Last night, John and I hung out at the Mosaic Cafe and listened to our worship team practice for this Sunday.  Wow---we are so blessed to have such an amazing team of talent at BHCC.  Every one on this team gets along sooo well & there is no drama or tension at all.  That is a very rare and special thing when you're talking about bringing 6-8 gifted artists together!

The worship team has been a huge target of spiritual warfare in the past in our church. It has been the area of ministry that used to drain me the most. It takes a lot of humility, spiritual & emotional maturity to make a worship team a team that truly glorifies God. The present BHCC is truly succeeding at doing that!

I know it was God who put this team of people together.  Everyone on the team has an easy-going personality and that is a rare quality in artists.  I also give my son a lot of credit for being used by God to build this team.  It's not an easy accomplishment for one so young as he.  He has to lead artists who are older, more experienced and some that are even more gifted than he & he's done an awesome job at it. He had his moments frustration in the beginning but he's earned the respect of the team that he now has.  God has truly been a part of forming this team.

We've had people visit our church from churches that are ten times the size of ours and tell us that they think our music is as good or better than their church.  We've had professional musicians and sound engineers visit our service and absolutely rave about how talented our worship team is!  We are so blessed and so grateful to God for all He is doing at BHCC!

I remember when our church first began and we had some people complain about our music.  They just didn't understand that it takes a long time to develop a worship team & the quality of music that we have now.  Our sound engineers have also continued to learn and grow in their gifts as well. It hasn't been easy for them but they stuck it out and now we all reap the benefits from their perseverance! We've been able to improve & upgrade our equipment through time & all of it together results in an amazing worship experience.

I enjoy watching the worship team practice!  They laugh, joke around, pray, and have a great time together!  I so appreciate these people and appreciate what God has done in bringing them all together. I was blessed to baptize half the members of the team years ago & have seem them come so far on their personal journey with the Lord.  They are a great example of what doing church together in Jesus' name is all about!

Our church started out with 3 people 6 years ago and now we have over 100 people who have become a healthy, solid family of God that keeps growing week by week!  We are reaching exactly the people God has called us to reach---unchurched people who have been far from God.

In many ways, I know we've only just begun. I still sometimes grieve for the people who came and left BHCC through the years.  I accept that part of the calling as the burden I must carry.  I wish some of those people would have stuck it out, forgiven more and given it more time.  For some, I wish they would have simply sat down and talked to me before they left.  I think I deserved at least that much.  They have no idea how MUCH they were and still are truly loved!  I feel sad for them because I know what they've missed and are missing even now. I know it wasn't God's will for some of them to leave.  Not everything that happens in this life is God's will.


But that kind of grief of loss is part of the burden that every single senior pastor must carry.  Loving others comes with a price.  The more you love, the more you are bound to get hurt.  It's risky to love so much, but it's sooo worth the risk.  The bible says that Love never dies!  And many of the people that I have loved have given back more love to me than I could ever imagine.  They stuck it out through thick and thin and the relationships that have been built through the years are incredibly rewarding & a huge blessing to me personally!

One of my favorite songs says so much of what I feel: The Heart of the Matter

Jesus is the KING of my heart forever and ever!!!

PEACE OUT!!!!!!!!