Re-purpose

On my way to church, I pass at least four church buildings that no longer have congregations meeting in them. One is now a local newspaper, two are office buildings, and one a theater company. Each of these buildings has been re-purposed. The churches that met in them no longer exist or have moved on to larger facilities. If church growth was the reason and not church death, it makes it easier to stomach. But I suppose that death was the reason. On the other side of the coin, I sat in a church building in Erie, CO that was once a garage, a machine shop, and a dance hall. I talked to another church planter who is meeting in an old warehouse in uptown Denver, while many schools, community centers, and storefronts are the locations for church services each week.

It is mildly ironic that church buildings are used for lofts, offices, and businesses, while churches are are meeting in non-traditional places. The building is not the church. The people are the church. For the first 300 years of Christianity there were no congregation owned buildings, but exponential growth still occurred. I believe that God can use this time of repurposing to bring days of exponential growth again. May God build His church and may His kingdom come.

What’s Our Title?

From the time our call was confirmed, and even more so once it was mutual and our move to Colorado was fast approaching, we’ve shared our journey openly and referred to ourselves as “church planters”. We are even being trained through Frontline Church Planting Center. This month, in fact, we became official “church planting intern(s)” with the North American Mission Board. However, I’ve come to prefer “missionaries” as our title, if we have to have one. Perhaps it is only semantics to most, but the 8 months we’ve lived and learned in Colorado have made me more comfortable being considered a missionary than a church planter. Our goal once we move to Lowry isn’t to build a church building or even immediately rent a meeting space. God hasn’t led us toward a large, planned launch date, flyers to encourage attendance, and hundreds in attendance that we haven’t even met yet. This is what many people think of when they hear of us as church planters. This works very effectively in some cases, in fact! However, God has molded and shaped our call into one of moving into a new “neighborhood”, building relationships, loving people like He loves, partnering with them before, during and after salvation. We will be on mission in Lowry, and even in other areas. Christ’s Church will grow out of these relationships, and we pray He transforms enough lives for us to have gatherings and build a local church, but we will continue the mission, regardless of whether a building and physical presence of a local church is ever wanted or needed there. We are missionaries, being sent to Lowry. Love and “The Great Commission” are the call and the priority. God is in control of it all! May His Kingdom be made great! What a privilege to be a part!

Leadership Lessons from the Incline

The Start The past two weeks, I have taken up the challenge of The Manitou Incline.  This is a 1.5 mile long trail that gains 2,000 feet in elevation.  Once at the top, you take a 2.5 mile Barr Trail down.  It has taken me around 3 hours per round trip each time I have done it.  And while hiking, I have seen some great leadership lessons.  Here are a few of them:

Keep the End Goal in Mind.  It is easy to get caught up in the next step and even the way that you attack the problem.  In our journey of church planting, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the lostness, day-to-day actions and jobs, and the next steps in the process.  But our end goal is making disciples and allowing God to establish His church through us.

Achievement is accomplished one step at a time.  No one, not even the best athlete on the incline can take it two steps at a time, though I have seen some running up the mountain.  These people must take the journey one step at a time, even though they are more fit and have a faster pace.  With the end goal firmly envisioned and focused on, take one step, then another, and a few hundred more toward your goal.

Looking Back Should Encourage You to Push Forward.  About half way up the incline, while

Looking BackI was out of breath and wishing I had not pushed toward this goal, I turned to take a picture.  The view that I captured encouraged me to move forward toward the goal.  Sometimes you just need a reminder of what you have accomplished along the way.  I know that one of those markers for us was our second assessment with Frontline.  We heard from four men who encouraged us and used their observations of our time in the program to show us our strengths and weaknesses.

Enjoy the Journey and the View from the top.  Besides the pain of sore muscles and the shortness of breath (ok, that is an understatement), the journey was well worth the work.  I was able to enjoy the view from the top and the satisfaction that I was able to accomplish my goal.  The second time, I was able to enjoy the journey a little more and the view was still sweet from the top.  I hope to see what God has done through me in a few years and be amazed to be part of it.  I desire God to do great things in Lowry and beyond because of our faithfulness, ministry, and missional presence.  And it will be hard work and sweet reward to take that journey over and again with people throughout our lives.

Know there is another mountain to climb.  Once the Incline is conquered, you realize that it sits at the base of Pikes Peak.  The top of the Incline is around 8,000 while the summit of Pikes Peak is just over 14,000 feet.  Once you accomplish your goal, there is always another around the corner.  Take it on, just as you did the last.  Focus on the end goal, take it one step at a time, look back for encouragement, and The Topenjoy the view at the top.  As we venture toward life in Lowry, we look at where God has taken us and we are encouraged, yet know we have not arrived.  We are reaching the peak of one adventure with a larger summit looming in the distance that can also only be reached one step at a time.