Many of you have requested an update from Emily and me through Facebook, Twitter, and email over the last several weeks because you noticed we were living in Pennsylvania now. I apologize for the lack of digital news I’ve provided thus far; things have been a bit hectic.

The extremely short version of our story is that after serving our beloved Milestone Church in Springfield, Missouri for the past 3.5 years, Emily and I felt called to pastor a church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make and we have/will miss our friends in Springfield dearly.

Since November I’ve been pastoring Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church. What we’re doing here is a bit unconventional, so I’ll try and lay it out for you.

In the 1990s and beyond many churches were experiencing a shift in their worship styles. In an unfortunate number of churches, this shift led to infighting and bickering that literally tore the church apart.

At Carlisle BIC the decision was made to have multiple services occurring concurrently instead. One congregation would meet in the sanctuary with traditional music and another congregation would meet simultaneously in the auditorium with modern music. The preaching pastor would alternate weeks between the sanctuary and auditorium; while he was in one room he was simulcast live via video to the other room. For years this has worked well for them.

A while back the church’s senior pastor and leadership team decided it would be best going forward to bring on separate pastors for the two congregations: one for the modern/auditorium and another for the traditional/sanctuary. As these two groups have developed a different feel and ethos from one another, it was thought that each group having their own pastor would be better for teaching, discipleship, and pastoral care within the bodies.

I was asked to come on board as the lead pastor of the modern/auditorium congregation. Recently the decision was made to have the church’s senior pastor, Alan Robinson, remain as the lead pastor for the traditional/sanctuary congregation. For the next several months we’re sharing preaching duties as we prepare to end the simulcast and officially split the two congregations up this April on Easter Sunday.

So that’s where we are and what we’re doing. I’ll have a lot more to say about all of this in the coming weeks and months; for now I can tell you that we’ve been welcomed with open arms by our new church family and that we’re truly excited about what the coming years hold for us.