Dear Reclamation Community,

First of all, let me just acknowledge that if you are a long-time blog follower you have been neglected for far too long - I'm sorry!

Now, for all you new people - welcome! I'm thankful you are here, and while I haven't mastered the art of regular blogging in quite some time, I'm here today and that's the best any of us can ask for at this point.

Today I wanted to take a minute and talk to you a little bit about what's next for me. Most of you know I transitioned from seven beautiful years at Restoration Church, and am now doing something different. What that difference is, well, that's a little harder to explain.

People have been asking me: Do you have a new job? And the answer is yes, two of them actually!

And while the jobs are new, the mission behind them is the same as it's always been: Make disciples of Jesus Christ.

That's the burden God put on my heart years ago, and what I do professionally has always been a reflection of that same calling. I want to help people follow Jesus, and teach those people how to teach people to follow Jesus. It all goes back to that.

So, let's talk about the actual jobs, and how they are both centered around disciple-making.

For part of my day, I do spiritual direction and disciple-making for Joshua Recovery Ministries. Joshua is a sober living home in the Miami Valley, and they help people in recovery learn how to build a new life that is both sober as well as being Christ-centered. I meet with our residents and talk with them about how to make biblically-centered choices and what following Christ looks like in their sobriety. We have seven homes as far north as Troy and as far south as Kettering.

This part of my work keeps me grounded, humbled, and a reminder that disciple-making is always going to be relational. You can't make disciples if you aren't meeting with people!

The other part of my day is with a non-profit called Spirit and Truth. Spirit & Truth is designed to walk along the local church helping pastors and lay leaders learn how to be rooted in the truth, empowered by the Spirit, and mobilized for the mission. Basically, we are supporting the church in areas where they might be struggling. Specifically, I work in leadership and discipleship.

This part of my life is a big faith step for me because Spirit and Truth have no financial resources to pay me. Actually, I'm raising my own support for this part of my work.

What does that mean? Well, it means that I have been talking to individuals who are passionate about disciple-making and asking them to support me in this mission to help pastors.

Both of these callings have already begun to shape me in really cool ways. It's very different, and yet I can see God working in and through these incredible opportunities.

So, that's what I'm doing. So far, I love it, and also most days I feel very ill-equipped. And I think that is probably a good thing, in my acknowledgment of how much I am not ready for this work my dependence on God only grows. And let's be honest, my best work is when God is working through me.

And while we are here, if you want to support the work I am doing at Spirit and Truth I would love to have you on the team! We are looking for monthly donors who want to help breathe new life into the local church. Giving at 50, 100, or even 200 a month would be a huge help. So, if you want to chat about that I would love to talk to you!

Okay, this blog took waaaay longer than I expected, but I'm thankful you stuck with me till the end.

If there is anything I can do to help you please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm thankful for you, and can't wait to fill you in on how things are going very soon!

Tony