A Week Of Grace
Well, the long awaited week of candidating at Grace Baptist Church is now over. It was amazing. Cherylyn and I considered it both an exciting adventure, and a great pleasure to meet and interact with people of all ages and across a wide spectrum of ministries. We were asked hundreds of questions, and had the wonderful opportunity to fully share our hearts and passions for Christ's church.
Now we are in that time of wonder: wondering how the family of Grace will respond when asked to affirm the leadership's proposal that we come to partner with them; wondering what the transition will entail; wondering where we'll live, how we'll make new friends, and how we'll see God work in our new place.
But we are not wondering about other things. We're sure God's will will be done; we're sure our relationships with dear friends already established will remain a strong and necessary part of our well-being; we're sure our hearts will be filled with new relationships bringing joy and fun into our lives; we're sure Jesus is still the Senior Pastor of His church and that He will care for it - in all of its local manifestations - with divine love and wisdom; we're sure that our marriage will flourish wherever we are together; and we're sure that as long as we're humbly pursuing God's glory, our lives will be satisfied with good things.
And so we wait for the vote, even as we continue waiting on the Lord for all things. Its a great place to be!
David
posted by heggthought @ 8:52 AM
14 Comments
14 Comments:
David, your "week of Grace" was great for all of us as well. Thanks for sharing your heart so clearly and powerfully, and thanks especially for knowing that Christ is the ultimate Senior Pastor of His church! We'll be eager to see the vote take place this weekend, counting on the Lord to guide all of us, and hoping to partner with you!
Mike Gaston
Well, the word on the street is you guys rock! We enjoyed the services both weekends and really appreciated the family meeting on Saturday night. I am so excited about how God has worked in this process. My husband Philip (Manchester United Guy) and I feel very excited about the prospect of you guys being our new church shepherd. I know this is premature, but we want to put in a reservation for a possible dinner at our house. We know you will receive MANY invitations but here is our shameless plug. Dinner at our house will be with 4 or 5 other young and fun couples from Grace and it will involve watching some soccer. We can discuss this more in the weeks to come. We are praying for you guys and hoping you are enjoying your time away together.
Philip and Michelle Marcellin
After listening to your last 2 sermons at Grace and your comments in the family meeting time I'm still somewhat concerned over why you wanted to leave a healthy growing church. Why would you allow your name to be put in the search process at Grace if you were doing so well at Northpoint and why would Grace seek you out so agressively? These are questions that should have been addressed at the meeting, but Steve Howard only wanted to ask questions that would enhance the vote in your favor.
Dear anonymous: Your question: "Why would Cherylyn and I leave Northpoint, a healthy and growing Church?" is indeed a good one.
What are the possible answers? 1) We were secretly running away from something that has not yet surfaced. or 2) We are filled with unrighteous ambition, and were just waiting for a bigger church, or 3) We loved Northpoint, considered it the best job in the world, had 15+ wonderful years of ministry, and relationship, and can only explain our decision to engage in Grace's process as a freedom God Himself brought to our hearts.
#3 is the answer, and as I have explained on my blog under "changes" we were not looking to leave. We had never been interested in anything but Northpoint before. But, when the phone call came, we began to ask: "If God were moving us to another harvest field, would He only do it through adverse circumstances? Would He only do it by first bringing problems to Northpoint? or would He do it when Northpoint is healty, when our situation in life was conducive (eg. all of our children are grown, and a move would not endanger them), and at a time in our lives when we still had a good number of years to pour into vibrant ministry? Maybe. So, we made the decision to engage in the process, praying that God would disengage our hearts and desire if we were following a path that He was not paving. And I am glad we did, for we believe strongly that God has confirmed His will all along the way through our hearts and through amazing circumstances. Now we are waiting to see if He confirms it through the minds and votes of thousands of Grace members.
Hope this answers that question.
David W. Hegg
Dear Anonymous,
I can only assume you're rather new to Grace and haven't experienced very many years of history there under our elders & pastors. Their careful following of God's direction has brought Grace to where we are today. We had decided that, even if we personally didn't like David or his preaching style, we would be wrong not to agree with the elder recommendation. We found him and his teaching great and can't wait to vote and make it official!
You know I never really understood anonymous comments? It seems if someone wanted clarification they would make that possible. Leave a way to contact, make contact, invite David to breakfast, something...I personally think its obvious why Grace sought after David Hegg. I am also bumbed by those who left the church during this transition, is preaching the only reason we attend anyways?
I am excited to see the new life bought back into the church as of recent. To me the 2 years flew by, with great teaching in the meantime. I can only wonder was God has for us next. As for anonymous, gas up the car, hit the 210 freeway, and enjoy a day at Northpoint. I am sure you can find answers to your questions with a little effort. God Bless. Jason Bunn
David - Your response to "Anonymous" was great along with those that followed your response. When my husband and I came to Grace, just about two years ago, we left a church that had gone through exactly what Northpoint will be going through now and what Grace has gone through. God moves in His own ways not ours and not by our approval or permission. Our family is excited to vote for you and we see a new dynamic and excitement coming the church body. I for one am excited to see how God will be working and growing us as individuals in Him and as the Body of Christ.
Laurie Troy
I felt very inspired and enriched by your 2 sermons at Grace. We are a happy place eager to hear the Word from God through great pastors like you. We are anxious to vote a positive ballot for you this coming Sunday. God Bless you for your desire to teach us and walk this life with us.
P.S. Thanks for the "Lights up please" Tim and Cathy Blankenship
Dear Sally Farrinolle,
I've been at Grace for 25 years, how about you? I never said I didn't like Dave's message, but was only concerned about his leaving Northpoint. Apparently you are someone who goes with the flow while I like to think for myself.
Bob Farinolla
Personally I'm excited to see and feel the electricity that's been in the air at Grace the past few weeks - not just during David and Cherylyn's visits, but ever since the search team announced that they believed God had identified to them the man He had selected to lead us in the next era. The care they devoted to Bible study and prayer during the 2-year-plus search process underscores that this wasn't a random or human decision at all. That God would ensure that Northpoint would be strong enough to undergo their own transition just adds to the "goosebump" sensation of knowing that you're seeing His hand at work right in front of you. I can't wait to see what He does next!
Thank you both for your transparancy during the Q n A's. We feel we really got a good sense of who you are as people and as a couple. We would be honored to have you join our Grace family. Thanks you for being open to God's plan even when it seemed unreasonable in earthly terms. All the more reason, in my mind, that it is divine work being done here and at Northpoint. Lord willing, we will welcome you as senior pastor next week.
Warmly, Dede Bray
I am a member at Northpointand I would like to share that before I was put under David's teaching here in Corona I believed I was a Christian. David Hegg caused me to want to be a Christ Follower The love for God and His Word, that David has helped to grow in my heart is amazsing. I pray for many many more to get the gift that God provides. Congratulations to you David. And to the Grace family, congrats to you on makeing a fine descision.
In Christ,
April Van New Kirk
Last night we at Northpoint had the chance to say goodbye to David and Cherylyn as they leave on their new journey. It was a bitter sweet time for all of us. I can’t tell you all at Grace just how blessed you are to have this wonderfully gifted couple join your church family. Not only our church but the city of Corona has grown in Christ because of their leadership and love for the Lord. I have known them for about twelve years and I know that my family and I are much better off for having had them in our lives. My wife and I had searched a long time for a church and pastor that stayed true to the word of the bible and we found that with David’s teaching. I am certain that your church will grow and flourish under David and Cherylyn’s ministry. I am also certain that the legacy they left us here at Northpoint will help us through our transition period as well. We are fortunate to have a strong church and leadership team to face this challenge God has given us. This is an exciting time for all of us. Please remember to keep us in your prayers as we will remember you, our brothers and sisters in Christ, in ours.
May God bless you all.
Steve R. Snyder
So glad you are now at GBC :)
Andrea L.
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