like mommy like mya

this was me and mya about a week ago, walking molli. a friend and neighbor couldn't help herself and snapped a photo. a couple of strangers stopped me on the street to tell me how cute it was that mya was on her cell phone, too. i love little girls, especially when they want to be just like momma.

we survived assessment! bryan and i could write a book about mna church planting assessment, first of all, stating that there are many myths that go along with it. the president of mna cleared those right up for us, which was nice.

so, people did not sleep deprive us and put us in stressful situations. they did not change the schedule on us at the last minute to see how we respond to change. nor did they follow us around with clip boards recording our every move, 'assessing' those moves. and we had privacy in our hotel rooms. no cameras or microphones. some people are quite gullible so those rumors had to be squelched.

honestly, i wish all pastors and pastors-to-be could go through something like this assessment center. this one was particularly designed for those interested in church planting. but it was so much more than that. 14 assessors, successful church planters, came from all over the country without pay, to get to know us tirelessly and give us wisdom. we heard from some of the best sermons we've ever heard, so encouraging us with the Word of God. we received real practical business advice on starting a church. we learned and learned and learned. one of the more impactful times was our 2 hour family interview. it was uncomfortable to be known so openly by people who were strangers to us but at the same time i so admired these pastors and trust their expertise. they are wise beyond their years and they clearly had our best interest in mind. this assessment was created to address the sad fact that too many pastors were planting churches and failing, and therefore damaging their marriages and their ministries.

each day they reiterated to us that this was not a pass/fail assessment. it was an 'allocation of the troops' assessment designed to help us best understand our temperament, personalities, gifts, and calling. whichever way we serve in ministry, following the appropriate calling is important. they are there to help us in that assessment. and it was much needed.

on the final morning, we had an exit interview. we found out the assessors had been up until 4 in the morning, signing their initials on every sentence of our final assessment. they began by telling us, 'this isn't a reality show. we're not going to make you wait until the end of the exit interview to find out that you have been recommended by MNA for church planting,' then they went on to tell us our strengths and weaknesses. bryan and i found that to be right on and insightful.

our next steps are to pursue church planting in boston. keep us in your prayers, especially now as we seek to begin fund-raising.

love,
us