Blindsided...

Last night at 6:00 we had our all church Christmas Party. I would guess that it may have been our last one. I hope that this time next year we are too large to gather in the home of one of our members. I anticipated a few thing about the party.

• I was pretty sure that we would have a ton of fun. We did.
• I was pretty sure we would have a lot of great food. We did
• I was sure that the home would be georgeous. It was
• I was sure the gift exchange would be a blast. It was.

There, however, were a few things that caught me off guard. See, we had the party in the same home in which we held our Sunday Night meetings with our core members for many months. These were hard months when we saw little signs of growth. These were difficult months for both staff families as we struggled to sell homes in North Carolina. It was during these months that God was able to humble both pastors, so that he could use them more effectively. These were months when we wondered if this church would ever become anything more than the 12 or so folks sitting in the room.

• I was NOT prepared to see the same home bursting at the seams with people who have made Catalyst their church home in the last 9 months.
• I was not prepared to look around and realize that most of our people had never seen the inside of that room before.
• I was not prepared to look around and see the goodness of God represented by each new couple or family sitting in the room.
• I was not prepared to nearly burst into tears as I realized that I can't imagine being anywhere else doing anything other than what I am doing in Rowlett, TX

I was blindsided in the best possible way!