Moving Forward

It's been a while since I've had time to update this blog due to a series of situations ranging from family to work related that have taken away the time I would have normally dedicated to keeping you, my gentle readers, in the loop. As I promised, part of this blog is going to be the journey as we take the next major steps in the ministry the Lord has laid before us.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working diligently to pull all of my notes together into a single, semi-coherent document. When I sit down to look at the volume of notes I've made and finally see them all in one place, it's a little intimidating. Even in an outline form waiting for the full details to be fleshed out as the Lord provides the leaders to help, the church we are planting is an overwhelming task. What we will be doing is so different from what most other ministries do that it almost feels like we're reinventing the wheel. If we didn't have a model to work from and wise counsel, I would feel like the task is too much.

However, I trust God to send us the help we need. There is no way we can accomplish such a sweeping vision on our own. We need leaders, workers, and other visionaries to come along with us to build upon the skeleton we have at this point. I have been long determined that while I may have been given the initial vision, I will not be the sole driving force behind the ministry. One of the many lessons I've had to learn over the years is to make certain that other people are given the opportunity to contribute to the overall vision and take stewardship over the ministry.

Very soon, likely as soon as March, we will be starting to hold prayer gatherings for interested people and anyone who just wants to come pray with us. I am convinced that starting with a foundation of prayer is absolutely essential to our success in accomplishing the mission that we've been given. I felt impressed to start with prayer rather than Bible studies to begin our journey. Yes, we will discuss the Word, but seeking the Lord's face and His guidance is the main purpose.

I have also been forced to make some very difficult choices. One of the main ones is that I need to entrust the selection of most of the pastors and ministry leaders to the elder board. I have only offered one position to one person that has been on my heart for that role since this was first laid on my heart. I will select the first elder after prayer and fasting, but all others will be by consensus with the rest of the board. I have made my share of mistakes over the years and have seen the results of not only my choices going wrong but also the unilateral selections of others. I do not want to make those mistakes again.

At this juncture, I need to express something. I expect some resistance to what we are doing from within the local church community. As I said, I've made my share of mistakes in ministry, perhaps more than my share. Because of these, I know that there will be people who will not support us in planting a new church. I have grown a lot these last several years out of necessity and deliberate efforts in prayer and study. I am convinced that the time we have taken to rest and not be involved in ministry other than Jesus' Outsider has been greatly beneficial to both the lovely bride and me.

For many years, I was frantic to serve anywhere and everywhere. I made a lot of mistakes out of zeal and allowing my wretched excess of personality to push aside wise counsel and often go my own way. I found myself outpacing God's plan for what I was doing and thereby not accomplishing much of anything. Maybe that's why I'm proceeding at a very methodical pace despite my growing sense of urgency. At each step, I am asking the Lord if I should lift my foot or set it down. I am trying to balance my zeal with wisdom. I pray that I am succeeding.

I know the road ahead is a difficult one. I expect that starting a church will needing to work full time will be a strain and more stuff will have to be taken off my plate, at least for a season. The one thing I never want to do at any point in this adventure is to neglect the most important ministry I have been given; my family. If they are left in the dirt, then all my efforts are not of the Lord and are vanity.

I have the notes pulled together. If anyone is interested, let me know in the comments or drop me an email.

Twisting Scripture

Deception is far too common in the church. Scripture is often twisted, distorted, or otherwise misused within our walls. Three common errors and misuses of the Word and their dangers are the subject of this episode.

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Fundamentals

Michael Jordan didn't become Michael Jordan by practicing double-twist, black flip, reverse layups. He shot free-throws, layups, and from different points on the court. If we want to be successful as the church, we need to get back to the basics starting with the first pillar, the Word.

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Foundational Introductions

It's time to move from assessment and obstacles into the goal. What does the church look like when she's functioning as the spotless bride of Christ? The Pillars of the church must be explored, shored up, and set if we are to see a healthy body and a strong Kingdom.

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Overcoming The Opposition

The specifics of the attack may change, but the source and the strategy don't. We're back in Nehemiah again to find out how he dealt with the the opposition he faced in building the walls. There are some very real lessons we can learn from how he dealt with Sanballat and his cronies that we can apply to our own battles.

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Behind The Opposition

Lincoln can teach us a lesson or two about handling opposition and warfare. When we start to do the work of restoration of the Body of Christ, we will face a lot of opposition both from within the church and from the outside. If we are to win this war we find ourselves in, we need to handle it right. Victory hangs in the balance.

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Urgency

The last several months, I have felt a tremendous sense of urgency in everything I do and in the preparations for the next step the Lord is taking the ministry He has given us. There's been a growing feeling that we need to make the transition to the next step God has for us to be ready for something. I don't know what that something is, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we need to be ready for it.

For a long time now, I have been convinced that a major crisis is headed for this country. It's more than just following events here and on the world stage. Even if I were completely unaware of all that has transpired in the last few years, I don't think that this feeling would pass. It comes upon me the strongest when I am in times of extended prayer not when I've been reading the news. I don't know what the crisis is going to be only that it will put people on the doorstep of the Church of Jesus Christ like never before. I do not believe that the results of the recent election will have any bearing on the coming crisis. It will affect the response from the government but not the clamor for hope and the need to preach the Gospel to all who come seeking and even those who do not.

When the crisis hits, hope will be the commodity most needed. Yes, food, clothing, and shelter will be needed by many, but all will be looking for hope. This is a word that has lost much of its impact in the last several years being bandied about by politicians seeking power and by those who can only offer the false hope of a life without Christ. All of these things fail in the face of great trials and crisis.

There is no doubt that things are being shaken up all across the nation. We are a people divided and lacking in faith in real Biblical truth. God has been all but removed from not only our public lives but private as well. We are soft and unable to see beyond our own comfort. Even in this difficult economy, we are still able to live in comfort with little need for anything beyond ourselves. That's just the church. The rest of the country is in worse shape.

That's a generalization but still hits close to the mark. Despite all the problems, I still trust that there is a faithful core to the Body of Christ. Even if many of us are either caught up in rules or in easy believe-ism, there are enough of the faithful to stand in the gap if we are ready. We must be ready.

For our part, my lovely bride and I are preparing for the next steps God has for us. Jesus' Outsider will continue be broadcast and possibly expand to five days a week like its predecessors. The Lord continues to allow me to find and expand an audience and as long as He's in it, I will continue. It is a real privilege to speak to so many all around the world and I have been humbled by the growth of the audience.

Next, we are praying along with others about relaunching the internet radio station we attempted a couple of years back. There is still a need for an alternative Christian station playing hard rock, metal, and punk. One of the places I have seen a great amount of faith and dedication to the Lord is in the greater Christian rock community. I also know that music is one of our most powerful and effective tools for reaching beyond our walls into the greater world. It isn't final yet, but it is a matter for prayer.

Finally, planting a new congregation has been on our hearts for a long time. Plans have been drawn up more than once for us to start and each time the Lord has told us to wait. In retrospect, we know why He told us to wait after the plans were prepared. From each trial run, we learned more and added to the vision. If the truth be told, we need to grow more before we could be in a position to lead.

The vision has grown and evolved with each close approach and has been refined into the skeleton of what it can be. The people the Lord is gathering around us will help put flesh on those bones and He will breathe life into it.

What is certain is that it will be a place where anyone can come and find Jesus. The mold for traditional churches will remain on the shelf to be used where more appropriate. We feel called to reach out to blue collar people, bikers, rockers, metal heads and others that might not be comfortable in a more conventional church setting. In other words, regular people. We will also reach out to young people who feel disenfranchised and disillusioned by the mainstream church. The atmosphere will be warm, relaxed, and open but without compromise on the truth of the Word. We will strive to love all while still holding to the fullness of the Gospel message.

As I have opportunity, I will be posting more about the vision and our progress. As I said before, there is a real sense of urgency to the work before us. We are working to be ready. May we all be ready.