OK, here’s the truth…

I am 100% confident that God has called us to leave the security of GREAT friends, a large church, a good income, a role of honor, etc. to chase the dream of starting a new church, but that does not mean that I’m not scared!

In fact the opposite is quite true… I’m scared!

This is my first week as an unemployed dreamer. Yup, it’s a bit scary, and yet I know it’s right (not the unemployment, but the dream)… so here we go!

I read some really encouraging “stuff” today that lit my fire!

The Bible:

• We’re getting ready to have a yard sale this weekend in which we are going to sell virtually everything we own as we prepare to leave to follow the call of God. These words from Jesus meant quite a bit:
  •  “Real life is not measured by how much we own.” (Luke 12:15)
  • And then He said, “Don’t worry about food – what to eat and drink. Don’t worry about whether God will provide it for you. These things dominate the thoughts of most people, but your Father already knows your needs. He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” (Luke 12:29-31)
  • And one more time from the lips of my Leader, “No one can be my disciple without giving up everything for me.” (Luke 14:33)

• I realize how often I am/we are held back from completely following our Leader by the things that we own… or perhaps more properly… the things that own us! Jesus calls us to leave everything to follow Him and then promises to care for us as we follow! The concern of provision is His as long as we follow!

Seizing Your Divine Moment – Erwin McManus 

• “God begins with go, and we often begin with wait.”

• “Many of us want a map, but what we get is a compass. We are not given a detailed outline of how we should live each day. We are given a due north, a direction we should move toward. On this journey one thing becomes certain: when you move forward on what you know, things become clearer. When you refuse to act on what you know, all that you do not know paralyzes you.“

• “The closer you get to a divine challenge, the bigger it will seem, and the smaller you will feel. If the signs you are looking for are guarantees of success, you may retreat when you should be advancing. It would be great if the signs from God that we should advance were always things like a perfect situation, all the resources necessary to succeed, or a guaranteed win. Yet if that were the case, there would be no adventure [and a no-faith required life]. Besides, that isn’t reality. More often than not the signs pointing us to advance will be ominous. They will cause us to assess who we are and who we believe God to be. They will make clear our priorities. Are we in it for what we can get or for what we can give? The signs will expose our hearts, reveal our fears, and unleash our faith. There is a word for the mind-set of those who seize their divine moment – advance.”

• I totally understand and dig this last paragraph! When we signed a sales agreement on our house after it was on the market for only two weeks I was convinced that God was giving us a sign… two weeks later (after a signed sales agreement and a down payment) we learned that the buyers were backing out… for no apparent reason! What this means is that we are leaving in two weeks and at this point our house is not sold. It doesn’t matter… we’re leaving anyway! We’re leaving because we’ve been called! We’ve been called to advance! While there certainly is an element of fear, it is trumped by the high sense of confidence in our Leader and the clarity of His call… “ADVANCE!”

• Here’s another church planter that experienced a similar situation… Tadd Grandstaff