Finally, What a Relief! What a Blessing!

Today our church called a new pastor, ending weeks of searching for the right man for the job. I am such an impatient person that this once again has been difficult for me. I like order, structure, and consistency in church. I want to know when I go who will be speaking, and the last several months have been week after week of surprises. Some of those surprises have blessed my heart, so I really shouldn't be complaining; I'm not sure I am complaining; I'm just very glad that the search is over, and we have a new man in the pulpit.
He comes from a church three times larger than ours, so I'm sure he has already encountered all the personality traits, quirks, and oddities that a congregation can hold; therefore, I don't think I have any advice for him. We're a dysfunctional, functional family made up of flawed, perfect people. Does that make sense?
I'll just say that what I love about Harrah Church is the heart it has always had for the lost. Harrah Church in the few years I've been there has been a church to win unchurched people for Jesus and then to mentor those people along in the faith. Are we always successful? No, some of the people we have won to the Lord no longer attend Harrah or any other church, but many of them are actively serving God in positions that a few years ago they would have never thought possible.
What does it look like when you reach the unchurched? The unspoken "rules" are completely foreign to these people. They don't dress "churchy"; they don't always speak "churchy"; their testimonies are real, sometimes heartbreaking, but always inspiring; they love Jesus, and they want all of their friends and family to love Jesus too.
When my kids have attended church with me there, the boys were bothered by the hats worn in the building. You see, Jason and Carson knew the "rules" of church--they would never enter a church building with a cap or hat on. It was funny that I was the one to have to explain to them that God was looking at the heart of these men, not the top of their heads. Rules like that can be barriers to the very people we are working to reach. You would have thought that the older generation would have had to be taught tolerance, not the other way around.
I'm looking forward to years of working alongside Kevin Daniels and his family.