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Advancing

For several weeks I have been preaching on "spiritual leadership," which is a much different concept than the definitions of leadership put forth by the world. In a nutshell, here's my understanding of spiritual leadership: God is the leader, God calls His servants, servants obey the Lord. That's it. Anything you read on strategies, mission and vision statements, and creative and skilled leadership in churches is dangerous because it could distract us from the truth. God already has a plan, He has revealed that plan to us in scripture, He has promised to accomplish His plan, He has already given us everything we need, and He demands that we trust and obey. Period. There is an inherent humanism in all of our well-intentioned plans and schemes, but the focus remains on us and our good ideas instead of on the Lord and His word. Let's stop dreaming big dreams for God and envisioning a bold future for God's kingdom and allow His word to capture our imaginations and then let's stop yammering and do what scripture says.

That opinion won't sell many books on pastoral leadership. But seriously, why complicate something the Lord has been so clear about. All of this is coming from a guy who is about to stand before his church and give a report from the Strategic Planning Team which has been at work for over a year. I have hinted in past posts that I may be concerned about the upcoming reporting process because of the potential conflict involved. What I would like to do now is make some things very clear as we move into this weekend.

First, we didn't get creative and come up with any bold new plan to move us into the future. Instead, we took a lot of time to consider what scripture says about who we are as a church and what we are to be doing. We spent time seeking the Lord together. We listened, argued, and listened some more. We think we have a good understanding of what God tells churches they are to be and do, and our plan is a good step into that direction.

Second, while the plan is relatively simple it is very challenging. If God is indeed leading us in this direction, our obedience will unite us together in ways that will be very exciting. We will have to trust God completely as we embrace the challenges of the plan.

Third, the Strategic Planning Team is unified. Which is no small thing. Let's be honest...there are some personality differences and the clashes are not small and meek. And we did clash, and we did dicker about things, but we always came back to the basics of the plan and there was agreement. I saw a group of almost 20 people lay aside their pride and fears and say, "Wherever You lead, Lord, I'll go."

Personally, I believe the Lord is leading us to move in this direction. Our recommendations are scriptural, theologically sound, and birthed in prayer. They also embrace the organizational realities of FBC Rockport. I could not be more excited to present the plan. I believe God is leading us. I believe He has called me here to serve Him and His people. I believe we must trust and obey. I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone else thinks as well.

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