Ministry

last days

kevinhaglund Leave a comment

It was with great emotion that I led my last worship service at Dogwood Church today. As Suzanne and I walked off the stage after the 11:00am service, we both broke down and cried. It has been a wonderful ride for 7 1/2 years. We are looking forward to what God has in store for us in the next chapter of our lives and ministry, but it was a sad day to see this chapter come to a close.

Next weekend, Al Denson will be leading at Dogwood and Suzanne and I will be singing along with him. Then on Friday, December 5th, the “Welcome Christmas” concert will be my last responsibility.

Several people have asked me if we will continue to worship at Dogwood until our church plant browns mill church begins holding services next April. Well, for over 13 years, just about the only church worship services we’ve experienced have been the ones that I have planned and led. So for the next several months, we will be visiting other churches, especially new church starts, and taking notes so we can expand our horizons a bit.

Last days are never fun, but in order for us to experience those exciting first days, they are a necessity.

whoever is not against us is for us

kevinhaglund Leave a comment

Continuing my reading through Mark, I came across a passage that I have heard before, but it reads differently now that I am a church planter. Specifically, it relates to choosing whom our new church will affiliate with.

I don’t have to tell anyone that Christendom is splintered into groups, sub-groups, sub-sub-groups, and so on. We divide over some pretty important issues and some, well, just plain ridiculous.

In Mark 9:38-41, the disciples come to Jesus and tell him about a man who was driving out demons in His name, so they told him to stop “because he was not one of us.” Jesus replied, “Do not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.”

So, the next time I feel the desire to be critical about another group who is operating in the name of Jesus (whether they be, in my judgment, more conservative or more liberal than myself), I need to remember Jesus’ instructions. “Whoever is not against us is for us.”