My toe is in the water.....

It was approximately 1991,92 that I began to venture out in an attempt to see if there were was anybody out there that had any interest at all in starting a new church. My friend Tom at Allstate was one place to start. Tom's background in the Lord and in ministry was with the Episcopal church. Tom was studying to become an Episcopal priest at one time. We enjoyed each other's fellowship but Tom lived in the South Hills of Pittsburgh and I lived in the North Hills. Tom and I would get together and share our thoughts on ministry but nothing really developed at first. As I prayed about where to start I began to think about Doug and Jacquie, a young couple from Valencia. I sang at their wedding. They were in my home group at Northfold. They loved Beatle music and they really enjoyed the songs that the Lord had given me. They were so easy to be with. There was something God-breathed in our relationship. It was easy to be together and it was fun.

I remember visiting Doug and Jacquie one day and actually ended up doing a live Beatle concert in their living room. They started to chime right in and sing along with me. Doug played the harmonica and Jacquie had a beautiful voice. The Beatle music soon advanced into some of the songs that the Lord had given me and I could sense the Lord's presence as we would sing and worship the Lord. It was as if God made the way for us to be together so that we could be edified and encouraged. After several off the cuff get togethers, it soon became apparent that we needed to be together. Doug and Jacquie were members of a Presbyterian church at the time and seemed discouraged about their overall experience there. Our conversations eventually gravitated towards the dilemma we all found ourselves in after leaving Northfold.

I loved being with Doug and Jacquie because their hearts were pure and they extended grace to me as I would share my heart about my journey. I was equally interested in their journey as well. They wanted more and so did I. Being together at least brought some momentary satisfaction and sanity while we were groping for answers. Eventually Doug and Jacquie decided to host a home group. I would do some teaching at times but most of our time together involved around worship and fellowship. It was the spark that we needed at the time. Our weekly gatherings created a lot of expectation merely because we knew how to enter into God's presence through worship. We would sing one song maybe 20 minutes or so depending on the leading of the Spirit. There was a sense that the Lord was the maestro and that He was leading the chorus. It was awesome.

As I look back, that was such a God thing. We all had questions. We all had life's myriad of problems and doubts but they would all be set aside when we came together in His presence.
My toe was in the water for sure now. I liked what we were doing. I liked it a lot.

Next up.....

What are we?