As I reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3, I feel as if it were written directly to me. It speaks to who I am and how I feel God is calling me to be humble and press on toward the goal of seeing people’s lives transformed through the saving grace of Christ Jesus. I am not sure how many others are in similar situations in their church planting journey as I am, but I do know I am not alone. To help lend clarity to my thoughts I am quoting from the Amplified Bible translation today:
Philippians 3:3 AMP-
3For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances--
We are to put no confidence or dependence in the flesh and on outward privileges. If I ever feel that I should rely on our people more than God, I am headed for a lot of disappointment. Not to take away from the gifts and talents of anyone that is part of our team or church at this point, but it must always be about Christ and not about us. There are too many stories about how people have put their faith in others only to be let down and become depressed, disappointed, angry, or in some cases they quit as a result of trusting in others so deeply only to find out that feelings change. There is a hard rule in church planting. No matter how dedicated and gung ho your core group seems to be, expect that they will all be elsewhere within three years. Don’t put your trust in others that they will remain passionate about your vision or the mission of the church. It just is not likely to happen. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be anything other than someone whom you thought was going to be with you forever suddenly loses their job and finds a new one in another state and moves away. It really can be something that simple and mundane that will change your life for the worst if you don’t anticipate that possibility before starting to plant. After saying all of that, know that rules are made to be broken…there are always exceptions. Let those exceptions be pleasant surprises rather than believing your team is above all of that and being negatively impacted when you find they were not. As I have been fond of saying lately, seasons change…people change.
For us at Revolution Church Sacramento we not only take into account that people will be elsewhere in the future, but we want to embrace that change. It is one of our core principles to take people that feel called to something new and help encourage and build them up, training and discipling them so that God may use them to help start new ministries. We want to be a church plant that continues to plant new churches rather than be inclusive of everyone and grow to mega church size. Imagine how much more effective the message of the gospel can be in a local context if we are 50 local churches of 100 people (5,000 people collectively) rather than one central church of 5,000 people in one space.
Also from verse 3, I must always be reminded that no matter who I think I am or who others think I am, I cannot walk around as a person of privilege and lord it over others. I must remain humble in spirit always. Pride is something that the enemy will use against us and we must safeguard ourselves to prevent being larger than life…ever!
In many ways, even though I have had some very rough patches in my life, I feel I have been very privileged. As an atheist that did not believe in a God or gods, it was all about me and my achievements. When I needed anything, all that was necessary was hard work. The more I put into something, the more I could take away from it. I lived the life of being a business owner with a relaxed schedule after working several hard years to create a successful business. I lived in a house three times larger than I needed, drove luxury cars, ate fancy meals…I was living the American dream for most. However, once God got a hold of me and called me into living a life of humility and putting others before myself, things really changed. Some may look at this from the outside and think things are worse. I don’t! As difficult as the challenges are some days as a follower of Christ, I feel as if I am living through my best years. I am being conditioned and strengthened for the journey ahead. I am being connected to people I would have never have known in my former self-centered world. As Paul writes in verse 7:
7But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ’s sake.
I don’t even consider my past materialism loss, but actually I think of it more as gain for Christ’s sake. This is the true life God had intended for me and I am now unbelievably privileged to have an opportunity to share the gospel with others and share the relevance of Christ to a community that is seeking more to life and their idea of what church is. Paul shares his perspective in verses 8 and 9 much more eloquently than I do:
8Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
9And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
We at Revolution Church Sacramento are taking our first steps in what will be a somewhat long journey of helping to make a difference in the world through the work Christ has put in our hearts. It’s a road less traveled as it is one of many twists and turns, hills and valleys with rocky patches and potholes and forks in the road. Anyone can walk down a well paved, brightly illuminated path that is so straight and so short that the finish line is visible from the starting point. God is calling us to stand strong, not be easily defeated, have conviction, passion and purpose and know in our hearts that as we remain faithful God will grow us in maturity and allow us to be examples for others to follow as we follow Christ. That through our love and compassion others will come to know Christ personally and join us in the cause. May Paul’s passion and conviction for reaching many with the good news of the gospel and planting churches throughout Gentile nations speak to you and encourage you to continue on the path of planting his church for the sake of others. Let it never be about yourself or your team. May it never be exclusive and excluding. I’ll let Paul and his words from Philippians 3:12-21 AMP resonate into your minds and hearts and I look forward to standing firm in Christ and walk alongside all of my church planting brothers and sisters as we venture down this path of love and grace:
12Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
13I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
15So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.
16Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.
17Brethren, together follow my example and observe those who live after the pattern we have set for you.
18For there are many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, who walk (live) as enemies of the cross of Christ (the Anointed One).
19They are doomed and their fate is eternal misery (perdition); their god is their stomach (their appetites, their sensuality) and they glory in their shame, siding with earthly things and being of their party.
20But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently await [the coming of] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior,
21Who will transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to and be like the body of His glory and majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself.
I posted yesterday about how creativity was the first “C” required for success. From my experience, the second one is collaboration. For every one who claims success, I say that somewhere along the lines there must have been collaboration. There are varying levels of collaboration--from bouncing ideas of others and surveying their thoughts all the way to joining hand-in-hand with others all sharing equally in the effort.
