A States-side story - How Josh Moody was called to the USA

In November 1999, Rochelle and I flew out to America. We had with us three suitcases, a laptop and printer. Little did we know that we were arriving just before Thanksgiving, and all that implies in America. We had nowhere to stay. We were going to begin a new venture in our lives. We believed that God had called us.

The church that I began to pastor then was made up of no more than 20-30 people. The name of the church: Trinity Baptist Church.

It had originally been planted in the 1970s. Since then it had first grown a little bit, then floundered as it attempted to buy a building and in the process of paying the mortgage became embroiled in political disputes. During those years the church became notorious locally for getting rid of new young pastors at an alarming rate. One of its more veteran pastors upped and left literally in the middle of a service one morning, unannounced and without explanation. There were bleeding bodies coming out of Trinity searching for healing, rather than the other way around.

When we arrived just about everyone had left. The few who remained were solidly committed to the Bible. Those who had had more wavering doctrinal allegiances (I heard stories of interesting things being taught about the Trinity - ironically enough for a church called 'Trinity') had already left. There was no reason to be a part of a church that had lost any prestigious associations it might have had in the past.

It was now renting a building. A Seventh Day Adventist building to-boot. They met on Saturday. Trinity met on Sunday. It was convenient. Not fancy, though.

The church I wasn't called to

I had originally come out to an interview with another Baptist church in the area. It was called First Baptist Church. This church, previous to me, had un-knowingly hired an evangelical pastor, though it was itself a decidedly liberal church. Having hired him, people began to get converted and the church began to grow. He left as the liberals kicked up a storm. The evangelical caucus in the church gathered to attempt to call me as the pastor, to secure a solidly evangelical pastor as the next in line. The liberals warmed to me because I was a) English and b) had a PhD in Theology from Cambridge.

As the interview process continued, though, the issue of women preaching came up. I was advised to hide my cards on this matter. Instead, I decided that I should be straightforward with as much grace as I could muster. The attempt to hire me foundered on whether the liberals in the church were willing to trust what the Bible said on the matter or what the sophisticated cultural milieu of Yale and New Haven told them was true. I am glad I took my stand on God's Word.

A phone call changed all

Astonishingly enough, the story did not end there. The next day, an evangelical member of the search committee called me on the phone, I assumed to commiserate after our final transatlantic conference call had failed to persuade. Instead, he said would I mind if he gave my name to an evangelical church he knew had been looking for a pastor for ten years without success. I thought briefly about this, decided that if the matter had been one of personality or the like I would have strongly declined, but as the rejection was over God's Word I concurred that that would be fine.

He did call this other church. They were about to meet to decide to close the church that very evening. They took my emergence suddenly into their deliberations as an unusual providence from God, listened to a sermon tape and representation from the evangelical member of the search committee, met on Sunday after church and decided to issue a call for me to come and be their pastor. The next day I replied in the affirmative. And on the plane we jumped.

The Lord brought people

Rochelle and I, three suitcases, lap top and printer. Nowhere to stay. Having never met the church members. We must have been mad: except we felt sure that this was a strange providence of God.

And week by week as I began to preach and pastor, the Lord brought people to us. At that time our sign, the physical object that indicated where we resided, was in considerable disrepair. Trinity was not a known church in the area. To find us at all was something of a miracle. And yet, week by week, God brought to us people he wanted us to have. Steadily, the pews began to fill. The first Easter we had 70. The next Easter 120. The next Easter about 200. This last Easter we had over 280.

During this time, with evangelism and church growth high on the agenda, we also had to redo all the church plumbing, in a spiritual sense. The church had never adopted a doctrinal statement. Its constitution was felt to be practically satanic by the few who had remained from those times, and I have still never even seen it. So we were starting from scratch. Gradually, very gradually, we formed a set of church documents. At the same time we began the process of formally and appropriately electing biblical officers for the church. We elected an eldership, and later a diaconate.

Right now, we're pondering what to do next. We've really outgrown our facility in our morning service. We could launch a second service. We could look to buy a building. We're praying.

Reflections

As I reflect on this story about a church, several matters come to my mind to emphasise.

First, the whole attempt to revitalise the church has come at no little personal cost. We live a long way from our friends and family. In that first year we moved house ten times. The finances of the church at the start were only sufficient to last one year. We risked not only discomfort but embarrassing failure. Rochelle and I had only been married for one year when we started. The emotional energy required of being a pastor is enormous. Sometimes I feel utterly spent - as if the years up till now have so taken their toll I do not know what has happened to the emotional and physical strength I remember once enjoying. The spiritual battle has been intense. Nights of prayer and sleeplessness. Weeping. If you're in ministry or you're a Christian seeking first the kingdom of God you'll know what I'm talking about. I suspect that this is always the way that it is. No work of God can be done without suffering.

Second, I am at pains to emphasise the difficulty of the task that was (and still is: I shall mention more about this in a moment) ahead of us. This is because I want none to think that such growth or turn around was achieved by me, by us, or by certain techniques. It was not. It was achieved by the Word and prayer, by the power of the Spirit, and by God alone, for God's glory alone. Trust me, I'm not a very impressive person. We faced a church in terminal decline. We faced an area of America (New England) which is predominantly theologically liberal in ecclesiastical culture, and which has church attendance figures on a par with Europe. We faced a city which, with an elite university called Yale, was inundated with intellectual barriers to the gospel, as well as impoverished homelessness, and moneyed upper crust. Unity in this city is hard to find. Reaching out to these very different sub-sections of culture with very different problems is hard to achieve. But God has done it - and we pray, yet more, Lord!

Key principles

Third, I am aware of some key principles, idiotically simple as they may seem, and yet ones which have been proved valuable to us, and therefore perhaps worth repeating.

1. Churches need sound expository teaching. I have found that there is a genuine hunger for the Word of God.

2. Also, I have found that most spiritual battles are not won through clever rhetorical turns of phrase, or governmental diktats, but by prayer. Place that in your theology where you like, but I've found it true. Does not Paul say, 'I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers' (Philemon 22)? Do we expect our prayers to be answered? Is that why we are not restored?

3. Then, it seems to me at any rate, it is a principle that cultural issues need to be addressed in order to allow people to hear the real gospel of God. In other words, if the music is so old it turns 20-year-olds off, there is nothing wrong in trying to find some style which does not. The style of the song sheets, the presentation of the meeting, the choice of words, the exact way events are advertised, the details of communication in its broadest sense are all very important. In the main, families will not come to a church unless the children's ministry is excellent.

Fourth, and last, we are not a finished product. There are still many stains and wrinkles that need to be addressed. It has been by faith that we have begun; we have taken risks that looking back make me feel slightly queasy. It will be by faith that we will continue. Pray for us.