Value #6: Deep Not Just Broad (Part 2)

Deep is not better than broad.
I can't help but think of the supervillian, Megamind, when I think of people who are only concerned about "going deeper." The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians that "knowledge puffs up" and reminded them that "love builds up." 

We want to be disciples who seek greater knowledge, understanding and insight. We want to have intelligent conversations with people about our faith in Christ Jesus. We want to, like Paul, engage the world with convincing arguments and give sound reasons for walking in the Way of Jesus. 

Howeva, (can you still hear the southern lawyer in the courtroom?) if we aren't walking in obedience to what we already know then we'll just become big-headed. And if we are big-headed then we'll become arrogant and poison our relationship with the world and hinder our ability to influence them toward Jesus.

If instead we pursue depth with a heart of love for others, then depth can be a precursor to breadth. John McArthur notes that "if we will concentrate on the depth of our ministries, God will take care of the depth." (Colossians, p.77)

I am committed to being a life-long learner and grow deeper and deeper in my intimate knowledge and love for Jesus so that God can use me in whatever way he desires. We will be a church that encourages and pursues personal spiritual growth and depth so that God can give us as broad an influence as he desires. 

It isn't EITHER depth OR breadth--it is BOTH depth AND breadth.

I am convinced that both depth and breadth are the work of God by faith through grace.

Deep not just Broad--(Part 1)

In January I started what is for me an aggressive Bible Reading plan that requires me to read 12-15 chapters a day. One of the things I've noticed is that when I read the Word in chunks my mind is more attentive to themes than when I read bites. Over the last few days I have been immersed in the Apostle Paul's letters and have been impressed by what impressed him and for what he prayed. It probably will come as no surprise to you when you hear it, in fact, you'll probably say, "Well yeah, I knew that!" My hunch is that those who travelled with Paul, those who heard him teach often, and those who read his letters also probably knew what he was going to say before he said it because they knew his heart.

So what did he think was of utmost importance?

Faith.  Hope.  Love. 

These were Paul's metrics. These were the three things by which he evaluated the churches and the men who led them; and these are the three things for which he prayed for them.

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints..." Ephesians 1:15

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more..." Philippians 1: 9

"We always thank God...since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." Colossians 1:3-5

"We give thanks to God...remembering before God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. 1:2-3

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you...because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith..." 2 Thess. 1: 3-4

Read Paul's words to his friends Timothy, Titus, and Philemon and again you'll see faith, hope and love. 

Paul prayed that these churches would continue to grow and increase: 

in faith;

in hope;

and in love. 

He desired that they have a deepening spiritual wisdom and knowledge filled with (controlled by) the Spirit that leads to maturity. 

Maturity leads to multiplication.

Value #5: Empowering not Controlling

I have to admit that fleshing out this value can be deceptive because leaders may think that they empower others when in actuality they really attempt to control others. 

What I mean is that leaders who are controlling don't usually realize that they are controlling, but the team they're leading knows! When you live and work in a culture ruled by a "Control Freak," it tends to drain the life out of your own dreams, makes your shoulders slump and your face frown. You do your best on a project only to have CF say, "Well, that's good but it's not what I would have done. Next time you should..."

But you don't hear what to do "next time" because you've reached for your smart phone, pointed it at him and tapped the TTD (Taser and Trap Door) App. It's not a real app so don't go searching for it, but if it were...well, you get the picture.  

If you wonder whether you're an empowerer or controller don't ask your team; instead watch their body language, and listen to what they are saying without words.

I don't think anyone who has any amount of Leadership Intelligence is intentionally controlling, maybe it sort of happens while they were sleeping. It was more expeditious to make a controlling decision that usurped the authority of a teammate on Monday rather than trusting them with the responsibility of making the decision themselves. They did it again on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday and suddenly, it became their default mode of leading (or should we, at this point, just call it bossing?)

If we fail to empower others, we will slowly choke the life out of the team and exhaust ourselves in the process--all the while blaming others for our short-comings.

But can you imagine a church that has systematically empowered each person to develop and use their giftedness in ministry? Can you imagine if people had the space to mess up and still be exhorted to keep growing? Sure--progress may be slow at first but it ultimately positions the person and the organization for unprecedented growth.

We want to create a culture where people have a voice, are heard, and are empowered to fulfill the mission of Jesus...to make disciples (without tasers and trapdoors.)

Value #4: Simple not Complicated

Simple doesn't mean easy.  

Keeping things simple demands at least these two things:  

1.  A clear, compelling vision that defines your decisions and direction.

2.  A dogged determination to say "No" to anything that would detour and distract you.

You might think that it would be easier to keep things simple in a smaller church but it isn't. In some respects it may be more difficult because of the sense of urgency to reach people and grow ministry. So, we may be tempted to start ministries before there is a clear purpose or a called leader; we may be tempted to keep a purposeless program because there's someone who has been doing "that thing" for awhile. We may be tempted to try and be someone that we are not intended to be because of the unrealistic expectations we've placed on ourselves or we may try to some new and improved thing because we feel as though are losing the comparison game.

Simple isn't easy, but my hunch and hope is that if we can create a culture of simple, and people taste the fruit of simple, that staying simple will be easier.

Value #3: Authentic not Fake

We crave authenticity because it feels like everything is a show, a stage or a spin. Is that picture for real or PhotoShopped?  Is their life really that exciting or are they masters at building a facade via social media? Is that really what happened in the news event of the day or was that the interpretation of a journalist with an agenda? 

In a world of illusion we long for the real. 

Our souls desire and were created for real relationships with real people who experience real joy, struggle with real challenges, and battle with real courage to fully live in the Way of Jesus with one another.

This isn't some Disney-produced, utopian fantasy that is fun to think about but impossible to experience. It can and should be the culture of a church.

Authentic means that...
I am honest with God about myself.
I pursue being True-Faced and not Two-Faced.
I put on compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, meekness and patience.
I bear with others and forgive as I have been forgiven.

It obviously means much more but you get the picture.

I want to be a whole man who walks with integrity before the Lord, my family, and the world. 

I want the church to be a place where we, like God, do not look at the outward appearance but look at the heart. It isn't about what we wear to church that matters, it is about how we live our lives.

Value #2: Gospel-Centered not Religious "Right" (or "Left")

When I was in 7th grade life got fuzzy.  I don't meant that I was having a hard time remembering things as if i were walking around in a daze. I mean that literally my vision was fuzzy and blurry. There were no more crisp edges to the world.

The school nurse was conducting eye exams in the cafeteria as she did every year and when it was my turn she motioned for me to sit in the chair and read the wall chart. When I told her that I couldn't see the Big E on the chart she assumed that I was just being an obnoxious, lying 12 year old. I may have been obnoxious but I wasn't lying. She made me go to the end of the line and wait until everyone else had had their turn and then she tried me again, thinking that the waiting would somehow reform me and miraculously heal my eyesight. 

7th Grade--sans BUG MAN glasses

It didn't work.

Soon after I had an ophthalmologist appointment and left that afternoon with my first pair of glasses. (if I had been given a superhero name at that point, I would have been called BUG MAN because I looked like a fly. I was wearing geeky turtle shell glasses before they were hip.) Before walking out that day I remember looking at the trees and remarking: "Those trees have leaves!" Earlier in the day they had just been great big globs of green.  Now I could see!

The world needs to see Jesus clearly.  Too often the image of Jesus is fuzzy to the lost, the least, and the lonely because the church views the life and message of Jesus through the filter of the political/religious "right" or "left." We get sidetracked, distracted and detoured by agendas when we need to be centered in the gospel.

We want  to be a church that is Gospel-centered and clearly, confidently, and unashamedly communicates the gospel of Jesus with our words and our lives. We want to "let our conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt so that we will know how to answer everyone."

We can't afford to let the message get fuzzy. We need to see Jesus clearly!

Value #1: Disciple-making not Crowd-building

I vividly remember sitting on the sofa in my home office prior to setting off on this adventure of re-planting a church.  At the time I didn't even know where we would be planting, and re-planting certainly wasn't on my radar. One morning I was thinking and praying (most times I have a difficult time distinguishing between the two) and asking God-"So, if I do this thing you have in mind--what do I need to do?"  

He clearly said:  "Pray for twelve men. Twelve men in whom you can invest your life. Disciple them in the Way of Jesus."

That sounded familiar to me. I thought or prayed, "I can do that!"

Over the last eleven months we've tackled a number of unexpected projects, we've redesigned some of the critical systems, we've had several challenging conversations, we've conducted months of re:Development sessions, we've planned worship services, we've initiated relationships in the community, we've started Life Groups (and quickly renamed them Rock Bands), and we've accomplished dozens of other forgotten things that have helped us get to where we are--which is exactly where we are supposed to be on God's timeline.

But the most important thing I've done is pray for twelve men. The way God will grow this church is through the power of disciple-making. It isn't showy. It probably will not attract a huge following on the front end. But we aren't about building a crowd, we're about disciples making disciples. 

I once heard , "The way you reach people is the way you'll keep them." For example, if you reach them through programming (which has its place!) then you'll have to keep them through programming. Howeva, (that's southern lawyer speak for "However") if you grow them through disciple-making then you'll keep them through disciple-making. 

Pray for us as we flesh out this value and walk in the way of Jesus.