Saying Goodbye

There are few things harder in this life than saying "goodbye." My mother-in-law refuses to utter the words, instead saying "See you Saturday." This week as I left my home for the last 2 and half years in Colorado; I lost count of how many times I said those dreadful words, "goodbye."

I attempted to ease the pain by reassuring friends and family that we would see them soon, but the reality is that we are never sure what tomorrow brings. As I looked into the misty eyes of many of my closest friends I realized that I only could be saying bye right now because of their friendship. Without their sacrifice of time and care the Church @ Argenta would simply not be.

And yet, the more these people gave themselves to us, making our leaving easier, it became harder and harder to leave. With each goodbye, a sinking feeling grew within me: I may never see these people again. We all must say that final goodbye at some point.

And yet our friends are exactly what makes saying goodbye so hard but possible. It is their love that gives us the courage to face isolation.

Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" While his death would certainly be for all mankind, his death was most pointedly for his friends.

While that final night must have been extremely painful, it was also bearable because of his friends. And even though their love seemed to falter, his did not. And it was his ultimate sacrifice that made us all his friend, that will give us the courage to finally say goodbye.

The strength of that courage lies in hope. Because Jesus has shown us that no goodbye is truly final. There is day coming that will never end, a day of homecoming. Another day to look into each other's misty eyes and say "Welcome home!" This is our hope and this is our courage.

We can with true hearts, in the midst of leaving, tell one another "see you Saturday."

Whatever is Noble-2011

As with every year, there are those moments and events that not only inspire, but very well may change one's life forever. Here are those such events for me this past year:

Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 16-19

My Pastor Eugene is asking us to live 2012 spiritually, to open our eyes to the movings of God in our daily lives. Telluride awakened me to the movement of God is some rather unexpected places. Somehow in a sea of hippies, I found God. Read more about it here.

The Next Step of our Journey

In mid September, Cliff, Michala, and myself had a conversation with a friend in Nashville that drastically changed the direction of our lives. We were invited to join Michael Carpenter and his family in planting a new church in downtown North Little Rock, AR. This oppurtunity has streched our faith, challenged us, but also given us hope. Read more here.

I am a Pastor

While I've been pursuing vocational ministry since 2006, my actual role has been an area of mystery for me. After answering the call to Argenta, I began to explore what it means to be a pastor. Through the example of Eugene Scott and Eugene Peterson's memoir I found myself redefined. A sense of purpose was awakened in me, as I realized this is always who I've been. Read my testimony of this call here.

A New Baby!

Although we found out about the new addition to our family back in October, we are just now making the news official to world. We are so excited for Mary Grace to be a big sister. Although we have some amount of fear about how we're going to do this, we look at our daughter and at our God and smile. Blessed Assurance.

The Church @ Argenta

Argenta Church Support Video from Nathan Willis on Vimeo.

We would love for you to support us, find at more at our website: www.churchargenta.org

The Next Step of Our Journey

We're going home. Arkansas that is.

In January of 2012 Michala, Mary Grace, Cliff, and I are moving back to Arkansas to partner with Michael Carpenter and his family to plant a church in the Argenta District of downtown North Little Rock. This is in many ways a dream-come-true for us. Cliff and I first began to dream of this day over three years ago as we laughed at the idea of starting a church together one day. Well the laughter soon gave way to hope and eventually calling.

We moved to Colorado with expectations of learning and stretching ourselves in a different culture. While here, we faced some rather difficult truths about ourselves, ministry, and life. But we also fell in love with our God all the more. As we prayed for vision and direction about possibly starting a new church here in Colorado, we felt our collective hearts being pulled home.

So when we were contacted by Michael Carpenter with this opportunity, we felt it an answered prayer. Since that initial talk, we have made the arrangements to leave Colorado and to accept this new call on our lives.

We do this humbly, knowing full well that we need much help for this to happen. First and foremost we have a renewed call to be with God in communion, prayer, and loving relationship. As we have contemplated this vocational calling, we realize that our primary calling is to simply be with God. This renewed sense of purpose has given us a new fire to pray and we ask for you to join us.

Your prayers are our most cherished asset as we move forward. While I will not pretend to understand the full mystery of what happens when we pray, it seems to us that while God is not limited to acting in accordance to our prayers he wants to do so. We ask for you to plead on our behalf.

We also need financial support. We have made this decision in good faith

but we have also counted the cost. There is great pain in leaving Colorado and the people we love here but the joy before us gives us strength to push forward. Likewise, there are several financial barriers before us but we press on in faith. If you are willing and able to help support us, we need help moving. Please email me at mchlgallup@gmail.com or Cliff at cliff.hutch@gmail.com and we will give more information in how to help us.

A little under six years ago, I was near death. A life of self-indulgence and addiction had taken its toll. As I prepared to take my life, love intervened. The love of Jesus spoken through the life of my mother saved me and gave me a new life and a new hope. From that day, I knew that my life would be about that one purpose: the love of Jesus. Pray with us that we could somehow share that life-altering, hope-giving love with our brothers and sisters in Argenta.