Still tread on these tires

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. -Philippiams 1:3-6 (NIV)

As we come to the end of a chapter in what God has done with Man Church/Convoy, it's natural to be a little nostalgic. While feeling a tinge of bittersweet, I am choosing to focus on two themes: gratitude and expectation.

I’m thankful for the relationships with men I might otherwise never have known. Interactions with these men have been instructional, inspiring, challenging, and encouraging, as I felt accepted and listened to. I am thankful for the ministry opportunities I was exposed to, namely Pathway to Freedom and Returning Home. These have helped transform my views of grace, redemption, and discipleship. I am thankful for the men who were touched by a foxhole for a season of their journey, men who were influenced by and have maintained connections with the men of God they met here. I’m especially thankful for the dozens of men's small groups still meeting around NWA and beyond, who had their beginnings or were nurtured along the way by Man Church/Convoy. What a legacy!

And what do I expect? Well, there’s still tread on these tires. So whether or not there’s a men’s ministry called Convoy, I expect God will continue working in and through the men of Convoy. We’ll go in different directions with lessons in our toolbox that we picked up in Convoy, and we’ll use them to make a difference in our world.

See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. -Colossians 4:17 (ESV)

As we go, we will come across people in all stages of their journey, meeting us in whatever stage we happen to be in ourselves. Some will be getting their first exposure to the gospel. Some will be ready to respond to the gospel. Most will likely be somewhere in between. And we won’t necessarily know what stage we’re meeting them in. But it wouldn’t change our approach if we did, because we know it’s all the work of the Spirit.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. -1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (ESV)

So keep doing what you do: loving, leading, learning. Don’t worry about results – we are not called to be effective, just faithful. Keep your head up and your eyes open. Watch for those divine appointments. Let’s see what God does next!

Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. -John 4:35-38 (NIV)