Update

I have to go to a certified counselor who will report back to the conference relations committee concerning my fitness for ministry. I have to submit a written plan for how I will spend my Leave of Absence. We have to pay the district $500.00 a month rent because the $100,000.00 that they will make when they sell the house isn't enough. I get to go back and meet with the conference relations committee in April or May to see if they'll approve my reentry into the conference. Do I sound bitter? I'm totally bitter. My name is Dan and I have anger issues. Some might say the anger is a part of my grieving over the death of the church and the hard, fought battle to make it work. I would agree, but I'm also pissed at my DS, the district trustees, the conference relations committee, the dysfunctional system of my denomination, stupid church people who crapped all over us and tried to put a super-spiritual spin on their reasoning, Taco Bell for discontinuing the "taco-light," my parents for making me where "husky" pants when I was young, and the weather for being freak'n cold with no snow!

With that out of my system, I am grateful for the time of renewal, time with my wife, time to spend reading and reflecting and time to learn more about effective ministry. I'm thankful for God's peace. In the middle of this storm of transition there is a calm that God has brought to our home. Every once in a while we step out of the bubble and freak out about all of the uncertainty, but God usually sends us a gentle reminder that the bubble is far better. I usually hear something like, "Are you stupid? Get back in here where it's warm...calm...peaceful. Fix your eyes on me, not on the circumstances and details or lack there of. Trust me!"