Meetings in October

Here is a quick review of the meetings with other ministry leaders that I have had so far and the highlight of that meeting.

JEFF TACKEBERRY - Jeff is the pastor of a newstart church in North Liberty (just north of Iowa City). He pastors Heartland Church and they are currently in a series called "Soul Revolution." Jeff is a man with a vision. He loves the Big 10 college towns and has had a heart to reach the campuses of the Big 10 conference for Christ. As the church he pastors continues to grow spiritually, numerically, and now into its first building project, he has a vision for expanding that influence and leadership. Inovation and creativity are commonplace at Heartland, not to mention a warm and welcoming community.

DUSTIN LEDFORD - When I was a senior in High School, Dustin was my youth pastor. Now he is the lead pastor of Carthage First Nazarene and is leading the church to grow and to health. Dusting reminded me not to whine or complain, but to be Christ to others and meet their needs. He encouraged me not to forget the current members of the church and take special time for the people who weren't my age. He gave me some good methods and reminders for pastoral ministry. We also had a chance to discuss the Master's Plan (a discipleship method common in Nazarene churches in South America) and how to work with strong leaders in volunteer organizaitons.

JIM DILLOW - Dr. Dillow is the DS for Joplin District and has been a model pastor to me since Jr. High. I wanted to find out what God is doing on this district and hear who and how people are involved. As he shared about the health and disease of different churches, I was reminded of several truths: We are Christ centered, Spirit lead, and positive that God is for us so we can be for others. Dr. Dillow's sabbatical was last summer and we compared notes about how ours is going and he said he hoped we would learn just one good thing from the Lord while we're taking this time.

GABE LETT - Most of my spiritual adventures in Jr. High and High School include this man. We were best friends in Jr. High and started a Bible Study together. Now, Gabe is a Christian Counselor, Life Coach, Author, and HR person at a local business. My family worshipped with the Letts at Christ's Church in Joplin (where our friends Amanda and Dennis Reed worshipped while living here). We experienced an authentic and fresh Spirit lead worship and the most Biblical expression of the charasmatic church I've ever witnessed. Praise the Lord! After the service, the Gabe, Jamie, and their three girls came over for lunch and stayed till after 5:00. We caught up on people, professions, and the processes of life.