"You're Gonna Get Nailed"

That’s what another church planter told me within seconds of hearing that I was coming to Vegas to church plant. He was referring to the spiritual warfare that we commonly experience here. We’ve definitely been feeling it lately. The day I preached on “Suffering: The Problem of Evil,” the pastoral prayer included reference to 3 cancer patients in our small congregation. Two of them were just diagnosed in the last month, while the other is terminal and has about a month to live. One family was gone while making preparations for a funeral, while another was back with us after dealing with a suicide in the family. Two more folks were missing because they had to pack up after their apartment was auctioned off, one of which had just suffered a mental breakdown. Meanwhile another was missing due to allegations from the mother of his child that got him locked up for over 2 weeks without being able to see a judge. That’s a lot for a church of fewer than 50 people to experience in just one month.

In the midst of it all, God has had to stretch me as a pastor. Seminary doesn’t prepare you for this. If pastoral care is where God most wants to grow me, He’s sure given me ample opportunity. Please pray for protection from the Evil One, for perseverance, and most of all for the hope of the Gospel to be experienced by us all as we walk through these difficult times.