On an early Thursday morning last June, I told the Elders of The Rock that we would be stepping down as pastor to follow God’s will for our life and ministry.

Other than when we told our daughters and I proposed to Michelle, I’ve never been so anxious. Because I think I knew the shock that was to come.

The moment I announced the news is the moment all the oxygen left the room. One guy thought I was joking and said a few choice words but then we all just sat there. Stunned. I teared up.

Silence.

The point of this post is not the emotional climate of that meeting but what happened next. You see, The Rock is a portable church…gathers on Sunday’s in a High School. Most of you know the drill, one 24 ft. cargo trailer and another 14 ft. cargo van pull up at 7am and Roadies for Jesus offload and set-up everything.

EVERYTHING!

The Rock doesn’t own any major assets. No building, steeple, swing set, toilet…nothing except what lives in the trailer, truck and a few leased offices. So the only thing they had to protect, when confronted with the reality that their founder was leaving, was their mission. Was it worth the pain?

If we’re honest, what we fear losing keeps us moving forward. For a local congregation that too often is their building, property, carpets and their image.

But Jesus calls us to whole different set of criteria: People.

Period.

I am so proud of the Elders of The Rock for choosing to pay the price to keep the mission of Jesus first as they worked through a very painful period in this awesome church. These guys (and their families) will probably never know the Kingdom impact their hard work will have.