Am I Ready?

This is a very simple yet profound question for the new year. We had our first service of the new year and faced this question in terms of our church and as individuals. We have a big job to do and it cannot be done without counting the cost and evaluating who we are.

On Sunday, I called for our committed few to become the core of Burlington Community Church. In many church plants, there is a group of committed leaders who come into town with everything "ready to go." Each one has their specific task and area of ministry to lead. This is great because they are able to meet as a team and be sure they are ready for any task or mission they face that week. Everyone has gifts and talents that strengthen these efforts and help everything to go as smoothly as possible. I came with...my family. We have our talents and gifts to offer but we have definite needs. We stretched ourselves as thin as possible to handle as much as we could for the church. Ceilidh and Sarah are as important as another ministry couple would be. I could not be a prouder father of my teenage girls and their dedication to what we are doing.

We have been able to secure a decent sound system to set up at a community center we rent. We set this up every Sunday. We have a children's ministry set up each Sunday as well. We have a hospitality table with coffee, donuts and items for visitors and attendees to take. My daughters and wife take turns in children's ministry and I preach every week. The girls and I also sing and play instruments. Outside of a weekly Bible study and band rehearsal, we are at the end of ourselves and need God to take it further. How long have we operated like this? Since day one and we continue to do so.

So...God taking us further has brought in others who play guitar, sing, run the sound board, offer skills in graphics and website, help with set up and pack up and engage in outreach events. We have been blessed by those who have seen what we are trying to do and have jumped on board. This group is now confronted with my challenge to form the core or "founding fathers" group of our church. What will that mean? We all take ownership and participate in everything that needs to be done! I used the lamest illustration ever about a bellybutton and how you have an "inny" or an "outy" but God wants both in our expression of service. In my mind this was going to be very funny and practical but...my wife has banned me from ever using that illustration ever again! :-) I agree with her. It was horrible! But everyone needs to see themselves in terms of what we do out in the world to reach people and what we do in the church to encourage each other and make our church a warm inviting place for guests.

On top of this, we will explore exactly what we believe, what our mission and purposes will be and how we practically live that out. We will also take the time to do a little training and be on task for the jobs set before us! Next Sunday we will have a list of all the things that need to be done, who can do them and how we can spread the load so no one is overwhelmed. This will be exciting to see how a little can mean a lot in our service and worship.

Before all of this can happen, we take the time to concentrate on 3 simple words - Clean, Clear and Close. In order for any of us to be effective, we must clean up our lives and remove sinful habits, get a clear vision of who we are, what our purpose in life is and what we believe, and draw as close to God as we can so we are always in fellowship with Him and obeying His commands.

Big opportunities that require big inner searching. So...Am I Ready? I hope so!