daily java

Daily Java: For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.    (Isaiah 64:3-4)

Today on our corporate fast in the Foursquare Church we pray for church planting (that the Lord will revive our church planting nationally with healthy, reproducing churches).

Church planting has always been close to my heart. We planted a church in Odessa, MO, (suburban Kansas City, MO) in 1996. It ultimately failed because of  the simple fact that I did not know what I was doing. But I will have to admit that I loved it.

We went broke, our house burned down, we ended up living in our storefront church in the back section and we scrabbled for money the entire time. We both had trouble finding work. But it was great. To me anyway. I am not sure Ella had that good a time.

Church planting is hard. It takes a lot out of a person. But I would like to do it again. However, I would only try it if I knew I had a core of people who were geared up for it. It is just too hard by yourself.

The church I have in mind is an interesting one. I have seen it in other places and tried to get it in Odessa. As I mentioned, we got infected and I had to close the church. I ignored some warnings out of desire to do the right thing and the warnings, although small, were right. In fact they were right for two people in that setting.

One of them was for a man who I set in a leadership position who was not suited nor qualified, spiritually or morally. It hurt when I found out the extent of his betrayal and lies and it was the last straw. Unfortunately, for me anyway, most had seen it but me. The Pollyanna side came out too strongly and I looked to the best. He really had little best as it turned out.

The other was the man who married my daughter. He was just about my best friend, but he too turned out to be a liar. It hurt my daughter a lot, but it also hurt me.

In that setting, I had made several friends, all of which ended up turning against me. To this day, I do not know why. It was strange. The day I closed the church, we had 6 in attendance. Only one besides my family was there.

After two years of scrabbling, my heart was broken and I was through. For three weeks I went to the Episcopalian Church across the street and let myself be drowned in their liturgy.  I figured that no one in the Episcopalian  Church ever heard from the Holy Spirit and they would be safe for me.

But – and here is a problem for me ever since – my heart is still there. It is still in the church planting.

The church I see I posted one other time:

-Unlocking doors;
-church interiors as public spaces in the city;
-worship installations staying up all the time; -the local church building as an open-doored hangout;
-sofas and tables and chairs,
-visuals, newspapers, books, food, drink;
-good coffee;
-plenty of places to plug in your laptop;
opening hours 10am to midnight;
-spiritual resources and personal space available at all times;
-a place to work, rest and pray; the living room only bigger.
-Rolling community – like the Cheers bar: as one set of characters leave another set arrive. All are connected by the bar staff [who themselves come and go] or one or two members who exchange groups. Everybody does some connecting in this way.
-The community is a network, not just a spoked wheel dependent on a few at the center.

I still want it. And today, I began to see an idea for the church here. Not sure what it is, but I am waiting for the Lord to develop it.

As I have said before, I will go anywhere he wants me to go and do anything he wants me to do. I only ask that he show me.

What an adventure it was. The coffeehouse with its Christian rock bands, the Coffeehouse Band we had, the feeling of fellowship and ecumenism we felt, the feeding of people who needed it, the ex-inmate ministry, the clown ministry, the community involvement, the contemporary atmosphere of the church. It was exciting until it began to die from the lies.

I know the Lord has more for me. I wait on him.