Two weeks ago I passed the anniversary of a milestone in my life. June 15, 1988 I was in the middle of an ugly church fight wondering how I would make it through.
Since launching the new church eighteen months before we had added a family every week and now we were at over 200 people. Naturally I thought I was the world’s best church planter. Growth equals success.
Then the church fight and my world came crashing down. I wanted to fight or run and God just told me to stand.
Bobby Clinton says, “It’s now what you do in conflict. It’s who you are that matters.”
I began seeking God like never before. Rising early, going out the garage. Stoking up a small wood heater. Praying and reading the scriptures. I wasn’t disciplined. I was desperate.
Then I heard John Wimber say “Jesus wants his church back again.” I realized that was the issue. He wanted his church and he wanted me, back.
One morning I’m in my garage alone. As clear a bell I know God is speaking and telling me it’s not about one new church. It’s about a whole new generation of churches. A church planting movement. That’s my calling in life, to fuel church planting movements.
It took a few months more, but we sorted through the mess I’d led us into. A few people left the church. Most stayed. God’s blessing returned. But I was never the same again. I learnt that first of all Jesus wants his church back and He wants me. Secondly He wants those sorts of churches and leaders multiplied all over the place. That’s what I do, and I love it.
5 Comments
“Jesus wants his church back” meaning what exactly? That He wants to run it the way He wants to? As opposed to the way we want it run?
I think that IS the point! Jesus wants to be in control. Of his Church and the individuals who make it up.
Profound and devastatingly simple at the same time. And as Steve vividly points out, it’s often when the individuals are most desperate, that they’re the most “yeilded” to him.
Yes, I’m all for doing church the way Jesus wants it done. My next question is who determines how Jesus wants it done? It has been my experience that “the way Jesus wants it done” very quickly becomes “the way that is most comfortable for the majority” because most of the time we are not that desperate.
If we’re not going to seek God out about what he dreams for a particularly community then i don’t we should be leading a church. Obviously there are numerous things from the bible that will be the same for churches everywhere. I think what churches are doing more and more is looking for a success model that will save them having to seek God out about it. I think a lot of churches are struggling because their ineffectively using someone else’s model. I think it’s up to the leaders of a church to set an example of handing back the church to Jesus.
I think Trav is spot on. Good insight mate. Too many leaders are culture transferers not culture creators. I good church planter needs to be able to create the culture of a church and shape it rather than try and transfer the programs, but really the culture of another church. To be a Transformational leader means transforming something not transfering something.
I think handing your church back to God simply means giving him authority over it, just like you need to submit to his authority over you. If Steve had not taken that step when God asked him, he would not be in ministry today.