Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

              Back at the beginning of June, Jessica and I started working out together every morning. We follow a simple app on our phones. It’s made by a church member and if you want details, let me know!

              Over the course of the summer, it wasn’t too hard to get the workout in before I came in to the office. But now that school has started, you will find us in the driveway or garage working out about 4:45 in the morning. As we workout we listen to a wide variety of music.

              Through these workouts, Jessica has found a new favorite song. It’s called “Happy Dance” by MercyMe. Even though it came out in 2017, she has just discovered it. I will say, it is not your typical MercyMe song, especially if you only associate “I Can Only Imagine” with them. This is a really upbeat and fun song … and it has a good message as well!

The refrain goes like this:

We’ve got reason to get up
Reason to get down
He done traded our sin for joy
And now, that joy wants out
Happy dance (oh)
Happy dance (oh)

              In light of the news that I shared with the congregation on Sunday, September 8^th … I need a song like this one.

              If you’re thinking … “What did I miss?”, here it is. On that Sunday, I read a letter that I received from Pastor Becker. If you remember, Pastor Becker is the pastor who we extended a call to, to come and serve as our next Associate Pastor. In the letter I read, he stated that he regretfully declined the call, which means he is not coming to Salem.

              As in the past, when I have read these kinds of letters, it’s easy to feel disappointment. We have been searching for a second pastor for just over four years now. This has been a long journey, longer than any of us thought it would be. Personally I’ll add … it has been a very taxing journey on me, as well as my family at times.

              In moments like these, I start to wonder what God is doing, that I find myself needing a song like “Happy Dance.” It’s not just the upbeat and fun sound … but the message.

              Take a moment and look at the refrain again. We have a reason to “get up and get down”. We have a Savior who stepped into the trenches with us. We have a Savior who got messy in the sins that corrupted us. We have a Savior who took those sins of ours to the cross. A Savior who was beaten to a blood pulp, who was forsaken by His Heavenly Father, who took our punishment and died in order to forgive us. We have a Savior who by His victorious resurrection gives us the solid assurance that this life isn’t it, but that we who believe will be raised from our graves, restored to perfection, and granted an eternal life in the new creation to come.

              So, as we continue with this call process and as we trudge through the trenches of life … dance! Do the happy dance. Which if you want to know what it looks like, just start dancing. Do the happy dance because of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do when He comes again. Do the happy dance because of promise that He is always with us. Do the happy dance because of the joy He has placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

              God’s blessings!

Pastor Mike