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PLI is devoted to empowering leaders for wider influence for the sake of the gospel in their communities and effective leadership in their ministries. Learn more about our vision and process here.

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The Wright Brothers Soft Landings… 3 Things I Learned

The Wright Brothers chose Kitty Hawk, NC, for their flying experiments. It had:

  • Wind
  • Good weather
  • Sand dunes…. for soft landings

Soft landings…for when their experiments failed!

 

God seems to be providing unprecedented opportunities for wider Gospel influence for the people of God in the chaos of our current culture, but…

 

…if most churches are going to experience vibrant community into the future, they will need to experiment…and likely fail…and keep trying again…in this post Christendom culture.

 

However, most churches aren’t particularly good at providing soft landings when something new fails!

 

Try this!  Forward this to five folks at your church. Ask:

  1. Do we need to experiment with something new? (probably like we once did?)
  1. Do we provide soft landings if we “fail our way forward”?

PLI believes that the…

 

Recruit Volunteers to Serve model…

 

that’s worked so well for so many for so long needs to be complemented (experimented?) with the…

 

Disciple Leaders for Mission model. 

 

PLI believes that the opportunity is great for churches that can navigate well the new culture and can disciple people to be actively engaged in the mission of God in the regular rhythms of life.

 

And PLI believes that very few leaders navigate this path well alone, without training and investment.

 

Discipleship to Missional Community enables leaders to establish simple, multipliable patterns for discipling people for the pockets and places of mission… and to provide the soft landings when it seems harder than it looks. Contact Raechel, Connections Team Member, for more information.

 

So, three things I learned from the Wright Brothers that apply to discipling leaders for mission:

  1. They had an unquenchable vision! To fly. It started IN them.
  1. They didn’t seek attention and publicity. It started SMALL, like most big things.
  1. They knew that failures would accompany progress. They needed soft landings.

Pastors and spouses and lay leaders in the PLI learning communities know that some of the greatest work that God does,

  • Begins in ME.
  • Is usually small before it grows and multiplies.
  • There’s grace and forgiveness and hope for soft landings because parts of our lives and ministries are broken and need to heal.

So… if you believe what PLI believes would you do one of the following?

  • Explore a PLI learning community today and afford your church the fruit that can follow.
  • Make a gift today that helps train pastors and spouses to lead vibrant communities of faith.
  • Invite someone to join PLI.

Thanks!

Rev. Dr. Jock Ficken

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