A Little History

If you didn't read yesterday's blog, please do, then this will make more sense.

In September 2007, God began leading me towards the realization that Greg was shaped for being a senior pastor. I always knew he was a great leader and great discipler, but the pieces all started falling together. Greg had never mentioned that he was called to be a senior pastor 20 years prior. He waited for God to reveal that to me, and when he did, Greg knew that it was time for his calling to finally be fulfilled.

We received many confirmations, like people calling him Pastor Greg all of a sudden. At the dinner table the weekend this was all happening, our daughter said in the middle of a conversation, "Well, you're a pastor . . ." We stopped chewing and looked up at each other, frozen in time. "What? What did I say? What's wrong?", Kristen said. "Oh, nothing." We were floored.

We went for a walk after dinner and I wept the entire time. I couldn't even hardly say two words on the whole mile. I kept thinking, "Me? A pastor's wife? Are you sure? I have no idea how to be a pastor's wife. What is expected of me? What do I do and not do? Are you sure? What an honor. I can't believe it. I knew there was more to my Christian walk. Thank you for calling us. Are you sure?" Over and over these emotions of honor and anxiety ran through my mind. For three weeks, I would just weep suddenly when I thought of the honor of being called. I felt I was having hormonal mood swings like I was pregnant or something. The swings were so evident that a close friend thought someone in my family had cancer. Over the course of those weeks, the reality set in and I approached it in my typical fashion. I looked for books on how to be a pastor's wife.

At the bookstore there weren't any books on the subject. I scanned the books and saw this book with red on it facing me. It was the only book like it. I kept going, looking for something that said wife on it, but my eyes returned to this red and white paperback. Three times I tried to move on, then, I thought, "Maybe God wants me to look at this for some reason." I picked it up and it was a book on planting churches. The thought hadn't crossed my mind before. I thought we would pastor in an existing church. I looked at who endorsed the book, the biography of the author, and bought it thinking, "Well, I know nothing abut this, but maybe it's an option. I could always learn about it and see if God leads us there. Better to be somewhat educated before you get there."

I read the book and everything clicked. I saw God's divine plan for multiplying His kingdom. I drank the book in and at night, I would read to Greg the things I highlighted. He agreed with just about everything. Most of the things I read, Greg had even already told me. One day while reading, I read through a sentence but before I could finish it, my eyes came back to one word. Just like in the bookstore, trying to get past a book, my eyes would return to this one word. The word was equip. It seemed as though God was trying to tell me that was the name of our church. I thought, "That's kind of a unique word for a church." I thought about Greg's and my passion for discipling people and seeing them grow in Christ and it fit. I told Greg and he wasn't too enthusiastic but prayed about it. He asked God, "God, I'm not so sure about this word. You've got to convince me this is what you want us to name the church."

God did reveal His purpose for choosing the name EQUIP. It was an acronym for our vision. It stands for Everyone Qualified, Unified, Ignited in Purpose. We had our calling, we had our name, and we had our vision.

Tomorrow I'll continue to take you on our journey of what has transpired. Blessings on this beautiful Tuesday.