Love this Journey

It's been a while, but things are going well in Wilkes-Barre. Right now I am sitting in the airport in Phoenix waiting for my 10:30 pm overnight flight to Philly and then to Scranton. I have been at church planter training in Twin Peaks, CA and it has been great! It filled in a lot of gaps I have had in terms of some of the specifics I needed to know in order to proceed with the work in W-B. While in the airport, I am using the time to take the information I have learned and begin writing my new church proposal and my strategic plan.

In addition to the practical information that I received at the training, I think the most valuable take-away came in the form of the theological perspective the was presented. It has really helped me to adjust my approach to thinking about the church plant which in turn will keep me focused on the right objectives.

1. Missio dei: God's mission. A church plant is all about participating in God's loving work in a particular area, and the ministry in which a planter engages is Jesus' ministry, not the planter's. The work of the planter is to help people in their area to know that they are already loved, saved and accepted by the work of Jesus on the cross. My role is to guide them to see and accept that fact. God loves them and wants to restore a loving relationship with them, so how can I represent that radical love of Christ.

The answer is, by engaging in "Incarnational Evangelism," living out the love of Christ in the cultural context of the people. Not approaching them with all kinds of "God talk," but listening to their needs and engaging them in their context, no matter what that is. Farmer's Market, bowling alley, in the park, where ever, and then remembering that it is not my job to convert them, the Holy Spirit will do that. My job is to provide an environment where they can experience the love and presence of God.

I don't have to save them, I don't have to convert them: what a relief! My job is simply to love them in such a way that the Holy Spirit can begin to work in their heart.

As a result of the training, I have a lot of ideas on how to approach the ministry in W-B, and how I need to live out an incarnational approach to evangelism: loving them and being the representative of Christ among them.

So now, my focus will not be so much on starting a church, by looking at the ways in which I can most effectively share that love of Christ with the ethnic persons of W-B, especially those persons who are in inter-racial relationships and have bi-racial children. I know from experience (friends and relatives) how difficult it is for these children to find a place of belonging and where they feel they fit in. Field of Grace Community of Faith will be the place where they will experience the full embrace and love of the God who created them in God's own image.

I have lots of work to do, but I am excited and energized for what lies ahead. I also realize that it's going to be a lot of hard work. Part of that work will be navigating the expectations of supervisors who will be looking for numbers and wanting to know when the church is going to get started. Unfortunately, none of them have attended the trainings, so I will have to do some educating as I explain the approach that I will be following.

Pray for me that I will remain open and responsive to God's agenda and not charging ahead with my own. And pray that God would grant me the voice and the grace to engage folks in their context, stepping out beyond my own introverted nature.

Hasta Luego.