Gut-Wrenching

Apr 19, 2022

"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying."

- Jesus, John 11:25

"I'm grateful for the closed doors in my life because they moved me to hunt for the ones God opened."

- A pastor

One of the most difficult decisions you'll ever make is when you have to let someone go that you love and care for. Some of you are struggling with that right now. You have to let them go… from your company, from your team, from your home, from your support… And you're worried about what will happen to them and to you. It's gut-wrenching!

In the early years of this church, we did virtually everything by faith because we had no money. As the church started to grow, we knew we needed a children's director, but because we had no budget, we decided to try and fund the position for 6 months… hoping that with a full-time director, the ministry would grow and then be able to financially sustain that position indefinitely. So we hired a wonderful young couple named Tom and Bonnie. They were great… Everybody loved them. Plus they had seven children all under the age of twelve… which immediately doubled our Sunday school attendance!

Unfortunately, the program did not grow. At the end of six months, we could no longer afford their position. We had a gut-wrenching decision to make. After praying and talking with the Board of Directors, we felt God was calling us to trust Him and to let Tom and Bonnie go. The problem was… I loved Tom… We all loved Tom and Bonnie! And this was the early 90's when the economy was flat-lined and no one was hiring, especially churches. And Tom and Bonnie had seven beautiful children with no golden parachute! We were all worried about their welfare, especially me. We scraped together a very small severance package, and one Board member suggested we also pay their way to a church conference at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, Illinois, which at the time was the largest church in the country.

It was a gut-wrenching decision! I called Tom and Bonnie into my office and with tears in my eyes, I told them of our decision to release them. I'll never forget Bonnie looking at me and smiling through her tears. She said, "Harry, we understand. You'll be OK. And we'll be OK?!"

Unbelievable! I was letting her go, and she was encouraging me! That was her faith in a Risen Savior who can turn dead things around and make them live!

My heart was so heavy for them that I could not sleep until four days later, when I got a call from Tom, who was at that church conference in Chicago… Who shouted, "Harry, you won't believe it… Willow Creek has hired Bonnie and I to be pastors in their children's program!" A program that had five times more children in their program than we had adults in our church! Wow! Tom and Bonnie served in that ministry for over fifteen amazing years and raised all their children in that great church. Ha!

Easter is the Good News that God can resurrect dead things and make them live again! Easter isn't once a year, it's every day! Because the Risen Christ is Alive, and He is with you, and He is with me, and He expects you and I to trust Him in the hard decisions of life, that He can do what we cannot do or foresee for those who know Him and love Him!