Iron Sharpening Iron

One of the many things I will miss about the opportunity to minister in West Virginia is the great ministry friendships I had developed over the last decade. Two or three times a month I met one on one for breakfast or lunch with other pastors or ministry leaders in the Charleston area. 

While our conversations were never that deep in terms of theological discussion or that personal in terms of addressing acute ministry stresses, they were such a blessing. We just talked. The book of Proverbs refers to this kind of connection between God's children as "iron sharpening iron."

Today and last Tuesday I had lunch with local ministry leaders right here in the Conejo Valley. Both are familiar faces to the Calvary family. Last week Larry DeWitt, founding pastor of Calvary, and I met. Even though we had discussed much of Calvary's history during a lunch Lesli and I had with Larry and Becky the weekend of our first visit to Westlake this summer, I asked Larry to share the valley's and peaks of the Calvary journey. While we cannot recreate what God did in the past, we sure do want to build on the shoulders of the giants (like Larry) who have come before us. Often, Larry shared with tears how mighty God has been in working in and through Calvary Community Church. 

What a blessing Larry is! His passion for Christ and his energy in life are infectious. After an hour and a half together, I found myself recharged, refueled, and ready to go!

Today, the blessing of "iron sharpening iron" continued as Curtis Johnson and I met with Doug Posey, Senior Pastor of Living Oaks Community Church. Doug had been a part of Calvary for about 18 years (14 of those as a vital part of the pastoral team). While Larry and Doug have different personalities and perspectives from each other, my time was just as much a blessing as my time with Larry had been. Doug gave me a tour of the Living Oaks facilities. God is blessing this sister church of Calvary in wonderful ways. I look forward to hearing for years to come of people coming to Christ and being grounded in his word through their body! 

What a blessing Doug is! His focus on teaching the truth of God's Word so people can accept Christ and live lives pleasing to Him challenged me to remain faithful to the clear, practical communication of biblical truth!

I eagerly look forward to my next lunch with each of these dear servants of our Lord. I need the iron sharpening iron our time together has and will bring to my life!