Angry with God
Have you ever been angry with God? I have– on more than one occasion. When I was fresh out of seminary, I had grandiose visions of how I would reach the world for Jesus Christ. I would grow a church to thousands of people who would be reaching friends and family for Jesus on a regular basis. I received my first call to a church in Bismarck, ND, and I began planning how I would grow that church. The church had sold some of their property just before they extended a call to me and I was a little disappointed. I figured we would need that property for the growth we would experience. When I arrived, the church was averaging around 55-60 on Sunday mornings. Over the next 6 years I prayed, provided outreach events, enhanced the Sunday morning worship, modified the church interior, discipled men in the church, added programs, and by the time I left, I had managed to grow the church to about 35-40 (and, no, I didn’t forget to add a zero to those numbers). I was angry. I was trying ever