Maintaining an even strain

There was a time period when I could not get enough material to read on the subject of church planting and church growth. I think it is fair to say that in the early 90s I read just about every book in print on the subject. I also attended conferences and seminars and listened to audio tapes by the hour. That probably would have made a lot of sense if I had been a professional “minister” at the time. However, I was not. I was a sole practitioner attorney making a living helping injured workers process their claims.

But, man, was I ever loving learning about this whole other field that I had never heard of until 1989. One recording that I listened to over and over was John Wimber (one of the foremost practitioners of church growth and church planting) and Bob Fulton (John’s brother-in-law and partner in ministry) talking about the difference between starters, organizers and maintainers.

This particular understanding of the differences between pioneers and settlers, starters and organizers rang true with my own personal experience. You see, when life settles into a maintenance mode, things aren’t getting a whole lot better, nor are they getting a whole lot worse; same old, same old; I seem to get into a massive funk and begin to focus all of my energies on breaking out of what feels to me like a horrible rut.

If you have followed my adventures since about 2006, when I “quit a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day” and moved my family cross-country to Florida, then you know that if I can’t find a good crisis to fight my way out of, I will, no doubt create one.

These days on the “ministry” front, and since my adventure in Florida, I don’t have a lot of excitement. One highlight for me came last month when I went to the first day of the Origins/Catalyst West conference in Irvine. I got to meet and spend some time with Dan Kimball, a frequent Next-Wave contributor over the years, a cutting emerging church practitioner (Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz) and author, and one of the founders of the Origins Network. It was great spending some time with him and getting to hear his heart for “reclaiming” evangelism. I also got to hear Erwin McManus speak in person for the first time, and he was great, inspirational, insightful and funny.

I was there because Kimball, McManus and Pastor Dave Gibbons of New Song Church in Irvine were launching a new network called Origins. You see, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to be nearby for the launch of something new. In the aftermath of that day I fell into a discussion about the involvement of women in leadership over at Jonathan Brink’s blog. Over the years a complaint arises from time to time that there are not enough women contributing to Next-Wave. So I made a concerted effort to get some material from women. Didn’t really get very far except to get some enthusiastic emails from some women who said they would send me some material.

We are ten years in on the Next-Wave journey, and for me it feels a little bit like maintenance. I am looking for the next big thing, that is part of my personality and, I think, part of my calling. Of course, for editor Scott Bane, his involvement is in the “starting” phase, so I think that helps to keep things fresh for me.

I really can’t get very excited about “joining” an existing church. It feels so much like going back to where I have already been. However, if some young person wanted to start a “missional” church in my city, I would be there with bells on. In my day job I am caught up in starting and building a law practice for the second time in my career, and that has its excitement for sure.

When things are in maintenance mode, for me, it feels like the wilderness. But show me some smoking shrubbery and I am Johnny-on-the-spot. (Oblique reference to Moses, you got it, right?) I am trying to avoid praying a dangerous prayer: “Lord, send me on an adventure, for the sake of your kingdom.” That is one of those prayers that God always answers, with some very surprising results!