Saturday Night Confessions of a Pastor
01/06/08 12:29 AM
Okay - don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's just
that it's late Saturday night (actually, it's early
Sunday morning) and I'm up thinking about tomorrow.
In the grand scheme of things tomorrow is just
another day, another Sunday, another service.
But tomorrow our church goes to two Sunday services - 9:30AM & 11:15AM. Again, really not a big deal. Hundreds upon hundreds of churches have multiple services. Today hundreds of churches have multiple services on different days in different locations - multi-site. I grew up in a church that had two services. But tomorrow we do it.
In some ways, it's the beginning of something great. I'm excited about it because it's simply a step of faith. And from my experience that's when God is at His best. It's an outward sign of our intention to reach people. It says we're willing to do whatever it takes to reach people for Jesus, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it's difficult. It expands our capacity to grow. It expands our capacity for ministry. It has forced us to build teams. It's shaken things up a bit. It's moved people out of their comfort zones. It's brought change. And change, all change, is difficult. Some people leave. Some people complain.
But the only voice that demands our attention and obedience is God's. And I believe that God has been saying, "It's about time. I've been waiting on you. Now get ready for the ride of your life." And so tonight I'm thinking about how tomorrow will go. What kinks will we have to work out? Who will show up? What new people will be there? What will the transition be like between services? What have I forgotten? Will my voice and energy stand up for two services? Right now I feel like I'm getting sick and I'm losing my voice (not good the night before you go to two services). So my confession is that I'm nervous and excited all at once.
But I'm also praying about what's next. What is our next step of faith? What can we do to better reach out to lost, hurting people? When can we add a third service? What about a Saturday night service? Who is our next staff hire? Anyway, those are my thoughts. It's late - 6:30 comes early. Keep us in your prayers. Coastal - see you in the morning.
But tomorrow our church goes to two Sunday services - 9:30AM & 11:15AM. Again, really not a big deal. Hundreds upon hundreds of churches have multiple services. Today hundreds of churches have multiple services on different days in different locations - multi-site. I grew up in a church that had two services. But tomorrow we do it.
In some ways, it's the beginning of something great. I'm excited about it because it's simply a step of faith. And from my experience that's when God is at His best. It's an outward sign of our intention to reach people. It says we're willing to do whatever it takes to reach people for Jesus, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it's difficult. It expands our capacity to grow. It expands our capacity for ministry. It has forced us to build teams. It's shaken things up a bit. It's moved people out of their comfort zones. It's brought change. And change, all change, is difficult. Some people leave. Some people complain.
But the only voice that demands our attention and obedience is God's. And I believe that God has been saying, "It's about time. I've been waiting on you. Now get ready for the ride of your life." And so tonight I'm thinking about how tomorrow will go. What kinks will we have to work out? Who will show up? What new people will be there? What will the transition be like between services? What have I forgotten? Will my voice and energy stand up for two services? Right now I feel like I'm getting sick and I'm losing my voice (not good the night before you go to two services). So my confession is that I'm nervous and excited all at once.
But I'm also praying about what's next. What is our next step of faith? What can we do to better reach out to lost, hurting people? When can we add a third service? What about a Saturday night service? Who is our next staff hire? Anyway, those are my thoughts. It's late - 6:30 comes early. Keep us in your prayers. Coastal - see you in the morning.
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