It wasn’t too long ago when someone from the congregation asked me if I was enjoying working at Westheights, to which I promptly replied ‘yes’… then they asked why. If you’re anything like me then explaining why is always more difficult then the original answer. After thinking about it for
minute or two the answer I gave was, ‘because it pushes me to do better.’ I can’t even delve into all the ways that this is true, but there are a couple of obvious ones like my speaking. I never would have thought that my first job in the ministry would have been with a church like Westheights when it comes to teaching. A half-hour sermon would have been unthinkable to me eighteen months ago, and the quality of teaching is at a level that I have to work
especially hard at to keep. But I have constantly felt God moving in me to help me improve in this area.
I just think that it’s interesting the way that God can use our church to push us. We don’t often look at our churches in this way very often anymore. Far too often we get comfortable with the way things are, and we would almost hate to see certain things change which would push us. We see our church as something to help us grow, as something to encourage us, but to push us, is something that we won’t often say. I think that the difference is pushing each other to improve or grow without being pushy. This is what I’ve felt from this congregation, and it’s been of endless help to me.