9 May 2008
GRAND DESIGNS
I was watching a program the other day called Grand Designs. Its a programe dedicated to people who are building their dream homes. Just recently they did a special series of programs over a week, during which they endeavored to build a house from scratch in 5 days. At the end of the programe the house looked great, you could even live in it. It had all the latest stuff and built with the latest materials… the only difference was that it wasn’t built to last. It is possible to build something very quickly that looks great but the real question is will it last? We need to build in a way that will not only be able to reproduce and effect the surrounding areas once but do it again and again and again for years to come. Here are a few things to consider when building
Build slowly:
Dont become impatient. Impatience often leads us to taking short cuts often with people’s character and always always ends up in fall out and pain. You cant take a short cut when it comes to building something that will last. You may be the right person to lay the foundations of the building but you may need to hand over to someone else who has the skills needed to take it further. Knowing where your skill starts and ends is crucial to the finished building. Very few church planters have all the skills needed to plant and grow a church beyond the foundation stage. Putting in the right values takes time. It is often ‘caught not taught’ from you. It takes time for people to get what is in your heart.
Build scripturally not pragmatically:
There is a real temptation to just do what works. Avoid the temptation to go for the immediate result over the long term result. Often we can buy into secular solutions that look really good and deliver the results short term, but we are called to build according to the principles (the blueprint) of the word. If you deviate at this point the building will not stand the test of time. Is it built upon Gods principles or the latest leadership manual?
Build Simultaneously:
They say that only Woman can do more than one things at a time, but if you are a man planting or building a church then you are going to have to do it as well. Here is a list of things that we need to be doing at the same time. Preaching, Praying, raising the Priesthood, being in the lives of People, operating in God’s Power, working with the Poor, Planting more churches, Pastoring and caring for those around us and being Prophetic in all we do. Its when we only focus on one thing that the church we are building becomes unbalanced. We need to be embracing the ALL - NESS of the Bible in order to be the church that Jesus wants us to be.
Strategically:
Like in any building project it is important to have a plan. We must be careful that we do not build around pressure groups. As people join your church they will come with all sorts of passions and dare I say soap boxes. It is all to easy to give in to the loudest voice and steer the build in certain directions. Some like round windows and others think we should have no windows. Once you have set out the plans dont change them unless you clearly hear God’s voice. In your plans remember that we are NOT building with bricks and mortar, or clever programs but we are building with people. We build programs around people and not the other way around.
Build shoulder to shoulder:
The fact is YOU cant build the church on your own. You shouldn’t even try! Its about a team made up of skilled craftsman who are secure in who they are and what they are called to do. Every member of the team is important and is essential to the build. Every member must be believed in and trusted. Every member needs to know how they fit and be given room to explore that role to the full. On some occasions it may be necessary to play a member of the team out of position, the team needs to be flexible enough to pick up an area that they may not be best skilled in, in order to keep the build on track.
Its all about building with the end in mind. Constantly keeping the team focused on the artists final impression is vital to keep the motivation and energy needed to do the job.
Dont get so focused on the tree that you lose sight of the forest. After all God has called us to plant orchards not just an apple tree!
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