March 22, 2010
Dear Visitor:
Ten years ago, God changed my life. You see, ten years ago, I discovered a love for God that I had never had before. Now, I loved God even as a child, but what happened ten years ago turned that little flicker of love into a roaring fire. It happened through the singing of early American hymns that aren’t in our hymnbooks anymore, hymns that depict God in a way I had never imagined.
Did I love God perfectly? No, I have never loved God perfectly, and I never will in this lifetime. But as imperfect as it was, my love for God consumed me ten years ago, and it gave me a joy that burned away the fog of all the contrived happiness of my religious past.
When my love for God blossomed, God became too good to me to enjoy by myself. Allow me to explain. If you were to look out the window and see something amazing, like a ten-point buck standing in your backyard, what would you do? Wouldn’t you call out to everyone in your home to come quickly, and look out that window, and share that moment with you? Of course you would! And if you were all alone, you might think, “Oh, if only so-and-so was here!” Something like that is just too good to keep to yourself - to enjoy it to the fullest, you have to share it with someone else. It is the same way with God, only he is infinitely more magnificent than anything else on this earth! And so, when God filled my heart with joy ten years ago, I wanted to share him with others – not just unbelievers, but believers, too. Especially believers, because I was convinced back then, and I am more convinced than ever today, that it is very hard to find my God within American Christianity today.
I knew there had to be others like me, many others, and I wanted to show them how much more Christianity could be than what it is today. It dawned on me that the best way to do this was to become a pastor. I added up what I had to offer. My secular employment had given me experience working with people, handling crises, and teaching, too. My secular schooling had taught me some things about management. What I lacked was a good theological education, so I enrolled in seminary. In 2000 I started part-time at Bethel seminary, but then transferred to Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis full-time in 2001. I completed the Master of Divinity program at Central in 2005.
On January 29, 2006, First Baptist Church of Granite Falls extended a pastoral call to me, and by God’s grace I continue to serve in that capacity.
In order to grow in the faith, I need to be knitted together in the church of Christ just like every other member of the body. Will you join me so that we can help one another serve God for his glory? I earnestly hope that if you can, you will.
Respectfully,
Todd Mitchell
