Aug 11 2008
what God told me
Let me say that I’ve never heard God speak in an audible voice. For those who have it makes hearing God easier. But I have heard God speak to me through the years in various ways. But there have been a few times where God spoke in my mind and heart unmistakably. Friday at the Leadership Summit was one of those days.
For anyone who has met my wife Cassandra, you know what a special woman she is. We have a special relationship that I can’t explain. We are very connected spiritually and emotionally. She is a gifted person in so many ways. I would dare say that there are people at many of the churches we served that were more upset that she left than me.
Almost everywhere we have served we have served separately. We served in the same church but we would serve in different areas. We thought that was OK because we were passionate about jumping in where we were needed.
When I was on staff in Jacksonville, NC I was being stretched in many directions so, Cass jumped in to lead the preschool department. The personnel committee wanted to hire a full-time person but the pastor said why should we pay someone when we have Cassandra. I didn’t think it was very funny.
When God called us to plant a church I should have been listening to what God was telling us. We were assessed for church planting at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and they told us that I scored well as a church planter but they gave us the highest rank you could get as a couple. But we have never served in the same area together.
Then we interviewed with a mega church in Greensboro, NC a few years ago and the Executive Pastor couldn’t get over how well we worked together. Later that summer we talked to another mega church in Austin, TX about starting a church with them. During one of the interviews the Lead Pastor couldn’t stop smiling as he watched Cassandra and me talk. He finally stopped and said you two are very connected. He said he had never seen such a connection. We laughed it off but have never served together in the same area.
Last year when we resigned our former church one of the reasons we decided to leave is that we wanted to serve as a family and not be divided on Sundays. But again, each Sunday, I go one way and Cassandra goes another.
Friday Cassandra was at home dealing with the AC people and I was telling our worship leader about it. I joked and said they don’t want to mess with Cassandra because the Social Worker comes out in her and she is a bulldog when it comes to advocating for others –now she is advocating for us. Susan made some comment about how talented Cassandra is and so did Lynn our other staff member. Our pastor made a comment last week about how gifted Cassandra was as he watched her greeting people at a church event. Yet again, we weren’t serving together.
A few years ago Cassandra was over working in her volunteering so I tried to rescue her. But I’ll never forget what she told me.
She said, “have you ever thought that God has called me too?”
Wow, she was right. Whenever she speaks she speaks with power. She has a gift to speak to women. She has them listening and before long they are in tears. I joke and tell her she is “Beth Moore.” She doesn’t like that. But she is that gifted.
So all of this is to tell you what God told me on Friday. But really He has been telling me this for at least 10 years. He told me while I was listening to Bill Hybels and then a video they showed at the Leadership Summit called “Here am I send me.” What did God tell me?
God said, “You and Cassandra are to be doing ministry together.”
Now I don’t know what this all means. It won’t happen today or tomorrow. It may be a few years away. But I heard God loud and clear. We are so much more effective (at least I am) when we work together. So I’m ready to see what God is going to do with all of this.
