God has a way of leading us down new paths in life that were before unexpected and yet greater than what we could’ve asked or imagined.
I recall years ago when I had started my own solo law practice after working as an associate attorney at another law office. After I had gotten settled into my own practice I started to realize that it was best suited for my personality and general attitude to be on my own without anyone supervising me (or me supervising anyone else) or my having to learn to work with others as a team etc etc. I have shared in the past that admittedly I grew up socially awkward and lacked the normal social skills most people take for granted. And so with my law practice I felt I had found true balance of an occupation that fit my loner personality. I felt at the time, and still do, that it’s a sign of maturity for one to admit and acknowledge one’s strengths and limitations.
However, that whole self-reflection occurred well before I had a calling to go to seminary. Flash forward to 2010, when I was in my second year of seminary and was about to start serving at NCFC as an associate pastor. I had a mini anxiety attack once I realized that gee, after I had already settled the matter in my head that I was better off working alone without being supervised or being subject to annual job reviews or having to learn to work well with others and so on and so forth, that serving at church would require me to be supervised, subject to annual job reviews and having to work with others!
God seems to have an ironic sense of humor when He throws us these little curveballs in life. I have said all along that I would’ve been perfectly content living out my life as I had once known it to be as a husband, father and law practitioner. But if God hadn’t intervened and saved me from my dysfunctional self I wouldn’t have experienced the joys in my relationships as a father, husband and brother in Christ. I feel these types of profound changes can only come from God.
My calling to serve at NCFC is even different than what I had originally expected. I felt I had a lot to learn under the leadership and guidance of Pastor Jamie and Dr. Kim. And yet now I realize that God is the one in control of our growth and maturity not any particular person. In fact I’m convinced God can use any one of us within this ministry to teach and to learn from. So there’s a sense of eager anticipation as to what God will be doing at our church in future times. As for my general anti-social tendencies it’s been an ongoing process. I feel I still have much to learn in the ministry about leadership and people. But thank God for His patience and grace to allow us to strive to be a relevant ministry. amen to that.

From Pastor Mark’s Heart
October 6, 2013

If you have been attending our church for many years, you know by now that we set aside the month of October to appreciate our pastors. It’s not an official holiday, but many churches across the nation mark October as Pastor’s Appreciation Month and the 2nd Sunday as “Pastor’s Appreciation Day.” Out of curiosity I googled how this wonderful tradition got started and found some interesting facts. According to SBCvoices.com, in 1992, a layperson Jerry Frear, Jr., was brainstorming with church colleagues about how they might be of help to their minister when he glanced at a calendar and noticed that it was almost Groundhog’s Day. So he thought, if they have a day for groundhogs, there ought to be a day for the 375,000 clergy people in America. Hallmark sold their first pastor’s appreciation card in 2002. These are some interesting facts for sure.
As I was doing this research, I came across a cool song titled “Pastor’s Song” by Donna Jackson. It had a very nice melody and flow to beautiful lyrics that express appreciation of a pastor’s dedication and how God will consider his job well done. I encourage you to check it out on Youtube. Perhaps you can learn the song and sing for the pastors. =)
I also read a good article that I wanted to share with you. I will only quote only a part of the article, the entire article can be found at http://thrivingpastor.org/clergyappreciation/ 
The nature of the service provided by pastors and their families is unique. God has entrusted to them one of the most precious of assignments — the spiritual well-being of His flock. When a pastor becomes ineffective, the very souls of his or her parishioners are endangered. When eternity is in the balance, we should all be concerned.
Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures. Their lives are played out in a fishbowl, with the entire congregation and community watching their every move. They are expected to have ideal families, to be perfect people, to always be available, to never be down and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward. Those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or completely burns out.
That’s why God has instructed us to recognize His servants. “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17).
I subscribe to many leadership blogs and Christian articles so I can continue to learn and grow as a pastor. On a blog on Sharefaith.com, someone listed 8 ways you can show appreciation to your pastor. Though I enjoyed reading and agreed with all 8 ways, I could not agree more with his last point on how people can show their appreciation to their pastors by Growing in Grace. We, the pastors, take greatest joy when we see changes or growth in people’s lives as a result of our ministry and of what God is doing in their lives.
These past few months have been a tough season for our church but it definitely helped us to grow and mature together. And what more appreciation do we need from you when you already brought so much joy in our hearts by the way you responded with such love and grace? Just continue to hunger and thirst after God and grow in your walk with Him.  

From Pastor Brian’s Heart
October 13, 2013