Just jump
Just read an awesome post over at churchplanters.com. Here is an exerpt:
" What about a jump into church planting? I talk to guys all the time who are thinking of making that jump. It's like they get to the door of the airplane to jump and they just can't let go. Jumping requires letting go. It requires letting go of solid ground and familiar territory to launch out into the unknown and the uncertain. Jumping requires trusting in something and someone other than yourself. Jumping is risky. Landing can be rough too, and sometimes secondary parachutes have to be deployed. Jumping is always filled with surprises and the unexpected. The landing is never what you expect, yet jumping is worth it. You will never know the thrill and adventure of fully trusting someone and something else apart from jumping. You will never experience your capacity as a human being apart from jumping.
I totally resonate with this. I feel like I've jumped out into the unknown but there is no other place I'd want to be. I also had a pretty nice and comfortable job. I may have been able to stay at that church for the rest of my life if I wanted. But comfortable isn't what gets my heart pounding. I have no idea what my future holds. I have dreams. But I have no idea if those dreams are going to happen. We'll move towards them as if they will be reality but in the end, I really don't know. I've come to the point where it really doesn't matter either. I just know that the "bigness" of God has become more and more real over the last few months and knowing the I'm not God is like a breath of fresh air. I can relax and just be who I am.
" What about a jump into church planting? I talk to guys all the time who are thinking of making that jump. It's like they get to the door of the airplane to jump and they just can't let go. Jumping requires letting go. It requires letting go of solid ground and familiar territory to launch out into the unknown and the uncertain. Jumping requires trusting in something and someone other than yourself. Jumping is risky. Landing can be rough too, and sometimes secondary parachutes have to be deployed. Jumping is always filled with surprises and the unexpected. The landing is never what you expect, yet jumping is worth it. You will never know the thrill and adventure of fully trusting someone and something else apart from jumping. You will never experience your capacity as a human being apart from jumping.
Jumping is an initiation to live more, experience more, and even have a greater impact than you ever expected. Join the elite and jump. Three years ago I had a conversation with my pastor and friend, Shawn, who challenged me to jump. He said something like, "This may not make sense to you or maybe there is no way you can, but I want you to take a jump." At the time I had access to about anyone in ministry, a large office overlooking the lake, a good income with a healthy retirement plan, good people around me, and unlimited travel around the country. That was on Friday. On Tuesday, I walked into my bosses office and resigned in order that I might jump. I'm glad I did.
Why don't you walk into your bosses office and jump. Say these words out loud, "God has called me to plant a church and I'm going to jump. I'm going to do it. No excuses, no guarantees, no nothing, I'm simply going to make the jump." If you don't, you will be talking about it until you are old and gray and then you will be saying something like, "I wish I had jumped.""I totally resonate with this. I feel like I've jumped out into the unknown but there is no other place I'd want to be. I also had a pretty nice and comfortable job. I may have been able to stay at that church for the rest of my life if I wanted. But comfortable isn't what gets my heart pounding. I have no idea what my future holds. I have dreams. But I have no idea if those dreams are going to happen. We'll move towards them as if they will be reality but in the end, I really don't know. I've come to the point where it really doesn't matter either. I just know that the "bigness" of God has become more and more real over the last few months and knowing the I'm not God is like a breath of fresh air. I can relax and just be who I am.
