A Pastor's Desire

I was sitting in my office today thinking and praying about what the Lord has been doing at FCF...and considering the exciting things that lie ahead. It's been amazing to see many people responding to the call to walk with deeper faith. It seems there is not a week that goes by without hearing someone say, "Dave, it's so good to not have to be living a religious life anymore...but to be freely serving Christ." Or statments like, "I am really enjoying how God is teaching and growing me right now." Of course, as a Pastor, these statements thrill my heart.

Honestly, FCF is a unique church. While we're contempory with creative elements...we aren't interested in entertainment. We're passionate about the truth of God's Word...and missional in our desire to have an impact in our community. We are not afraid to call people to a deeper walk of faith...yet not legalistic in our approach. We're not identified as young and hip...yet we're not old and dying (in fact our older people are as passionate and excited as our younger). Our church is filled with serious truth-seekers and people who have followed Christ for 50 years. Unique...yet beautiful.

As the Lead Pastor at FCF my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude toward Christ and great wonder as to why He would even use us at all. He is not only the reason we exist as a church, but also the reason we do what we do as a church. Why do we find it important to preach through books of the Bible? Why do we encourage people to be a part of a discovery group? Why do we get involved in community outreach projects and missions trips around the world? Why do we not get overwhelmed with activities that may be well meaning but are pointless to the cause of Christ? Because our desire for FCF is much deeper...

This morning, I couldn't help but to think about the Apostle Paul. Paul was a man who had seen Christ (Acts 9); taken to  heaven (2 Corinthians 12); and personally responsible for the spread of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. No doubt, Paul had one of the deepest relationships with Christ of anyone. Yet Paul wasn't satisfied. In Philippians 3, Paul said that His desire was to "know Him." Did you catch that? In fact he said that everything else was merely dung. Here was a man who knew Christ most deeply...who walked with an unrivaled faith in Christ...yet His desire was to detach from the normalcy of life and attach himself to Christ.

With that statement we find the reason FCF exists. Whether new to the faith or a long-time Christ-follower my prayer is that you would have a holy dissatisfaction with your knowledge and faith in Christ and that you, like Paul, woud just want to know Him more.