Coincidence? I think not.

Remember the old Time Life Books commercials for "Mysteries of the Unknown"? They always ended with the phrase, "Coincidence? I think not."

Ever since we've been here in Toledo, there have been so many times where something has happened that left me saying "Coincidence? I think not!" I'm not talking paranormal experiences, or ghosts in our hallways. God has been working in our lives and circumstances in incredible ways--ways I almost wouldn't believe if I weren't experiencing them.

I've already mentioned how I met Dan Rogers here, so I won't go over that again. But in the last couple of weeks, a few more experiences have left us nearly breathless.

We were visiting Trinity Church of the Nazarene two weks ago. We walked in and were greeted warmly by several people, but then as we entered the sanctuary, a woman came up to us and asked who we were. We told her, and then, out of nowhere, she asked if I might perchance have been a worship leader or could lead worship. Of course I've led worship for over 8 years prior to this, so I told her that. She was elated, said she'd been praying and asking God to bring someone her way who could lead worship at the Toledo Christian Schools' junior/senior school retreat. Barb and I just felt like God had certainly brought us together with this woman that morning. After praying about it, I agreed to lead it. I'm still amazed; who knows what God has in store for us and Emmaus Road Church as a result of the upcoming retreat?

A second, maybe even more amazing incident happened last weekend at the Leadership Summit which was put on by the WillowCreek Association. I had heard about it when we visited a large (8,000 person) church which was hosting the Summit in Toledo via satellite connection (there were 100,000 people across the U.S. involved, btw), but for financial reasons I had decided not to attend. Then, two weeks before the Summit, Dan from the mission e-mailed and asked if I wanted to be their guest at the event--which meant everything was paid for.

So, I went, and God once again worked in an amazing way. The testimonies and teaching of the speakers continued to confirm in my heart that we're doing what God has for us. But more than that, Dan introduced me to about a dozen church leaders from across Toledo who are at the forefront of ministry and ministry ideas. Suffice it to say that I'm now set to meet with several of them in the coming months to talk about church planting, to network with other church planters and leaders, and simply to receive encouragement and wisdom from them.

One such person was Lee Powell who is the pastor of Cedar Creek, the 8,000 person church hosting the Summit. Because I've been to the Cedar Creek, Toledo campus on several occasions, I'd heard him talk about his vision for planting 12 new churches by 2015 (6 would be part of Cedar Creek and 6 would be from other traditions). On Thursday when Dan introduced me to Lee, we spoke for a minute about a shared Nazarene background (his grandmother was Nazarene and his first church experience was in a Nazarene church) and briefly about Emmaus Road Church. But even more amazing was the next day, Friday, when I was talking with another pastor friend, Bill Roman (my local spiritual mentor) from Hope Lutheran, and he once again pulled Lee aside to introduce me. Obviously we'd already met, but Lee went a step further to tell me about their 12 by 2015 initiative and asked me to e-mail him because perhaps we could be one of the churches they sponsor that would not be a part of Cedar Creek itself. I was blown away.

I'm not saying anything is a done deal, or that any of these meetings will necessarily mean huge things for us or Emmaus Road Church, but there was no way that on my own or in my own strength I could have been connected with so many people who have the potential to be friends and helpers on this journey had it not been for God working things out this way.

Finally, I want to briefly mention about the possibility of getting a building for Emmaus Road church to meet in. About 3 months ago, I met Bruce Ott, the owner of a dental lab that makes crowns and bridges. I was out visiting and praying for people in the community when I stopped by his office. I soon found out he was a believer and at the end of our conversation he said, "If you guys ever need a building for your church, let's talk because we have a space for lease next door." I told him I'd pray about it and get back with him.

Fast forward to three weeks ago. I went back and spoke with him again in further detail about the building. He showed me around the space and told me in effect that they really would like to get some good neighbors in there and would love if it was our church. He said they'd really like to work with us on a price. To make a long story short, he offered it to us at 1/3 of price they were asking through their realtor! It's 1,000 square feet down stairs and has 3/4 rooms upstairs. It really would be perfect for ERC because it would provide plenty of worship space as well as children's ministry rooms upstairs. Not only that, but it's on one of the busiest streets in Toledo and only about 5 blocks away from our house.

The last part of the story has to do with the ability of Emmaus Road Church to afford the space. Even though it's an awesome deal, the only income we have at this point is our tithe which isn't enough to cover the cost let alone the utilities and such. But God knows this already. As we were praying about this, and before we even made the need known to anyone, we got a check made out to the church from Barb's grandfather. He said he felt God laid it on his heart to begin giving this amount monthly to ERC! Of course the amount more than put us over what we need for rent and would cover utilities also. Like I said, we hadn't told anyone about the need. God placed it on his heart and provided beyond what we could even imagine.

I know this has been a long entry, but I wanted to praise God and also encourage you, wherever you are, that God works in amazing ways when you put yourself in position to see and receive whatever it is He wants to do in your life.

One of the speakers that spoke at the Summit said, "God doesn't want to make you safe. He wants to make you brave." I hope that if you're not already putting your full trust in God by getting out of your comfort zone to a place where God can use you, that perhaps this post might be the encouragement you need to begin doing so today.