Let God Close The Door

Another foundational principle that I planted my feet on during the time in which I was looking for a new ministry was to let God close all of the doors. As I said in my earlier posts, I cast the net wide as I sent dozens and dozens of resumes out to any church I found that was looking for a Senior Pastor that was at least 250 people in average attendance and whose doctrinal statement I completely agreed with. The result was moderate to serious dialogues with 13 different churches. These churches were from 11 different states ranging as far west as South Dakota, as far north as Michigan, as far south as Kentucky, and as far east as Connecticut. These churches represented 12 different denominations.

As I began communicating back and forth with the search teams from these churches, there were some that didn't appeal to me near as much as others. But I was committed to not looking at this process like I was shopping for a new car. I didn't want to "test drive" these churches and see which one I liked best. I didn't want to negate any one of them simply because I wasn't crazy about the color or because a certain feature I really desired was missing. In other words, I didn't want to pick the church that I liked the best. I wanted to end up going to the church that God had arranged in His sovereignty just for me.

As a result, I committed to not close the door on any of these churches by myself. I would let God close all of the doors. That way I would know that where I ended up at would be exactly where He wanted me and not simply the place that looked the most appealing to me. And that is exactly what God did. One by one, He closed the doors until only 3 churches remained. Then there were just 2 churches. And finally, God led me to the Gaylord Evangelical Free Church (GEFC) in Gaylord, Michigan. And because I let Him do all the closing of doors, I was fully confident and at peace that GEFC was where God had called me.

Be sure to read my other blog at www.folkslisten.blogspot.com. You can leave a comment at either blog or email me directly at skdistler@gmail.com.