Have you ever read the book of Philippians? This church was near and dear to Paul’s heart. They had blessed him over and over. While writing his letter of appreciation, Paul addressed Euodia and Syntyche. These two women had worked for the gospel as true sisters in Christ. Word had apparently gotten to Paul that they had a disagreement. In Philippians 4:2, Paul states: “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.” This is a great reminder that when we work together because the Holy Spirit confirms that we have the same purpose, we “agree in the Lord.” In other words, we are NOT called by God to agree to disagree. The Holy Spirit does not confirm one thing to one person and confirm something different to another.
Part 2 of “Will you build a boat?” takes us to a couple of months after that calling from God to start a church (which was the boat that God called me to build). After making a few calls with The Global Methodist Church, I was able to connect with The River Network. The Global Methodist Church had partnered with The River Network to train and empower pastors and laity to plant a church. Although Dallas was the closest scheduled workshop, suddenly one opened in Lamar, Missouri, which was only one hour and forty-five minutes from our Overland Park home.
I stepped into the worship center at the Oakton Church in Larmar expecting only to take part in a class. Upon hearing where I lived, the first person I met told me that the person right behind him was from Shawnee. Shawnee and Overland Park both are suburbs in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. This person turned around and introduced me to Dana Gouge. I learned that Dana was a retired police detective and now the lead investigator for the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. Further, he was a chaplain at Kansas City Hospice. We sat down and talked throughout the entire next two days (well, not while the speakers shared!) Long story a little shorter, we agreed in the Lord! I told Dana that came because I was feeling called to plant a Global Methodist Church in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Dana said he came to the workshop hoping to find a pastor who was called to start a Global Methodist Church in the Kansas City area.
Upon return, my wife, Holly, and I met Dana and his wife Michelle for dinner in Olathe (another suburb). Next, Holly and I traveled to the Gouge’s in Shawnee and met with Sheryl, Laurie, and Bob from their Sunday school class. After dinner, I shared the “Will you build a boat? story and a lesson about Noah and the Ark. After we left, the group talked and prayed and felt God was calling them to be builders. Soon the “original builders” grew with people from Stilwell and others from Shawnee. These builders and I agreed in the Lord and started meeting in homes and via zoom. We began building the boat together.