Connecting to Community you have heard seen it and smelled it over the last several years. I believe that we have made a difference in this community but not the difference we as Christian need to be making and after prayer and thought maybe we need to restructure the way we are connecting. What we want to do is to be able to measure that growth and connection. Over the next month, you will be seeing how this is going to be organized and it is our hope that you join in the process somewhere. It is my hope the we never quit and when you are thinking about quitting something, don’t. Here are some thoughts from Steve Sjogren.
Persistence is the hard work that you do after you are tired of doing the hard work you already did. – Newt Gingrich
Ponder the phrase “when you feel there is no fruit.” In those down times we deal with the feeling that we lack momentum. There are a lot of personal feelings connected with our observation of whether or not outreach is actually happening. Consider a few factors before you allow your feelings to take control.
1. Often great things moves of God start slowly. On second thought, the truth is it is almost always the case that great things start slowly. In all that I have started this has certainly been the case. I have never had the luxury of having a quick launch. If one of those happened at this point in my life I would probably think something negative was underway since I’m so used to the strain of strenuous launches. It is the exception to see large, fast start-ups in God’s Kingdom. Think about Jesus. He spent over three years establishing his core group of disciples that numbered only 12 and one of them dropped out in a horrible way. It wasn’t until after he went back to heaven that the Kingdom came in power and momentum as the Acts 2 Church was established.
Pretty much all that I have started has begun and built slowly. Janie and I have launched Servant Evangelism and ministry to the needy at various churches we have, often doing outreaches by ourselves to get the ball rolling. Even after getting a bit of momentum going occasionally no one shows up. I am no longer disheartened at such things. Instead I am philosophical because I realize such things are just part of launching something new.
2. Perspective: Fruit is not always easy to see. God works in subtle ways. God is probably at work, whether you can see it or not. Perhaps you are more fruitful than you realize.
A lot of what you do in outreach is to work on the ways people see us. That is, you help to define your church to the community. If your church is like most you have been fairly camouflaged. At best people know the name of your church or the building you meet at, but they have no idea what your church is stands for. In many cases they know absolutely nothing about your church including that a church meets in your facility. The church I lead in Oregon has been in the community for over a century at several locations. Amazingly, most people in the community have never heard of the church! We have recently begun to do significant Servant Evangelism outreaches in the area. As we have been connecting with area people we have discovered that some of our nearby neighbors didn’t know that the facility where we are located was actually a church even though it has a large spire and a cross on top of it! I’m just saying none of us can assume anything about our visibility. The chances are good you are fairly hidden in your community as well.
3. No matter what your emotional state it’s imperative that you buy in for the long haul in outreach. It’s easy to become overcome with emotion as you look at the short-term perspective. You can become quixotic as you approach outreach but that won’t further the cause. Buy into outreach for the long haul. That’s the only reasonable option.
4. Stop demanding a pain-free life. We all get the point where we want to quit doing outreach every now and then. Realistically, there are so many negative forces at work in getting SE started it is only natural that we won’t want to continue to move forward. Sometimes you reach the point of despair and throw your arms up in frustration and exclaim, “I want this to end! I don’t need this pain any longer.” Realize you aren’t any different than about anyone else when you come to the end of your emotional rope. Wanting to quit on occasion is only normal! It’s what you do with that occasional thought that is important.
I recommend you give up on quitting. To entertain quitting is a mistake. It’s wasted energy. God has drafted you into this, not a man. When you are ticked off at small minded, irritating people take a walk, talk about it to God, journal your frustration. Maybe it’s just time to go to the shooting range and take out a few targets with a friend’s 12-gauge shotgun! Whatever you do to cope let that be your healthy means for moving forward instead of pondering dropping out of the race.
