e people had been completely disarmed by the enemy’s strategy while they were in captivity.
I was hit with the realization that our spiritual enemy has done this to the Church. Where are those with the knowledge of spiritual warfare – those who know what 2 Cor 10:4 is talking about – who walk as Jesus did in setting captives free? Hasn’t there been a great shortage of “blacksmiths” among the people of God so that while we still see people respond to the gospel, they are not equipped to walk in victory and freedom? I think we need to quickly restore the ranks of the “blacksmiths” among people of faith – We have been far too vulnerable for too long.
OVER the last 15 months our learning curve has been through the roof – and now the novelty is wearing off and we are seeing how we need to make adjustments for sustaining the Journey.
As with many movements, one of our biggest challenges is keeping it simple. One of the ways we need to simplify is in how people ramp into the Journey. We have been working on the “irreducible minimum” description of our daily/weekly/monthly rhythm, as well as our general vision.
First, the other night we came up with:
“Imagine… if God could live in you?…”
It’s a question that could have all kinds of responses, and it describes what is the theme of our ten core values.
Another way we are simplifying is to take the “L” word (leadership) out of the on-ramp into the Journey. We have found so far that, aside from the positive challenge for people recognize their influence, it has had two unintended and unproductive results:
1. Some are intimidated by the reference to leadership and shy away when they shouldn’t;
2. Others jump right in and hold to the “leadership” references as a title and license to have power over others.
We think people need to grow into the understanding of leadership, so we now have “Follow-in” as the step people take into the Missional Core of the Journey.
Finally, we have found we need to be clear about what we agree on for our weekly and monthly rhythms – That being part of the missional core is to embrace weekly discipling triads, fellowship in homes, monthly Equipping Days and Missional Gatherings. These are all a part of our lifestyle in following Jesus together. Some find they are not ready to express their faith through such frequent connections, and are not ready to be more than attenders. We welcome people at every stage of wrestling with this, and allow God to continue His work of drawing people into following Jesus in a daily way.
Soon our written materials will all be updated with these new details – Comments are welcome!!