Some reflections on a great Sunday.
Chris and Nicki finished the Lucky Me, Lucky You series. It was also two weeks of preview services for The Oaks, our new church start-up in Royal Oak. There's nothing quite like sitting back and enjoying people on the team running with the service and doing such a great job. The Oaks leadership team had full run with the services. My goal was to stay out of the planning except to consult and resource when Chris asked. I wanted the team to work out the pictures God had placed on their hearts for the new church.
The service was unique, fresh, and refreshing. Oh year, it was also filled with God's Presence.
I didn't speak either Sunday until the end of the services today. My role was to lead the church in a time of commitment and response toward sending The Oaks. For the response time we distributed cards with five boxes that people could check (I'm not sure on the exact wording).
I want to commit to a prayer task team for The Oaks.
I want to be available to help with special events and projects at The Oaks.
I want to plan to participate in the special sending offering on March 26.
I feel stirred. I'm interested in more information about joining The Oaks.
God has called me to go with The Oaks.
After distributing the cards, I explained the options. Then during a season of worship we asked people to respond by taking their card to one of our groups of leaders who were stationed around the sanctuary. As people turned in their cards we blessed them. I was busy praying over people, but I didn't notice anyone not responding.
Today was the first time in 4.5 years that I've publicly encouraged our church to ask God if He was asking them to leave. It was more difficult then I've imagined it would be. It was more exciting then I've imagined it would be.
When God called me into ministry at a junior high youth convention, He gave me a dream to reach a city. About 6.5 years ago, two years before we opened the doors of Church of the King, God clarified that dream by giving me a picture of starting a new church in Southfield that would then fill Metro Detroit with new church plants. Today we got a taste of the dream. It tasted good.
Leading a Sending Church is bitter-sweet. It hurts to release people who are some of your best. But I have a conviction. As new church start-ups, we've got to continue to live and lead out of our DNA.
What I mean is that I have yet to see a successful church plant that was not the by-product of someone's selfless generosity. It's amazing to me that so many new churches that would never have made it even one year without benefiting from a giving spirit can become so tight-fisted with people and money. How does that happen?
I find freedom in the realization that no one in our church belongs to me. I find freedom in the realization that no percentage of our church's budget belongs to me. I'm a steward of resources that belong to God. I see myself as a steward of each person in our church, including the ministry gifts God has placed in their lives. The last I checked stewards had little say as far as the placement of resources. The Master makes those calls. My role is to simply bless whoever He has called.
I like it that way.
Lucky Me!
Here are some of today's dream tasting pictures.
Wow. The city of Detroit will never be the same - how exciting! It takes a lot of courage to step back and say, "I will not try to grab this and make it mine." Thanks for reminding us to be courageous.
Posted by: crysti | February 21, 2006 at 04:13 PM