To elaborate.....

Sorry I was rushed on the last post.  I want everyone to pray not that I would get this position, but that I have the wisdom to accept if it is God's will, and to decline if it is not.  The Church lines up with my theology, my approach to ministry, and if I planted a church tomorrow it would be exactly the blueprint that I would use.  They focus on the un-churched and those that are disconnected from God, which should be the focus of the church.  The pastor and I hit it off and I can easily see working with him and growing under his leadership.  I feel really good about my chances at the church calling me, which scares me to death.  This is the first time that I have felt like leaving Starbucks and RSUMC could be a reality.  To be completely honest, today could be my last day at Starbucks and I couldn't be happier.  I would miss the people that I get to interact with, but I would not miss this job at all.  I have gotten so burned out with being the "manager" and being the one that HAS to come in when the world is falling apart.  I do not have the passion that I once did, and I know that it shows.  My performance in the way that I have lead my store and my partners over the last couple of months have been atrocious.  It is not fair to Starbucks for me to continue to suck at what I do simply because I do not want to be here anymore.  Pastor Mike called it Holy Discontent, and I know that this "funk" that I am in will not go away until I align myself and my family with God's plan.  I am still trying to discern that, but I feel pretty confident that God has opened up this opportunity for me, and has also opened my eyes to the current culture in Robinson Springs.  I love my kids, and I love the Church body itself, but just like any church, it has its issues:

• The piano players salary per year is about a grand more than my salary plus my ENTIRE youth ministry budget.  This is ludicrous.  I pointed this out only to have nasty looks thrown in my direction.  My salary does not matter, Starbucks pays my bills, and anyone in ministry knows that there is not a mint to be made doing God's work.  My salary is not the point.  The pianist receives more per MONTH than my youth ministry does per YEAR!  My budget per month equals out to about $40, and you can't do anything with that.  I have given alot of my own funds in order to have some of the things that we do, along with donations from parents.  
• There is an immense power struggle going on right now between the Church Council and our Pastor.  They essentially have two different visions for the future of the church.  Chris is wanting to move forward and do outreach in the community and continue to do new things such as install a projector and screen in the sanctuary.  The Council firmly against this, and their only reason is because the cross on the wall would have to move to the left or right by 9 feet.......really, thats the only reason.  They also voted to not allow the Millbrook Community Players utilize our building for productions in 2008.  This really hurt the Pastor, as it was his pride and joy.  
• The Church and the Church body refuse to correct the issues we have with our Children's Ministry.  It is terrible!!  My little girl can not stand going to church because of the quality.  The volunteers do what they can, but they can only do so much.  It is impossible to get more than a handful of people to lead Children's Church, and no one is ever signed up for nursery.  The Church is almost in a state where they just want to maintain and leave everything alone, and this is obviously a huge mistake.

I hope for one of two things: either I leave to take on this new ministry and somehow someway the church realizes that you HAVE to move forward, or that I stay at RSUMC and help begin to transform the way of thinking that our church has adopted.  I know that God is doing some great things, but if the Church and Pastor can't get on the same page with each other, they will never be on the same page as God.

Please just pray for Brit and I as we make some really tough decisions.