This has been an incredible week for us. It never ceases to thrill us when God opens yet another door of opportunity for us to walk through.
From the moment we began planting Northpoint we have prayed for God to open doors. We have always believed, and still do, that the only way this baby church is going to see a healthy birth date is if God opens every door of opportunity along the way.
It's a strange feeling: the moment you find yourself being handed the keys of responsibility for planting a new church. Your mind reels with endless possibilities and ideas. You find yourself dreaming of "over the top" strategies and methods of ministry. Depending on your situation, planting a church offers some freedoms you might not otherwise have while serving in a ministry position in an established church. There is the freedom to try new things and build your baby church's DNA (after all, nothing has been done from which to draw comparison.)
The challenge comes when faced with the temptation to build His church in your own power. It’s easy to hold on to the things that you think are vital to the growth of His church and if you aren’t careful, you try to force open doors that were never meant to be opened.
In many ways we are much like the little girl who valued her dime store pearls. These pearls were shiny and beautiful. Everywhere she went people noticed the pearls around her neck. One evening, as the little girl got ready for bed, her father came to tuck her in. With excitement in his eyes, he told her that he had a very special gift for her. The little girl’s excitement grew until her father asked her for her dime store pearls in exchange for his gift. Defeated in spirit, the little girl clutched her pearls and said, “That’s alright Daddy, I’ll just keep my pearls.” For several days this exchange continued between father and daughter. Until one evening the father walked in to see his little girl crying quietly on her bed. As he sat down, the little girl lifted the pearls to her father and said, “Here Daddy, if the pearls mean that much to you, you can have them.” The father scooped his little girl up into his arms and pulled out a beautifully wrapped box. As the little girl opened her gift, she could hardly believe her eyes. Tucked inside this tiny box was a strand of the most beautiful freshwater pearls the little girl had ever seen.
If you are planting a church, you are faced with the challenge of growing a church that will be healthy and thriving when launched. If you aren’t careful, you will find yourselves holding onto things that are “good” while God is standing on the sidelines trying to give you the “best.” You can’t settle for what’s easy and convenient. Sometimes it will hurt to let go of the things you cherish. There may be people who leave your team before you open your doors. There may be ideas you have to table because as a church you aren’t ready to see those ideas become a reality. You will have to allow others to step in and take responsibility for things, instead of keeping everything on your plate.
It can be so very easy to hold on to the keys of responsibility. That is, unless you've experienced first hand what can happen when you relinquish the keys to the master locksmith.
We are discovering more each day that our efforts will always pale in comparison to what takes place when God divinely intervenes on our behalf.
Relationships are being built and partnerships within the community are being developed. One of the greatest challenges we face is giving up the keys to our life, and just as importantly, the keys to our church, to the master locksmith. There is only one set of keys and the choice is ours. Who is going to hold them?
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