provision...

My wife and I often joke with each other that the only thing we find difficult about 'faith' is faith.

An event this week helped.

If you've been spending any time at all on this here blog lately you'll know that on my plate full of movie and TV business I also have this 'wee' little item titled 'plant a church'.

Yikes!

We've been working towards this for some time specifically and, you could say, my whole life has been building towards this point.  I've always been about living in two worlds at once--the world of mainstream show business and that of church planting/preaching.  In fact, this blog is dedicated to that idea from its header byline.  

I just took a three and half year hiatus.

(during which I learned a lot and got destroyed at the same time...)

So, that said, we've been working very hard to try and find a location in which to start Sunday services.  This, with the exception of fundraising, is the hardest part of getting started with a church.  Part of the toughness has to do with the fact that you've got no money when you start and real estate of a type suitable to this kind of application is scarce.  The other part of it is that, sometimes, they just don't want you.

No joke. 

I had two or three potential landlords shut me down cold the second I told them it was for a church.  If I'd lied and said 'TV studio with some mixed use' they would've been cool but the second you say the 'C word' they clam right up and close down.

In our day and age.

And I get that much of the reason people hate Christianity is because they hate christians but that's like saying you hate swimming cause some people poop in the pool or pee in the lake.

But I digress.

So I've been really grinding it for about a month now with my 'scouting a location' efforts reaching near 'frantic' pitch the past two weeks.  A nice part of it has been that I 'trust' the Lord in the process a bit more than I did when I was younger.  I realize now--in a new way--that there's really nothing I can do to 'make' anything happen so I just keep putting one foot in front of the other while waiting for the miracle to happen.

The point for you is this:

You must face a lot of rejection while you're waiting for the miracle.

And you and I both know that rejection is painful.  No way around it.  One thing (for you church planters) I've done differently this time from the way I did it last time is that I'm just 100% up front about it being for a church and about the fact that we're broke as all heck to start.

No posing.

That's useful for all of us as we seek to build a life, no?

1) embrace rejection 'cause through it you find the miracle

2) stop posing

Oh, the miracle.

Right.

So, yesterday I'm feeling a little stressed about the location as place after place comes back a 'no'.  I decide, during a lull in my day, to re-check our city site.  I hop on and look through every single potential option they've listed.  I'd already checked most of them but not all.

As part of that double-checking I found a spot that I'd missed the first time a month or so ago. Turns out it's the largest 'rehearsal hall' in Canada.  Seats 200.  Has three rooms we can use for kids.  

I call.

I'm honest.

There's a pause.

Then she says, "Oh yes, we've had churches start here before.  We'd love to have you."

What!?

I head right over.  Check the space. Not sexy but workable.  She quotes the price.

Almost TEN TIMES cheaper than the other option I'd been exploring and this spot has 40% the space of the super-expensive one.  40% to 10X .

That's good math.

So we get to documents, she tells me she'll get back to me in a week.  

She calls today.

It's done.

Or will be, this Friday, when I go sign the contract.

My wife has made me swear to TRY and not talk out of turn (as is my default) so I'll wait 'till after I sign them docs to tell you about a wee little church coming soon.

But for today I'm happy (very happy) to remind myself and you that...

Sometimes, while you're trudging your way along, a miracle up and bites you in the butt.

T