I debated even typing this, but transparency won out. Lately I've been feeling like I'm not doing as good of a job as I need to of helping people understand the big picture - the why we exist and why I even moved here to start a church called Discovery. Last night's staff meeting almost seemed to confirm that.
It wasn't anything that was said by any of the guys and nothing anyone of us did or reported on. It was the energy. Actually, to be more accurate it was the near complete lack of energy. I don't know if we all were drained - me from a intense weekend, Claude from 12+ hours in airports and on planes, Brent fresh off his honeymoon and Davey from late nights or there really is something going on. We've been talking for a few weeks about passion - who has it and who doesn't, how to create it, etc. The only place it showed up was in print as a word on the agenda.
Our prayers seemed a bit lethargic, and dreams....tiny, little, almost insignificant. What happened to changing the lives of everyone in Pitt county and beyond? Where are the crazy ideas that there's no way we could pull off without God's help? What's it going to take to reach our neighbors, coworkers and friends who don't yet know Jesus Christ AND how are we going to work to make that happen? What's the next thing we need to be working on and trying?
The big picture is so much bigger than what we're seeing now. I really believe we're just beginning. I actually got depressed when I talked with someone who thought we were doing great because we're a new church and have 125 or more people coming each week. There are thousands and thousands of people who don't know Christ and live within a 10 minute drive of us and we're doing great??!! We're not doing bad, but I certainly don't think we're doing great. Sure, we baptized 17 people last week, but why not 170? Can't we do more? I think we can. Would God like to see more? I think He would.
Please hear my heart though. I'm not complaining. I'm trying to challenge and keep us from being satisfied with mediocrity or being "better" than others by playing the comparison game. I want to see people discover "real answers for real life" that lead to real opportunities and that's already happening on a small scale. It's time to pull back a little and see all the potential that we have yet to live up to as a church and as the church.
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I took our new associate pastor at KABC to CompUSA to drop off his laptop for service. After the guy checked in his stuff, Wayne (the associate pastor) handed him his "business card" (has a plan of salvation on the back)and asked if he could invite him to church. He told him briefly that we had a 10:45 contemporary service, and if he would like to come some time, please say hello. The whole dialogue took less than a minute.
Within thirty minutes, the guy called Wayne, said he had been thinking about going to church, and was going to try to come this Sunday. The indication from the conversation was that he wasn't already saved, but was "seeking". I was stunned by how simple the process was. Wayne wasn't increadibly eloquent, he wasn't fancy, he wasn't elaborate. He was just available and obedient. He just CARED. He has a heart for the lost, and just reached out in a very simple way. It made me think about how many times I could be doing the same thing each day.
That's GREAT! Sounds like KABC brought in the right guy (or at least a guys with the right heart).
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