One of the things I have struggled with a lot in my journey of church planting is trying to get other pastors to respect the vision I believe the Lord has given me for ministry here in Sacramento. Basically, I think it comes down to being radical rather than conservative. Is radical bad if it is for the sake of Christ?
I am 100% sold out to the vision I believe God put into my heart a little over 3 years ago to start a church here in Sacramento. Every time I have doubted and looked to other paths, doors have closed in my face and I have been re-ignited to stay faithful to this vision and carry on the mission to see unreached people know Jesus. I’m more comfortable with people that we in ministry call marginal. I am uncomfortable around inwardly focused Christians that believe the church should be about them and their needs.
Just about every single pastor I have met and discussed church planting with has a background that sounds something like this:
- Went to college, but got on fire for God and felt a calling to do more.
- Enrolled at a traditional seminary such as Dallas Theological Seminary or a Christian college such as Biola University.
- Started serving at a church as an associate pastor of youth or some other specific ministry for at least 10 years before starting to accept thoughts of planting a church
- Spent time as an associate pastor in a larger church and had a great salary and staff beneath them and a thriving ministry before taking less pay and more risk to plant a church.
- Has served with others that have gone through the *exact* same process therefore they believe it is the right model to follow.
I respect the work and endurance and maturity that these pastors have developed through their process of serving the Lord. However, I think it is a rather convenient and conservative approach. I am sure it was 100% the will of God for these men to pursue this path, but it just doesn’t resonate with me. Does that make me ungodly? I sure hope not!
Jesus was a very radical person back in his day. Remember how he got angry and turned over tables at the synagogue in the presence of the everyone? How about that he was criticized for sitting with tax collectors and prostitutes? Then there was the instance where he was healing people on the Sabbath. Time and time again Jesus is seen doing things that rub the Pharisees the wrong way. He is anti-legalistic and through the blindness of those trying to uphold the law, they see this as wrong.
If we continually talk about being more like Jesus, why not embrace some of his radical positions for the sake of seeing people healed and delivered? Why not be radical and take the gospel to places currently outside of the influence of the church building. Jesus went from town to town and preached and exemplified his words. Taking the church to the people rather than doing all we can to attract them to us may sound really radical, but in the end, isn’t it what Jesus did? Isn’t it the basis behind the Great Commission and the work of the Apostle Paul?
I can choose to follow the conservative ways that have worked in the past. The ways that are known and accepted such as the Pharisees and the Jewish law. However, I’m moving in faith and believing that there are people not under the law that need to know Christ and his grace and eternal love and that it’s going to get messy and that I am going to fall short in some areas and make mistakes. That I may have to go out, not knowing where I can lay my head, but kicking the dust off my sandals and keeping on so that I can bring the message of hope to someone that may never otherwise know it. That in the end, all I have is a vision of God sharing a revelation with me about being something different for the sake of others outside of the church knowing God much as the Apostle Paul on the Damascus road.
Sometimes, being radical for the sake of Christ is a bit lonely, but God is there. May he be magnified, glorified, and lifted up as he uses unknown people in un-conservative ways for the radical transforming power of his gospel being shared in radical ways.
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