Going weekly….

In the church planting world, your first weekly service is pretty much everything you have worked towards for months.  There’s tons of pressure to show the world what you’ve got…what this church has to offer.  A million questions ring through your head…How many are going to show up?  What if no one comes?  What if our worship band is terrible?  Did I get someone to cover that area?  Are the signs up?  The list goes on and on.  The pressure to perform and deliver is out of this world…

So here we are, less than a week from the start of our weekly service, and I’m sipping a delicious coffee that my friend Zeb just hand delivered to my table at Starbucks. I slept like a baby last night.  I’m enjoying my morning.  I haven’t noticed any stress related grey hairs popping up. I’m calm. I’m excited. I’m confident. 

I resolved several months ago that I wasn’t going to “freak out” about this whole “launch” thing.  I promised myself that I wasn’t going to make it about ME.  It’s easy to do, and I’m tempted by it daily, but I just can’t do it. It’s not about me.  It wouldn’t be fair to anyone.  I’m confident…not in what “I” can do, but what He is capable of.  And isn’t that the whole point of the church?  Isn’t that where our focus should be…to see what He is capable of?  

I’m sure if I worked really hard I could gather a crowd…maybe by offering free pizza or even announcing that we would hand out $100 bills on Sunday night.  I’m sure that would gather a crowd.  But that’s not really what I’m interested in.  I’m interested in revival of this city.  I’m interested in a group of people that is ready to get their hands dirty.  I’m interested in a group of people that are ready to have their lives turned upside down by the Gospel.  I’m interested in seeing what God can do with a group, big or small, that can begin living the truth out by love.  I’m interested in this, because it is what God is looking for.

So I’m waiting, watching, praying, hoping….It’s not that I haven’t put in my long hours, sure, but that doesn’t mean that I am creating something.  I’m just lucky enough to be able to see this thing unveil itself in downtown Indy.  It’s been amazing, and I’m sure I haven’t seen anything yet.  The truth is…God had this figured out a long time ago.  Long before I even considered planting a church in Indy.  Long before I became a Christian. Long before I even existed.  And now, on September 7th 2008, I get to see the next part of what God has been scheming all this time.  My goal all along has been to seek out what the next step is in His plan.  Right now, the next step is being a more consistent part of downtown in adding a weekly service.  

What a blessing it is to see this small part of the kingdom come together.  It’s beautiful. It’s chaotic. It’s dirty. It’s challenging.  But I wouldn’t change it for anything.