Craig Groeschel of lifechurch.tv wrote a book imaginatively called "It." Apparently it's now available on video, and there is a chunk of video on the blog, here.
I had my share of failures - well, maybe more than my share. If you didn't fail much, it may be because I used some of your share too. The last couple of years have been filled with a lot of failure and not a lot of success. So I could feel getting a bit more cautious and unsure of myself. I think I really needed to see this video. I like the quote, "For us failure is not an option - it's a necessity." I learned a lot from the attempt to plant Imagine!, and from the short time at United Faith in Pittsburgh. Imagine! failed miserably and United Faith didn't move forward much under my leadership. But these experiences taught me a lot about myself and about the kind of team and process required to successfully plant or restart a church in a culture that is radically different from my own. What I did NOT learn is that I should stop trying. Here I am, doing it all over again. I can't even imagine a life where I am not involved in a church and in bringing people to a close relationship with Christ.
So, anyway - there is an adventure ahead. A big, exciting, perilous adventure. Yeah, I might fail LOTS of times - no, scratch that, I will fail in very imaginative ways; but what's the use of trying something if you already know the outcome and every step on the way? the great thing about life with Christ is not that we are safe and secure in the knowledge that all is going to be OK; rather, it's the knowledge that the Lord is working in and through us in spite of all our mess-ups. It's the fact that we know it's all beyond our capabilities - it's a God thing; but the Lord is there to lead us and carry us through.
So, "It" is now on my wishlist. If you were wondering what to give me for my birthday - now you know.
Friday 20 February 2009
Monday 16 February 2009
Little details
OK, I may sound like I'm pulling myself up by my bootstraps; I probably am. But the thing is, if I can not trust the Lord in the little details of life, like bills and money and a place to live - how could I trust him with the big things - with lives that need to be changed, with eternal souls to be saved, with winning this corner of the world for Christ? And the thing is, the big, important things are happening.
If you haven't guessed, this is my Monday high. We had 38 people in church yesterday - not a lot by most people's standard, but when half of them are not saved yet, it really sounds like victory to me! Eileen was there last night - I was so thrilled to see her! A few years ago she gave up on church - but now, after losing her husband, her son and her grandson, she is willing to give it another try. All we did was show her a little love - there is so much more where that came from! There are a lot of lonely, hurting people all around us - and we who follow Jesus have been connected to an infinite ocean of love: the heart of God! People may not accept theology and sermons and "church" - but give them open, genuine, disinterested, vulnerable love - and they are suddenly open wide.
Two people asked if I can visit them to talk about them joining the church. A third one said he is thinking about it too. A lady wants to talk about being baptised. There is this teenage guy who's waiting for baptism too. A father of 6, who is really struggling to keep his family together, opened up a lot this week and allowed me a peek into his struggle and pain. I KNOW the Lord is working there - there is a lot of pain, but with our Daddy, there is a lot of hope too. And I haven't even started to visit people in the community - what's that going to be like?
"The gates of hell shall not prevail against [my church]" - that's what Jesus promised. Gates of hell? What gates? We belong to the One who smashed them to pieced long ago - we're just here receiving the freed captives, and guiding the ones trying to find the way out. Yeah, sure, there might be a fiery arrow here and there, a few threats shouted by the enemy - a few reminders that there is a battle raging even though we are the victors - but when the prize is eternity for every one of these dear ones, who cares for the little details?
If you haven't guessed, this is my Monday high. We had 38 people in church yesterday - not a lot by most people's standard, but when half of them are not saved yet, it really sounds like victory to me! Eileen was there last night - I was so thrilled to see her! A few years ago she gave up on church - but now, after losing her husband, her son and her grandson, she is willing to give it another try. All we did was show her a little love - there is so much more where that came from! There are a lot of lonely, hurting people all around us - and we who follow Jesus have been connected to an infinite ocean of love: the heart of God! People may not accept theology and sermons and "church" - but give them open, genuine, disinterested, vulnerable love - and they are suddenly open wide.
Two people asked if I can visit them to talk about them joining the church. A third one said he is thinking about it too. A lady wants to talk about being baptised. There is this teenage guy who's waiting for baptism too. A father of 6, who is really struggling to keep his family together, opened up a lot this week and allowed me a peek into his struggle and pain. I KNOW the Lord is working there - there is a lot of pain, but with our Daddy, there is a lot of hope too. And I haven't even started to visit people in the community - what's that going to be like?
"The gates of hell shall not prevail against [my church]" - that's what Jesus promised. Gates of hell? What gates? We belong to the One who smashed them to pieced long ago - we're just here receiving the freed captives, and guiding the ones trying to find the way out. Yeah, sure, there might be a fiery arrow here and there, a few threats shouted by the enemy - a few reminders that there is a battle raging even though we are the victors - but when the prize is eternity for every one of these dear ones, who cares for the little details?
Sunday 15 February 2009
Faith
The last few days I've been reminded constantly of the simpler times, at the beginning of my ministry, when it was so much easier to step out in faith - childish, sometimes (OK, often) silly, foolish faith. It was childish and foolish, but it gave me the opportunity to see God's direct actions in my life over and over again.
Like the time when I bought a one-way ticket to Vienna, Austria, in order to look for a Bible school or some other place where I can be trained to become a pastor. I knew no one in Austria, I did not speak German, I had no contacts of any sorts, I had no money to go back to Romania or to live for more than a day or two - but I knew the Lord called me to be a pastor, and, well, there I was! Within a few hours of entering Austria I had a place to live and was on the way to getting my scholarship to go to Capernwray in England for a one-year Bible School.
Or the time when, having received the visa to come to the UK, I had no money to buy the plane ticket - and yet I went to the travel agency and waited patiently in line, expecting the Lord to provide the money. It was the equivalent of my income for 5 months - but sure enough, the Lord provided them in an amazing way - but did so only after I got the first in line, facing the sales person and wondering what to tell her...
Or when I went back home to start a brand new church plant, having no clue how to plant a church, having no job, no income, no support structure, no backing of any sort - but trusting the Lord in all of this - AND asking him to give me at least 100 new believers within one year.
Sure enough, we passed the 100 mark exactly the same date one year later. As my little group and I shared the stories of the people we witnessed to and the many who prayed to receive the Lord that day, I suddenly realised we had lead to the Lord over 120 people - it was just over 20 people who had prayed the Lord into their life that day - and that afternoon was one year since I asked the Lord for those 100 people. Of course I was a bit upset - why didn't I ask for more?!? :-) And there are so many more stories like these...
I am now at a similar crossroads - I know I am where the Lord wants me, doing the service he asked me to do - and having no money, no support, no way to pay the bills and seeing no way forward. And this time around I find myself wavering, one moment I have that same unmovable faith I used to have - and the next, when faced with yet another bill, or yet another decision or question with no answer, I find myself wondering - what if the Lord will not step in this time? What if he will let me fail? I guess the experience of having failed to plant "Imagine" in Pittsburgh made me aware that sometimes faith is not enough. The Lord will answer - but his answer may be "No." Particularly when the situation is the way it is - I am not, like those years ago, in a poor country, in a church where people give all they can and more, but all we have simply falls short of what we need. I am in a church that has more than plenty, but chooses to back out of their responsibility to provide for the needs of the ministry - after having promised to do so only weeks ago. So, do I go out in faith, or do I stop, realising this problem is the result of disobedience on the part of the church? On the one hand, if they are not faithful, my duty is to continue in my own faithfulness. On the other hand - can I expect the Lord to make up for a shortfall stemming from disobedience?
Oh well - I have a couple of days to get the answer, and while it's scary, it is also exciting. Oh, the adrenaline rush of living by faith!
Like the time when I bought a one-way ticket to Vienna, Austria, in order to look for a Bible school or some other place where I can be trained to become a pastor. I knew no one in Austria, I did not speak German, I had no contacts of any sorts, I had no money to go back to Romania or to live for more than a day or two - but I knew the Lord called me to be a pastor, and, well, there I was! Within a few hours of entering Austria I had a place to live and was on the way to getting my scholarship to go to Capernwray in England for a one-year Bible School.
Or the time when, having received the visa to come to the UK, I had no money to buy the plane ticket - and yet I went to the travel agency and waited patiently in line, expecting the Lord to provide the money. It was the equivalent of my income for 5 months - but sure enough, the Lord provided them in an amazing way - but did so only after I got the first in line, facing the sales person and wondering what to tell her...
Or when I went back home to start a brand new church plant, having no clue how to plant a church, having no job, no income, no support structure, no backing of any sort - but trusting the Lord in all of this - AND asking him to give me at least 100 new believers within one year.
Sure enough, we passed the 100 mark exactly the same date one year later. As my little group and I shared the stories of the people we witnessed to and the many who prayed to receive the Lord that day, I suddenly realised we had lead to the Lord over 120 people - it was just over 20 people who had prayed the Lord into their life that day - and that afternoon was one year since I asked the Lord for those 100 people. Of course I was a bit upset - why didn't I ask for more?!? :-) And there are so many more stories like these...
I am now at a similar crossroads - I know I am where the Lord wants me, doing the service he asked me to do - and having no money, no support, no way to pay the bills and seeing no way forward. And this time around I find myself wavering, one moment I have that same unmovable faith I used to have - and the next, when faced with yet another bill, or yet another decision or question with no answer, I find myself wondering - what if the Lord will not step in this time? What if he will let me fail? I guess the experience of having failed to plant "Imagine" in Pittsburgh made me aware that sometimes faith is not enough. The Lord will answer - but his answer may be "No." Particularly when the situation is the way it is - I am not, like those years ago, in a poor country, in a church where people give all they can and more, but all we have simply falls short of what we need. I am in a church that has more than plenty, but chooses to back out of their responsibility to provide for the needs of the ministry - after having promised to do so only weeks ago. So, do I go out in faith, or do I stop, realising this problem is the result of disobedience on the part of the church? On the one hand, if they are not faithful, my duty is to continue in my own faithfulness. On the other hand - can I expect the Lord to make up for a shortfall stemming from disobedience?
Oh well - I have a couple of days to get the answer, and while it's scary, it is also exciting. Oh, the adrenaline rush of living by faith!
Monday 9 February 2009
Monday morning high - again
We had another great service yesterday. I haven't counted the people in there - one of the deacons does that but he was away preaching at another church. By my estimate, there were about 50 people in the service. Again, a few of our regulars were not there, but we had lots of kids from the Boys' and Girls' Brigade, some of their parents, and a few other visitors. The Lord is doing awesome things in and through this church!
I had a chat with David last night - he's already thinking and planning ahead, has a bunch of great ideas - I like his spirit! If we get a few of the others to catch the vision, we're in for a wild ride this year.
One apparently small thing really touched my heart. At the end of the service, I got a hug from a little girl, and she started telling me all about things she did in the Girls' Brigade. And then her sister came, and soon I had a small group of children around me. I only met these kids two or three weeks ago - it's great to see them opening up and considering me part of the family. Some of them come from broken families, or from all sorts of difficult backgrounds. If we can offer them genuine love and care, we're already well on the way of influencing their life for eternity. And, who knows, maybe their parents will get to know the love of our Lord too.
I had a chat with David last night - he's already thinking and planning ahead, has a bunch of great ideas - I like his spirit! If we get a few of the others to catch the vision, we're in for a wild ride this year.
One apparently small thing really touched my heart. At the end of the service, I got a hug from a little girl, and she started telling me all about things she did in the Girls' Brigade. And then her sister came, and soon I had a small group of children around me. I only met these kids two or three weeks ago - it's great to see them opening up and considering me part of the family. Some of them come from broken families, or from all sorts of difficult backgrounds. If we can offer them genuine love and care, we're already well on the way of influencing their life for eternity. And, who knows, maybe their parents will get to know the love of our Lord too.
Monday 2 February 2009
Baby steps
Other pastors speak of the Monday morning low - when the Sunday excitement and bussiness is over, and you think of yesterday's sermon and wonder, "I said WHAT???" I had a few of those too.
But today it's a Monday morning high. We had two great services yesterday. A few kids from the GB and BB (that's Girls' Brigade and Boy's Brigade, for those of you who don't live in the UK) dragged their parents to church with them. Parents that don't normally go to any church, and don't have a relationship with the Lord - yet! Our BB and GB volunteers do a terrific job serving these children. We also had a record number of people for a regular service. Just to make sure you don't get the wrong idea - a regular service at Ford has been around 20-25 people lately. When the last pastor resigned they were considering closing down the church. But we had 29 people two Sundays ago, 31 last Sunday and 38 yesterday - if we keep this momentum, we should be OK a few months from now.
What excites me most is not the numbers, but the kind of people that form that number. Officially we have 14 members. A few of these are older people who are house bound. The people who come to our services are not transfers or visitors from other churches - they are people who don't yet belong to the Lord, or new believers who haven't had a chance to join a church yet. What excites me is the number of parents who are not believers, but come to drop their children to church and then pick them up after the service. Three of them stayed on yesterday; I hope many more will join us in the future. Of course we have a long way to go - there is a large community of mostly unsaved people all around us. But every soul saved is a miracle of God's grace. Baby steps...
But today it's a Monday morning high. We had two great services yesterday. A few kids from the GB and BB (that's Girls' Brigade and Boy's Brigade, for those of you who don't live in the UK) dragged their parents to church with them. Parents that don't normally go to any church, and don't have a relationship with the Lord - yet! Our BB and GB volunteers do a terrific job serving these children. We also had a record number of people for a regular service. Just to make sure you don't get the wrong idea - a regular service at Ford has been around 20-25 people lately. When the last pastor resigned they were considering closing down the church. But we had 29 people two Sundays ago, 31 last Sunday and 38 yesterday - if we keep this momentum, we should be OK a few months from now.
What excites me most is not the numbers, but the kind of people that form that number. Officially we have 14 members. A few of these are older people who are house bound. The people who come to our services are not transfers or visitors from other churches - they are people who don't yet belong to the Lord, or new believers who haven't had a chance to join a church yet. What excites me is the number of parents who are not believers, but come to drop their children to church and then pick them up after the service. Three of them stayed on yesterday; I hope many more will join us in the future. Of course we have a long way to go - there is a large community of mostly unsaved people all around us. But every soul saved is a miracle of God's grace. Baby steps...
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