“The steps of a
righteous man are ordered of the Lord.” Every time I read this passage from Psalm 37:23 I’m reminded that my life
is not my own. I belong to God. Kelli belongs to God. We’ve committed both our
individual lives and our marriage to His calling and purpose. We’ve resolved to
travel together down the path that He has set before us. We’ve entrusted our
steps to Him.
It was
God’s leading that brought us to Liberty ,
Missouri in July of 1995. It was
His plan for us to assume the lead pastorship when it became available in June
of 1997. He gave us a passion for this city and for more than a decade and a
half we’ve developed a love for each and every one of you. The blessings of God
have been abundant and you have made this journey so wonderful. I’m convinced
that our days here have been ordained by the Lord.
That’s one
of the reasons this weekend is so incredibly difficult. Through many months of
prayer, and a constant stirring in our hearts, we are convinced that God is
asking us to travel down a new path, a path that will lead us away from our Desperation Church
family, away from Liberty ,
and away from full time pastoral ministry. This decision is the most difficult
one we’ve had to make up to this point in our ministry and in our lives. The
difficulty comes not in saying “yes” to the Lord, but in saying “goodbye” to
all of you.
In our
hearts we never thought this day would come. I guess that’s why God says in Proverbs 16:9. “In his heart a man plans his
course, but the Lord determines his steps.” We’ve served here with the
mindset that we would never leave. However, when we began our life of ministry together
in 1990, it was as a team… and due to Kelli’s persistent sickness, we have not
been that team for some time. At one time, Kelli’s fingerprint was all over
this church; in the children’s ministry, the women’s ministry, and we’d often
have people over for dinner or host Bible studies in our home. Her presence on
the front row of each and every weekend service (even when there were three) and every extra class I ever taught,
was something I took for granted. None of this has been possible for quite a
while. I know that my wife’s absence has hurt our church. I also know that it
has affected me personally, more than I can express. I believe this is because
our ‘team’ hasn’t been able to be together in the ministry. Truthfully, the
agony of Kelli’s physical issues, almost seem to pail in comparison to the hurt
of not being able to minister side-by-side. We have prayed long and hard about
what it is that we should do, and the Lord has been stirring our hearts that
our time at Desperation
Church has come to an
end. With the counsel received in a recent doctor’s visit, we feel we’ve had
this stirring confirmed. It simply is not physically viable for Kelli and I to
continue as we are currently going.
This
weekend, we are officially offering our 60 days notice of resignation as your
pastors, with the full intent to provide transitional leadership according to
our church’s Bylaws. During this transitional time we will be working alongside
the wonderful leadership of Desperation
Church to help things
remain healthy and strong here in this wonderful place.
We will
be putting our home up for sale soon, and after this time of transition Kelli
and I will move to the Colorado
Springs , Colorado
area. We believe the altitude and the climate could benefit Kelli, and we have
some family in the area that will allow us to camp out on their floors for a
season. Truly, we have no clue what the future holds. We are truly stepping out
in faith believing God to be our Guide and to place us in the center of His
will and plan for our family.
Please
hear these words from the bottom of our hearts. Though our relationship as your
pastors will change, our love for all of you will not. That’s why this is so
difficult. We’ve become family over the past 18 years and now we’re moving away
from being your pastors. As hard as it is to say goodbye, the fact is we’re
still family.
We
believe that God directs our steps and promises not to leave us nor forsake us.
I’m confident that God will be with my family, and I’m confident He will
continue leading this church on to something wonderful. God will not take from
one at the expense of another. If God is preparing to bless Kelli and I with something
new, then He’s also preparing to bless all of you with an awesome new pastor, a
pastor that will be able to take you into the future and strategically meet the
challenges of reaching the next generation in this community for Jesus Christ. A
pastor that will be even better equipped to lead Desperation Church
into the center of God’s will. Kelli and I are hurting for sure, but we really
believe that your best days are ahead, and though we will not always be your
pastors, we pray that you’ll always think of us as your family.
My heart,
and truly my life’s message, have always been to keep our eyes on Jesus singularly and to do everything with passion, especially live for Him.
This will continue to be my prayer… for myself, my wife and children, and for all
of you – our Desperation
Church family.
Respectfully
submitted with love for each of you,
Michael, Kelli,
Conor, Kolten, Caleb, Michaela, and Merci Craft