Reverend McCaslin letter (Anglican alliance)

May 24, 2008
From the desk of :
Bryan A. Stross
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
(904) 813-3434 strossba@sensoryllc.com http://www.sensoryllc.com/

The Reverend Jim McCaslin
PO box 57983
Jacksonville, FL 32241

Reverend:

First let me thank you for the wonderful update and good news on the restructuring of the Anglican Churches here in North America. It is comforting to know that even out of such difficulties of faith, true leaders and followers of the Word can come together for a common cause and do what is right.

I spoke to you after the presentation and gave you something I wrote. There are many more on my blog site http://bryanastross.blogspot.com/

It is hard for me at this time to put into words my feelings as I am in a state of confusion as to my next move. The Lord has directed me thru the Holy Spirit for the past five months to do His work. I have poured my heart out writing and doing acts of kindness for my fellow man here in Jacksonville. I have helped the homeless, the sick, the blind, the hungry, the drug addicts, the prostitutes and other folks I call “street people”. This has been a very spiritual rewarding undertaking and I have no regrets whatsoever.

I left a $65,000 a year job to start my own company and pursue a calling I felt the Lord had sent me. I cashed in my 401K to fund this. My business is not doing well in part because I spend so much time reading, learning, writing and doing “acts” that I feel the Lord directs me to do. I do not question the path He sends me…I just do it.

I have also been sharpening my musical abilities. I play harmonica by ear and I have a synthesizer that I do my own creations on. The Lord has been very good to me over this period of time. I have met some outstanding people along the way.

All I want to do for the rest of my life is serve the Lord and help my fellow man. He has blessed me with understanding His Word like I never thought possible. I simply open the Bible and start reading wherever it opens and it makes sense to me as if He is whispering in my ear. Sure there are times I need to reflect a bit on what I read, it is not always as simple as I make it sound. I pray for guidance and I trust in His deliverance.

There are times that I can read a passage and create a sermon about it in less than a half hour. This is how strong the Lord is in me now and I don’t ever want to lose this blessing.

I used an internet service to acquire documentation that states I am a minister. I have created a church….All Faiths Church of St. Anthony. It has a current membership of two….The Lord and myself. It is a street ministry as I can not afford any thing otherwise. I do not preach on the streets. I go out into the streets and console those individuals I feel most needy. I have many stories of people whose lives I have hopefully touched in some way even if it was only for a short duration. To see a smile across a down trodden face….well sir… it often brings tears to mine.

I guess I am writing this to you now because I told you I planned on attending the Celebration in Tallahassee June 1st. As I stated before I cashed in my 401K to support myself while I pursued this adventure the Lord has sent me on. Well, the party is over and I can barely cover my bills for this month. The Lord has opened a door for me at a local electrical company and I am going to work for them next week. It will barely pay my bills. I have another interview the first week of June that hopefully will be a better paying position. That being said I can not afford the gas expense to get to the Celebration and back. This troubles me deeply as I truly want to meet the folks involved with this endeavor to create a formidable Anglican Alliance. But, I have to feed myself and pay my bills first or I will be no good to anybody.

Sir, it pains me that it appears I can not do the work in this world that I feel I am truly best at. I do not live a lavish lifestyle and my needs are very minor compared to a lot of folks in our society today. But I have no income at all coming in and to make matters worse I don’t even know if my efforts over the last five months have amounted to anything other than my financial ruin. But, I will endeavor to persevere and do what I can when I can with the calling I have received. It can not and will not be ignored. But as I said if I am not careful I will be out in the streets myself (which I have been before) and that will do nobody any good. I have worked to hard to lose all that the Lord has blessed me with. But in reality I know all I need are the clothes on my back and one of my many Bibles and I will find comfort in His Grace.

As I said I do not know where this path leads next…every day is a new challenge. Please give my encouragement to those at the conference. Please let them know they have my support and that I will be with them in spirit and prayer.

Safe travels to you sir and thank you again for your presentation.

My email is not working all the time. I am going to send this via email and mail you a hard copy as well. If you wish to contact me it is best to call me at (904) 813-3434.

Gods’ Continued Graces to you and the Anglican Alliance.

Your brother in Christ:

Bryan A. Stross
Proverbs Chapter 22