Saturday, April 29, 2006
This is hard
I have a confession. Less than a week into First Church of the Internet and already I'm fighting the urge to make this a platform for my views. It's hard not to want to shape the community that you envision. Much like a city planner who sits down and carefully maps out where all the roads will go, what areas will be residential and which commercial, I admit to having a vision for how this church should be. And, just like that, I fall into the trap that so many church leaders fall into. I've even led church leaders through workshops on this topic. "Leaders are visionaries who point the way the church should go. Every leader has a unique vision for their church or ministry and they are obligated to blaze the trail."
This is the view I've espoused and there are elements of it that I still believe are true. The very act of creating this blog and setting the expectation for what might happen here is an act of vision and leadership. My vision is that a place in cyberspace can be created where the Holy Spirit has total free reign. No restrictions on where and how He'll move. As far as I can tell, that means my job is pretty much over. I've made the invitation for people to join this community. I've flung the doors open with no restrictions. I'm willing to see what happens and anxious to watch what unfolds. There in lies the rub.
Anticipation and anxiousness often drive premature action. I can see why it's so hard for visionary church leaders. I'm happy to let God have his way with me and take my ministry where he wants...as long as he does it quickly and it looks roughly the way I thought it would! My life is short and I can't wait forever, so I'll just give this project a little nudge. The problem is, God transcends time. He's not so concerned about my little blip of a life on the grand timeline of eternity. He may be using me for something that will be huge and world changing...in 2158. The problem for me is, I'll need to live to be 200 to see it. Not likely.
It's a lot like farming. I plant the seeds, but I can't make them grow. I have to wait. If First Church of the Internet is about allowing an organic community of Jesus followers to find a place where they can grow and be fruitful, then I really have nothing more to do. So, I'll wait. I won't promise the waiting will always be patient and if there's ever a post here that feels pushy or controlling, I want the church to correct me. This is as much an invitation for God to do something as anything else, and He's most certainly out of my control!!
This is the view I've espoused and there are elements of it that I still believe are true. The very act of creating this blog and setting the expectation for what might happen here is an act of vision and leadership. My vision is that a place in cyberspace can be created where the Holy Spirit has total free reign. No restrictions on where and how He'll move. As far as I can tell, that means my job is pretty much over. I've made the invitation for people to join this community. I've flung the doors open with no restrictions. I'm willing to see what happens and anxious to watch what unfolds. There in lies the rub.
Anticipation and anxiousness often drive premature action. I can see why it's so hard for visionary church leaders. I'm happy to let God have his way with me and take my ministry where he wants...as long as he does it quickly and it looks roughly the way I thought it would! My life is short and I can't wait forever, so I'll just give this project a little nudge. The problem is, God transcends time. He's not so concerned about my little blip of a life on the grand timeline of eternity. He may be using me for something that will be huge and world changing...in 2158. The problem for me is, I'll need to live to be 200 to see it. Not likely.
It's a lot like farming. I plant the seeds, but I can't make them grow. I have to wait. If First Church of the Internet is about allowing an organic community of Jesus followers to find a place where they can grow and be fruitful, then I really have nothing more to do. So, I'll wait. I won't promise the waiting will always be patient and if there's ever a post here that feels pushy or controlling, I want the church to correct me. This is as much an invitation for God to do something as anything else, and He's most certainly out of my control!!
