How Concoxions began - and almost didn't

Throughout college I got a lot of opportunities to speak, lead retreats, do chalk drawings, lead music, etc. Those opportunities continued and increased (and grew to include training others in youth ministry and discipleship) when I became Minister of Youth at Taylors First Baptist Church near Greenville, SC.  As our youth group grew, I realized that I wanted to concentrate on either local church ministry or itinerant ministry, and not be stretched too thin by trying to do both.

I prayed and wrestled with the decision for a couple of years and eventually decided to put aside the crazy idea of starting a traveling ministry. I loved serving at TFBC and was ready to stay there and let my soon-to-be-new-wife Kathy take good care of me. It was a safe and comfortable decision.  Shortly after making that decision, I was spending time in prayer before going to bed one night and from out of no where, I sensed God was saying "It's time to go." It wasn't an audible voice, but it was loud and clear. It was not what I wanted to hear. Embarking on such a risky venture sounded crazy, but if I was going to do it, I thought I should try to save up enough money before leaving Taylors to make the whole idea a little less crazy (even though I knew that wouldn't be easy on a youth minister's salary). For much of the night I tried to convinced God that making such a drastic move anytime soon was a very impractical thing to do, while at the same time trying to convince myself that I was probably imagining the whole thing.

I didn't do a very good job of convincing either one of us.  I finally told God that I had no idea how I would make it, but I trusted him enough to do whatever he wanted me to do. Only then did I find enough peace to finally go to sleep. I figured most people would think I had lost my mind, but there was one person whose thoughts I cared about the most. 

The next day I related my conversation with God in great detail to the girl I would be marrying in a few months. What would she think about me quitting a great job about the same time we would be starting a new life together? Kathy didn't need an all night discussion with God. If that was what I thought God was leading us to do, she was ready to go.

At that point I was reassured that I had made two good decisions.

It wasn't easy in the beginning, and it's not easy now. But even in the toughest times, I'm beyond thankful for the unexplainable privilege of serving God through what eventually became known as Concoxions.  

Job description

So what does the director of Concoxions do? Below is an incomplete list of some of my responsibilities.

•actor •administrator •artist •author •Bible study leader •brother •builder •camp director •carpenter •chalk artist •choreographer •composer •conference director •consultant •cotton candy maker •counselor •custodian •dad •director •disciple-maker •dramatist •editor •events coordinator •friend •granddad •graphic designer •guitarist •host •humorist •husband •leadership training leader •marketing director •meeting planner •missionary •multi-media producer •musician • party planner •photographer •playwright •preacher •producer •publisher •puppeteer •recreation director •road crew •runner •set designer •singer •social media manager •student minister •teacher •theologian •truck driver •video producer •warehouse manager •worship leader •writer •Zoomph technician.

And some days I just goof off.