Pastor’s Corner September 2006

The following was published in our monthly newsletter, the Redeemer Report.

Following God’s Call

Before I met my wife, Shari, I never thought of visiting Kansas. Aside from watching the Wizard of Oz, I’m not sure I even ever thought of Kansas. Then I met Shari and it became clear that I would need to make at least three trips to the state: one to meet her family, a second to ask for her hand in marriage and the third to get married. We would then make a quick get-away back East or at least to Chicago. Instead, thirteen years later, I find myself a happily settled resident of the Sunflower State.

When I visit New York state, where I grew up, my old friends all have the same thing to say, “Kansas…what’s in Kansas?” I used to think the same thing, but now I just think of how much I love it here. Of course the reason I love Kansas now is because of the ministry that God has called me to at Redeemer. My love for the church was immediate but my love for the place, had to grow on me more slowly. I love Kansas now though and feel that we are home.

Recently we took what promised to be our last extended vacation back to Western New York to visit family. My parents have sold their home, which my Dad built in 1972 and where I grew up, and are moving to Kansas. They will be moving to Olathe, 1.3 miles away from my house! We praise God for this! This is not an easy transition for them. My father, who just turned 75, has lived most of his life in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area and my mother has lived there all her life. They feel that God has called them to live closer to us and their only grandchildren; it makes sense, we all agree it’s the right move, yet it is still tough to leave everything you know to follow where God leads.

Genesis 12:1-5 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” [4] So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. [5] And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.

Leaving his home was certainly tough, I am sure he missed it but he grew to love Canaan. It’s where he began to see God fulfill His promises to make him a great nation. It’s where he needed to be. The past has value, but it should never hinder our purpose for today.

Our church is made up of all sorts of “relocated” people. It’s my hope and prayer that you will stay here for a very long time. Maybe some of you still think of where you came from, that’s ok, but God has you here for a purpose. We are part of a young, growing church, with a vision for trans-generational, cultural transformation. Everyone of us is an important part of this movement that God is starting. I really believe that.

The end of summer and beginning of fall always seems like a new start. Let us purpose together to heed God’s call as individual families that are part of a larger church family who love to worship our God, study His Word, and proclaim His gospel to the World

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich