New Beginnings Apostolic Church
Mike Morgan and Nolan have similar personalities - neither has ever met a stranger.
It’s been a long day, but a rewarding one. This morning (Sunday, March 29) I preached at New Beginnings Apostolic Church in Springfield, IL. Pastor Greg Tucker was out of town, taking a well-deserved weekend sabbatical with his family. NBA is a great church, and Tollie, Nolan and I had a great time ministering to and visiting with longtime friends who attend there.
New Beginnings was kind enough to reserve a room for us for Saturday evening at one of Springfield’s Hampton Inns, so we took advantage of the opportunity and went over a little early just to relax. We had a nice dinner at Chili’s and did some shopping. I even got new clothes out of the deal. (FYI: Kohl’s has some great sales right now: I picked up a Ralph Lauren dress shirt for just over $8.)
This morning we woke up to a nasty surprise. Mother Nature dumped several inches of heavy, wet snow across central Illinois, turning Hampton Inn’s parking lot into a slushy lake. Loading up our stuff was a chore, especially since it seems we pack half our belongings every time we go out of town. I nearly lost my sermon notes in a puddle and almost drowned my planner, which would have been disastrous.
I was worried the combination of inclement weather and the pastor being out of town would put a damper on the morning worship service. When we arrived, we discovered a lot of folks were out sick, which usually further dampens the spiritual enthusiasm.
It turns out I had nothing to fear: the church worshipped enthusiastically from the beginning of the first song. You could feel God’s presence in a powerful way throughout the worship service. That made it very easy to preach, and the people responded to the Word from the reading of the text to the invitation.
New Beginnings has this blind brother named Chuck who sits on the front row that I’d like to take with me everywhere I preach. Chuck had heard me speak at NBA on prior occasions: today, while I was reading my text, I am almost positive I heard him lean over to the guy sitting beside him and say, “This guy is good.” Talk about feeling inspired! Furthermore, every time I said something Chuck liked, he’d jump out of his chair and lift his cane in the air.
How can you not love the guy?
After church, Tollie, Nolan and I went to Cheddar’s with Greg Tucker’s in-laws, the Morgans. We were joined by a lady named Tonya (hope I spelled her name correctly), who, like me, happens to be in the marketing business. We all had a great time eating and chatting. My wife has known the Morgans since she was a teenager, and they hold a special place in her heart.
We did miss Greg, Shelly and Ethan, though. We always enjoy visiting with them, and we’re looking forward to the next time we can get together. I hope they had a great weekend away, however, because every pastor needs one of those every once in a while, just to maintain sanity.