A New Chapter

I have been working through the words for this newsletter for a while now. If you haven’t gotten a chance to hear, I have accepted a Discipleship Pastor job at Laurel Springs Baptist Church in Deep Gap, NC. I want to tell you the story of how this came to happen.

This position is something that has been in the works for a while now. Back in April, I was approached by the Pastor of this church about possibly helping their Worship Ministry. They were struggling with organization and had originally wanted someone to come in and do a seminar. As time went on and their leadership team met more, they decided they wanted to bring someone on staff who could be more involved in helping with that on a week-to-week basis. The Pastor saw a desire from the church to move from a more traditional style of worship into a more modern and blended style. That is my background! I grew up in a traditional southern Baptist church and I was involved in moving them into a more modern style of worship. This was also what I was responsible for in my internship back in 2019. I told the Pastor I would keep that door open until the Lord shut it. I wanted to trust that God was guiding the process as opposed to me making a quick reactionary-based decision.

Fast forward, the position had been shifted to start to incorporate not only the music and worship side of things, but also how they actively made disciples. One of the biggest conversations I have had the privilege of being a part of at Bridges was just that, how can we be better at making disciples. The Lord had been preparing me all that time for something I didn’t even have on my radar. Still, I hadn’t heard the Lord say go. There were some severe hurdles I had to get through to even be able to really consider leaving Bridges. However, two main hurdles were bigger than the others. First, my housing. I am in a lease. I can’t afford to break that lease. Second, my full-time job. I am a contracted employee. Voluntarily leaving that contract would come with a significant financial penalty. So, we continued to seek the Lord.

More time goes by, the leadership team keeps meeting, and we keep asking The Lord for direction. One by one, all the hurdles that I felt like I needed to jump over began to fall. My family came up with the idea of me moving into my grandparents’ old home. They passed away last year, and their home has been sitting practically unused since then. This provided me a place to live without much expense involved. Not to mention, at the time of writing this newsletter, my lease ends in just two short months. After that was in place, the Pastor mentioned that the leadership team was okay with me commuting to the church until my contract was up with my current employer. Meaning, I could commute for staff meetings and church services all while getting to fulfill my contracted position as well. My line of hurdles, including the two I considered to be my biggest, had all been knocked over at this point. Not by anything I had tried to make happen. No, looking back, this was clearly God making a way.

If I’m honest, this is going to be hard for me. In my flesh, I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to change my life up again. I love Bridges Church. I love the relationships I’ve built here. I love the opportunity I have had to serve and grow in Christ here. However, following where the Lord is leading you, doesn’t always mean you get to do what you want. Letting go of being comfortable and surrendering to him isn’t easy. Psalm 23 comes to mind.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. 
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy  shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell  in the house of the Lord forever. 

Thank you, Bridges. Thank you for supporting me, trusting me, and worshiping with me for these years. I am so thankful for you!

- Carson