Church Planters Zany Ride and a Cool Mantra to boot!

The Ride of a Church Planter is a bit zany....

-most of us come from something fairly stable career-wise and jump head-first into the raw thin-air of 'not-yet-ness' and the dream of a new church that will add to the collective Kingdom firepower in a fresh new way.

-most of us believe we have a new angle that MUST COME TO LIFE or the world will remain unchanged -- totally unacceptable for those of us who are driven to influence others and outcomes in the world

-we attract the best and brightest dreamers in the world -- most of whom are just like us -- we have very little notion of how to put the wheels on the wagon we're imagining so we need technicians and engineers and people who can sequence information inputs and outputs --and that puts us at odds because our internal processors are so vastly different -- so we have to grow people skills out the yang to be able to work with those who see the world way differently and in much more crystalline black and white than we can imagine

-we postion our families on the brink of financial ruin

-we fuel work-a-holic tendencies

-we put our people loving selves on the line of attack from those outside AND inside the church and wonder why this can feel like a lonely enterprise at times

AND, we revel in the notion that God DOES USE US.

HE DOES EMPOWER US.

HE DOES ALLOW US TO SEE THE MIRACULOUS WHEN HE BRINGS BREAD RIGHT WHEN WE NEED IT.

HE GIVES US THICKER SKINS TO DEAL WITH THE BARBS TOSSED OUR WAY BY OTHER 'CHRISTIANS' WHO JUST CAN'T SEE THIS AS A VERY GOOD IDEA.

HE GRANTS US EVEN MORE TENDER HEARTS THAT ACHE FOR OUR BROKEN FRIENDS.

HE HELPS US CARE PASSIONATELY ABOUT NEIGHBORS WHO ARE NOT YET AMPED IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

WE GET TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF SEEING 9 PEOPLE BAPTIZED AT OUR FIRST BAPTISM EXPERIENCE......(happened for me at Phos Hilaron Church on Sunday, July 6, 2008!)

So, this is the ride of a lifetime in a lifetime of rides!

We've seen God do more incredible things in the past few months than in my entire life. It's more fun to play at the edge than you can imagine -- yes, scary and it doesn't feel very 'safe' at times, but what in life is truly 'safe'?

Helen Keller basically suggested that 'safety' is overrated when she was quoted as saying,

Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature . . .

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

That could be a church planters mantra!

Amazed that God can even use ME!!!
Jeff Fuson

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. Jeff also delivers impacting training events for Entrepreneurs, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.