I love road trips. There is just something about packing up for a trip, loading the car, making sure everything is in place and then heading towards a new adventure. One of our favorite places to go for vacation is Destin, Florida. We absolutely love this place. And the closer we get to Destin during our road trip the more giddy we become. We start talking about what we think our vacation rental is going to look like, how blue the water is going to be and what restaurant we are going to stop at first. The anticipation makes the trip not seem so long.
I'm discovering that starting a new church is much like our beloved road trips. Just a little over 3 months ago we accepted the opportunity to come down and begin a brand new work here in Beaumont, Texas. From that moment, we began to pack up (mentally and literally) for this new adventure, we began to dream HUGE dreams of what God could do if we would just be available to Him and then we set out towards our destination. But we are discovering quickly that there are many scenic stops along the way. We are the first to admit that we still have so much to learn.
For many church planters I believe that it is the scenic stops that can frustrate us.
If patience isn't your strongest quality, well, let's just say that church planting will help you perfect this quality very quickly. Oswald Chambers spoke incredible words when he said, "We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us. What we call the process, God calls the end. His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. God is not working toward a particular finish; His end is the process- that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God." What freeing words for a church planter! I have to remind myself often that church planting is like no other process I have experienced in my years of ministry. It doesn't look the same, feel the same or even work in the same realm of reality. Planting a church takes a completely different outlook.
If patience isn't your strongest quality, well, let's just say that church planting will help you perfect this quality very quickly. Oswald Chambers spoke incredible words when he said, "We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us. What we call the process, God calls the end. His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. God is not working toward a particular finish; His end is the process- that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God." What freeing words for a church planter! I have to remind myself often that church planting is like no other process I have experienced in my years of ministry. It doesn't look the same, feel the same or even work in the same realm of reality. Planting a church takes a completely different outlook.
I love the Message version of Matthew 16:17-18, "My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out." This declaration take an enormous amount of pressure off of the church planter. It isn't you or me and our talents and abilities that are going to build His church. God has declared for all to hear that He will put together His church in His time and on His terms. And THIS church will be able to withstand even the strongest attacks thrown against it from the very gates of hell. I don't know about you, but this is the kind of church I want to help build. I don't need to be the architect, I don't need to be the general contractor - just give me a hammer, tell me where to hit and I'll get to work.
The journey has begun, the Master Draftsman has drawn out the plans, it's time to go. But know this, you only get to see the plans that apply to the here and now. Don't expect to see the final draft. Your tasks will be handed to you piece by piece. Don't be discouraged. Don't worry that you don't know all the details. Just trust that TODAY God has work for you to do. The upside...you get to see God make something out of absolutely nothing!
The journey has begun, the Master Draftsman has drawn out the plans, it's time to go. But know this, you only get to see the plans that apply to the here and now. Don't expect to see the final draft. Your tasks will be handed to you piece by piece. Don't be discouraged. Don't worry that you don't know all the details. Just trust that TODAY God has work for you to do. The upside...you get to see God make something out of absolutely nothing!
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