Good News of Jesus to so many lost co-workers, bear a testimony of wise work to all who watched us, and find good jobs for many other seminary students.  They are just a company, run by lost executives, but they work hard and they work well.  And God uses that.  

But He didn't just use them to provide for me- he taught me through them.  I work better at everything I do because they have raised my standard of meticulousness.  I better understand the feast awaiting believers, provided by God himself, because I've gone in five times and eaten Morton's feast on their dime.  Why can I learn such important life lessons from a non-Christian company?  Because it is run by humans who are made in the image of God.  When they run things well, they image Christ- who is at the same time the ultimate human and the very God they are rebelling against- and they don't even know it.  

Now we sit with our bellies still full from last week's feast and our thoughts filled with memories, but then all we could do was enjoy ourselves.  It wasn't a time for bittersweet tears.  Now, however, that time is here.  I will miss these people dearly.  Oh, how I want them to hear and perceive the truths God has made plain to us.  How I wish God would use the Christians who are still among them, many of whom I introduced to the company, to bring the Gospel to them.  He is full of grace, and I have watched Him work there in the past.  May He continue to.  

But now we move on, and we say farewell.  Thank you for five good years, Morton's.  May all of you taste of the better feast.  

Osterville Q&A: Dave's Job & The Move

What Exactly Is Dave's Job?

The official title is "Associate Pastor for Worship and Arts."  One way of describing it would be to take a traditional Music Minister and move the style of music he coordinates toward a modern sound.  Then add everything your pastor does, but subtract regular preaching.  Another way is to add together a part-time Worship Leader and a part-time Associate Pastor. Yet another way is to take your Pastor, subtract from him the responsibility to preach every week, and replace that with leading the music each week. 

Another way is to forget the math and just tell you what I'll actually be doing.  They want me to have the main job of leading their Sunday Morning singing, but they want me to be a pastor about it.  This is one of the reasons I was drawn to this church, because that is exactly how I look at leading the singing.  So I'm called to lead them in singing, coordinate the musicians who accompany it, and shepherd the worship service the same way a pastor makes sure his sermon feeds the flock.  I'll make sure they're singing truth, that it's appropriate to the time in which they're singing it, and that it's being done as well as it can be done.

When you look at leading worship like this, and then consider that worship is only true when it is done all week, is becomes apparent that the person leading it needs to have both the authority of a pastor when leading and the responsibilities of a pastor throughout the week.  Is he qualified to lead you in worship on Sunday morning if he can't give you wise council in the Hospital?  We don't believe so, and thus throughout the week I'll act more like an Associate Pastor than a Music Minister. 

When and How Are you Moving?

Tonight, September 15th, is my last night at Morton's.  OBC voted and offered me the position on the 1st.  So today, two weeks later, I leave Morton's.  Tomorrow we're going in one last time for my annual free dinner for two, and that may be the very last time I go into the building.

Our apartment is close to being all packed up, and we will use the next three days finishing that work.  Then Saturday we will attend our 2nd wedding this month.  Sunday will be my last week leading Eagle Heights Baptist Church, and after a farewell lunch we will drive down to Hattiesburg.  Then, next Friday, we plan to drive up to Liberty, TN for a rehearsal dinner and our third wedding this month before heading back home.

The next Monday, the 27th, we plan to load up the Penske and my parents plan to fly up.  Early Tuesday we'll drop Emily and Sarah off at the airport and point the cars up toward Massachusetts.  We'll tow the Camry behind the Penske.  Then Emily and Sarah will spend the night in the Condo that is waiting for us in Osterville, while my parents and I will stay in a hotel somewhere on the road.  Late Wednesday we hope to arrive, kiss the girls hello, and go to sleep.  Then we plan to unload everything into the Condo, a Storage room another church member has provided us, and the Church office on Thursday.  Then my parents plan to stay a few days before they fly back to Florida. I don't start at the church until that next Monday, and my first Sunday leading them will be Anniversary! 

We hope this satisfies a little more curiosity.  There's more to come, of course.  In the meantime, here's a picture of Sarah taking her bath!

Osterville Q&A: How Was The Trip?

This will be a series of posts answering the most common questions we get regarding the move to Osterville, MA.  This one answers the question, "how was the trip?" 

The trip was great in every way.  Sarah did very well on all the flights, which was of great relief to Emily.  Once we arrived, we had dinner with the search committee and settled into the condo that would be our home for the week.  The head of the search committee owns a second condo above hers, and we enjoyed staying there and playing on their Wii Fit. 

Wednesday morning we had breakfast with the staff and got to know them a little better.  Then Nick, the pastor of the church, took us on a tour of the area and dropped us off at the condo to rest.  The evening was spent having dinner with the Deacons and then an interview with Dave and the Deacons while Emily and some of the ladies of the church took off and had a good time. 

Thursday we spent the day looking at houses with our buyer broker and then had dinner with Nick.  Then Dave went and led the rehearsal for the worship team while Emily rested and cared for Sarah.  Thursday was the first night Sarah started sleeping for longer stretches, so we woke up energized.  One of us (Dave) actually got a full night of sleep for the first time since she had been born!  (Emily is still waiting on hers.)  Thus, we were finally recovered from the plane ride and able to be ourselves for the rest of the trip.

Friday Dave met with the head of the Trustees and then we had a lunch with the Deaconesses.  It was very encouraging to see a church in which women serve and nurture the body so effectively.  Then we left there for more house hunting, before being taken to dinner by the head of the search committee and her husband. 

Saturday we had a cookout at the home of the Pollards, a loving and very encouraging family.  Around 50 people attended, and for the first time we met more people than we could remember names for.  That night Dave did a Q&A for the whole congregation, at which Emily shared her conversion story and a short version of her life story.

Sunday morning Dave led the Morning Worship and then had a debrief lunch with Emily and the search committee.  That evening was the Baptism service- one of our favorite traditions of Osterville.  We all went down to the beach, played, ate, sang songs together, and then Baptized the two newest converts of the church.  Dave led the singing and gave a brief time of teaching on Baptism.  Then we slept, got up, and rode back to the airport for the flight home.  There was nothing left to do but wait for the vote, which came on Wednesday and was a success.

That's the long version.  The short version is that we had a great time and can tell we are going to like living in Osterville.  It felt a lot like cooler St Augustine, with the tourism, beaches, and history.  At the same time, the wooded areas and local roads made it feel much like Hattiesburg.  Below is a picture of the Beach Night.

Soon we'll be answering questions about the church, what life will be like there, and our vacation plans.

Sarah Meets More Family

We're had all sorts of visitors for Sarah ever since she's been born, three of the most recent being Aunt Faye,  Uncle Jerry, and Grandma Lynda.  Jerry and Faye came just before we left on our trip to Osterville, and Grandma Lynda came right afterward.  Here are a few pictures, along with some recent ones of Sarah alone.

Meeting Great-Great-Aunt Faye

Playing With Daddy

Curling Up After a Long Day

Warming Up with the Blanket Rachel and April Made Her

And Meeting Great-Grandma Lynda.

We hope to have more for you soon, as well as some info about the church.  In the meantime, keep us in your prayers.

We're Moving!

We have been waiting ever since we got married almost one year ago, and have finally found our new church home!  We've been called to Osterville Baptist Church in Osterville, Massachusetts.  It's tucked perfectly in Cape Cod, in the mid-Cape town of Barnstable.  So Dave has put in his two-week notice to Morton's, and we have informed Eagle Heights, so the moving plans are underway.  After our dear friend Phil Metcalf is married later this month, we plan to load up a truck and move.  In God's timing, it appears that Dave's first Sunday as their Associate Pastor for Worship and Arts may actually be our first Anniversary! 

As Associate Pastor for Worship and Arts, Dave will be somewhat of a hybrid between a Music Minister and a Pastor- exactly what we've been looking for.  He'll spend about half his week overseeing all the music that goes on in the church, and the other half doing pastoral things like teaching and counseling.  He will be a member of the pastoral team, so he will have preaching, wedding, funeral, and leadership responsibilities.   But the area of specialty will still be music.  This goes well with the conviction he's developed that it's best for the person leading the church in singing each week to be a part of their pastoral team.

We know you have a million questions for us, and we hope to post a more detailed Q&A in a few days.  We also intend to post about some of the recent visitors Sarah has had.  Look for those soon!  For now, here is the church's website:  http://www.ostervillebaptist.org/