Voice of a Lion

I often wonder to myself why God has ordained that I have been in Mebane all these months that I didn't want. I soon figured out that I must be here for some reason and God's hand was working in it, even though I kicked and screamed like a toddler being dragged into the dentists office. I won't mention publicly the majority of what my real thoughts are on this matter, simply because it's public and people take things the wrong way, especially when they don't understand things.

But I will say that I was very cautious about coming back to my home church in Mebane for an extended period of time. Not only becuase of past experiences but because what am doing and what I asked of the church was something they were very cautious to give me.... support for missions.

In short, I would say that one of the biggest reasons I can see that God has kept me here "against my will" is so that He would open my eyes up to what a good church is... not a perfect church, but a good church. I have seen more reform taking place in the past 9 months than my entire life in this community, and it's very encouraging. One of the biggest things I've noticed is the preaching. Now, this may be due to the fact that my spiritual maturity has increased since I was 18 and regularly attending the services--and it may also be due to the fact that I see a change in how my pastor is teaching.

I won't go into detail because what I really wanted to say is, in my own little head, a bit humerous. My pastor, Gary Hendrix, has the best voice you could ask for in a pastor. It's deep, manly and wellspoken. Some days his voice is so powerful that I am almost waiting for him to stop mid-sentence and growl like a lion in battle. It's so great, especially when he starts to get very passionate about a subject. He's a man that you believe... not in an unhealthy way, like I believe everything he says regardless of content, but he's so logical and passionate about what he's talking about. Anyway, I'm in the middle of listening to one of his sermons right now, this one: http://www.grbc.net/sermons/browse.php?sermon_id=6826 and I would highly recommend checking it out. When I get to Slovakia, I plan on listening to his sermons (hopefully live) so that I can continue to be spiritually fed.

Check him out- he's the MAN.