I asked a bunch of younger leaders to do the difficult, to challenge some “landing pattern” pastors and spouses and others who have served so well for so long to not squander what might be their largest legacy in helping the Church set sail toward a new season of great mission vibrancy.
This “landing pattern” group has banked enormous relational capital. People half their age long for what they have!
- Wholeness with God.
- Peace.
- Relationships that work.
But it will take a reset. It’s not going to happen from the pulpit.
Gail and I started down this “reset path” a few years back. We nearly quit. We started out alone. The environment was too foreign. The sanctuary had been our primary domain.
We needed someone to lead us out of our own pit. No boast here, just a simple testimony to say there’s a land flowing with milk and mission field honey if you don’t let the giants scare you away prematurely.
I’m tempted to cite Abraham and Sarah (she laughed) or Moses (he was slow of speech) or Caleb but they were all too old for a relevant “landing pattern” application here.
Maybe a simple Acts of the Apostles reference to one named Paul. Paul had a number of what I would have experienced as failures, disappointments, conflicts, gut-wrenching setbacks before the 19th chapter when, at Ephesus, Paul experienced enormous mission field honey mixed with the miraculous. Maybe he secured better skills, deeper knowledge, or maybe the combination of the earlier chapters left Paul dying to a lot of himself so he could be deeply useful and enormously trusting in the hands of a missionary God.
And I’m thinking that might be you, too.
PLI’s learning communities deliver “3rd largest mission field” training and investment that helps you get from where you’ve been to where God might be leading next.
Don’t let the giants scare you away. Don’t let a couple chapters of disappointments, conflicts, gut wrenching setbacks scare you away.
Contact Raechel. Tell her you’re thinking about…
- Discipleship to Missional Community next Fall on the East Coast or in St. Louis
- Leadership Essentials next Spring in Houston
- Leadership Essentials next year in Nashville (dates TBA)
So, if this becomes your FOCUS I can promise you that you’ll bump up against…
- Feelings of incompetence
- Character gaps
- Unpolished skills
- And, ironically, an underdeveloped confidence in God to work through His Word.
But, you’ll be surprised by…
- A sense of adventure like you’ve forgotten could exist.
- The unscripted work of the Holy Spirit (I think you’ll find Dr. David Luecke’s work helpful. Visit the website whathappened.church. Check out especially his resources for How to Spot the Spirit’s Work in your Life.)
- The absolute joy of seeing god-empty people taste grace and be filled with faith in Jesus.
Rev. Dr. Jock Ficken
