There are times when as church planters we feel as if we are walking in between two lands. There is the land we came from, the territory where we became excited about the journey ahead of what God has in store for our new churches. There is the land we are going to, which consists of the territory of seeing our baby churches take off and move forward as a fully operational church in our community. But what do we do when we are in the land in between? How do we navigate through the daily pressures of making sure that we don't get stuck in the land in between?
It's very easy to become overwhelmed in the land in between. We understand this reality and recognize the daily struggles that come with moving forward towards launch. There are times when you might question your strategies, and other times when you might question how far you've come vs. where you thought you would be at a certain point. Every church planter will walk through the land in between. The reality is that while walking through this land it will become apparent what kind of leader you are going to be. It's during this time of walking through the land of in between that you will settle who is in charge of this journey you are on.
There is an ancient Jewish blessing that was given to those becoming disciples, "May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi." What a powerful blessing, and what a great reminder for church planters that are walking down the dusty roads of the land in between. It is easy to walk off course while in the land in between. Priorities try to get shifted, vision tries to take a back seat, pride tries to wrap it's fingers around our heart and fear of what tomorrow holds entices us to lay our thoughts on the unknown.
This journey we are on of planting churches is filled with unknown territory and off-roads just waiting for our attention. So the question we must ask ourselves is, "Whose dust am I walking in?" Am I walking in the dust that I've created by my own doing as I run down this road full force in my own power? Am I walking in the dust of someone else's legacy? Or I am walking so closely behind my Rabbi, Jesus Christ, that His dust is covering me from head to toe? I must tell you, at the end of this journey through the land in between, when we've reached the land before us and have launched our church, I want to be completely covered with His dust! We desire that every victory celebrated, every inch of territory gained and every person who walks through our doors would be covered with the dust of our Rabbi. He is the one gaining ground, He is the one leading us forward and He is the one who will take us into new territory.
Stay covered in His dust!
