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So many times I find myself with the “right ideas”, yet feel lost getting from point A to point B. I suppose I might be able to get myself across the way, but as a pastor, leading people, creating structures and then helping through the transition is so much larger of a task. Recently, while mulling over the vision of the church, discipleship has rang quite loudly. We put people in programs and hope that people are automatically churned out into “mature” members…but that rarely is the case. In fact, especially with the younger generation, it is less and less and less the case. So, discipleship through individual/intimate relations is something we need to move towards the center of what we do and what we keep as important. BUT, here is the trouble. How do we get from where we are to where we need to be. Even just thinking about that process gives me anxiety as I think about all the possible wrong turns that we could make and the crashes that would also occur. It feels very safe to stand still. If we are not moving (ie, changing (growing?!), then things seem safe. Now, if there was nothing behind us, if there was no danger or rising tides, then that might be the case. But time moves forward and cultures constantly shift (even more so now at much faster paces) and so, though sitting still feels safe, it is actually the most dangerous thing we can do. When a tsunami alarm sounds, we might want to stay home…but to stay home could mean the end of us. So it is best to move. And so it is with church. Not that we need to quickly change programs and structures everyday. But that we would trust God enough to move. Sitting still is perhaps a form of distrust. Of course there are many possible wrong turns ahead of us when we move, and there are no turns if we sit still….if we sit still, there is no real hope…but if we move forward in the Spirit, trusting in Christ and keeping our eyes on Him…whatever happens, we will at least be found faithful…and I suppose this is not an “at least” scenario, but rather something to greatly rejoice over.
But still, execution of a process of getting from A to B (or specifically in my case, no discipleship to discipleship) often feels like stumbling in the dark. There are many resources and I am reading more and more on the subject, which gives help. But when you actually implement courses and studies your self, the actuality of moving forward does not feel so safe or stable. “People might not like the changes”. “It might take away from the ways that were beneficial”…”I might destroy the church that others labored so hard for!” are the kinds of doubts that swirl around. But to trust Christ is to step forward, perhaps with only one eye open. We can study other scenarios, but what will happen to us and the local church we are leading, God only knows. But through moving forward, we often are pushed more and more to trust in God and entrust the church to Him. So, whether we eat or drink or bumble forward in making the church more discipleship centered…we can still do it all for the glory of God.
Quinby 