Well, the title is not something enigmatic. It's just that it's 12:18 a.m. and I'm sitting on my couch watching NHL live, trying to figure out what I missed today in the world of Hockey! I should be in bed, but...... ah! Sleep is overrated!
This week I've been helping West Elementary do their production of Fiddler On the Roof. Those of you who've been following my blog for awhile now probably remember me talking last year about their production of Annie. These kids are so talented it's stupid! No kidding. They are great. I've grown to love them as if they were my own.
West Elementary is where the Journey has been meeting for the last three years. It's been a cool place to be. They let us permanently install all of our lights and sound, so even though we have been a quote unquote "set up/tear down" church, there have been a lot of perks for us. I'm kind of sad to say that this week has been our final "hoorah" there. As most of you know, we are moving into our permanent facility. We will still have another campus, the Providence - Rutland Elementary campus, but our first campus will be moving into what we are going to consider our central hub. This has been a long time in the making for us. We started in a strip center on the corner of highway 109 and highway 70. We had about 50 people and a lot of dreams. Fast forward to today, we have a bunch of people... two campuses... and still a lot of dreams!
We have been sooooooo blessed. I'm excited to see what God is going to do with our church over the next couple years. Something that has happened recently is, we're finding out that if you want to experience the growth that you ask God for, you must be willing to expand your circle. This transcends into everyday life, I think. If you own a business and want to grow, you can't just expect the same 9 or 10 people who started it to continue to manage it. Eventually, you're going to have to bring other people into your leadership folds. You are going to have more things that need to be done. You're going to have to delegate tasks more effectively. And you're going to have to have the mentality of.... do only that which you can do. What that means is, if there is something that you don't have to do, and someone else can, and you're not allowing them to, cause you're afraid they're going to take your job, or get credit for something that you could have taken credit for, then you must be willing to let it go and let them do it. If you don't, then you're being selfish and stifling the growth of the organization. What that all boils down to is this:
Are you a selfish person, full of pride? Or are you the person who is more concerned about satisfying your own wants and desires? Here's the interesting thing about those questions. It may take you awhile to learn this, but it is a fact. And you can count on experiencing it. If you are that person, eventually, your growth will stop, you will become irrelevant, and the very thing you tried to protect will either leave you behind and you'll be forgotten, or it will just wither away and not matter anyway.
This principle holds true in everyday life also, not just in business. Ask yourself how many times you kept things for yourself at the cost of a relationship, or seeing the joy and happiness on someone's face because you made them feel needed, or gave them the opportunity to experience something that potentially could change their lives forever.
I'm happy to say that at the Journey, we are constantly looking out for whoever God brings us, in the way of a leader. We understand that if we are going to be the church that we beg God to be, every day, we can't do it with just the people who are there right now. And God is bringing cool people within our midst. I'm excited to see how they will be raised up and take charge of whatever piece of the mission that God has gifted them for.
Bottom line...... Pride and selfishness will destroy your life. No, that's not cliché. It's fact. No matter how good you think you have it. It will destroy you. You will wake up one day, head in hands, feeling like there's no way out, or no solution. You will wonder if your life really matters, and why did it have to happen to you. Remember this.... two things, and then I'm done. First of all, it had to happen to you, because you caused it with your choices and your own selfish desire. Number two and most importantly... There is a God out there who has been pursuing you since the day you were born into a broken and hurting world. He is a God of Grace and Mercy. And He wants you to know that He loves you, and though you think you're at the end of your rope and have nowhere to go... He's right beside you, hurting with you, crying because you, His child, are hurting. All you have to do is ask Him to make it right. And He will.
If you're reading this and this is you, and you have questions. Please comment or email me. You can reach me by just clicking here --> The Journey. Just go to the page about who we are and click on my email. I would love to talk to you about this. If you think there's no way this can be you, cause you're not some poor pathetic schmuck! And you have your act together and you don't need the peace and understanding of a Saviour, I guess I'll just be talking to you later, rather than sooner! I don't mean that to sound like a smart aleck, but let's just say.... I warned you.
Make sure you check out Erik's blog. You can join in on the discussion that we are having this month. It's a conversation going on around 1 and 2 Samuel. Good stuff and a lot of people are weighing in.
Talk to you soon. Love you all
Robbie
1 comment:
Great post Robbie!
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