“Love, if something doesn’t change, I need to walk.”
This is what I told my wife, who has seen it all over our six years of being together.
The greatest challenge facing our missional community is the desire for convenience. Like a slow leak from a faucet, it drips and drips until it overflows, leaving everyone to wonder what happened and how it happened.
Applebees. I returned to my faith over late night appetizers. It's not an uncommon story. The location may vary, but most people find or re-engage their faith around fire pits, at pubs, and through relationships with friends.
“Church planting is for girls.”
Yep, I said it. There it sits on the page. Don’t just breeze by it. Sit with it for a minute.
What thoughts or feelings come up?
Ah… another woman with an agenda.
Yes! I’m so glad we are talking about this!
Why can’t women be content ministering to women and children?
I don’t have time to deal with this… I’m trying to plant a church.
As an honest reader and gospel partner, I invite you to allow your thoughts to surface as you consider mine. I write trusting that this will be a moment when we can take a deep breath and open ourselves. Maybe God intends to say something to us.
This month we sat down with Mike Jarrell, founding pastor of Narrow Road Communities and founding Movement Team member of the Creo Collective. Under Mike’s leadership NRC has grown from just one missional community in their first year to twelve active MC's today. Just as significantly, NRC has more than twice as many people connected in missional communities than currently attending weekend worship gatherings. This week we sat down to talk about the irreplaceable role of coaching to missional community ministry.
I’ll never forget that phone call.
It was a Saturday in early 2017. The voice was that of a friend and fellow EFCA pastor.
“Aaron, you may want to sit down for this…Jeff passed away early this afternoon.”
It would take months for the gravity of those words to sink in. When Jeff Sorvik passed away many of us lost a friend, a mentor, a fellow champion of multiplication, and a brother in Christ.
And while I do find both hope and joy in knowing I’ll one day get to see Jeff again and chide his pasty white Scandinavian legs once more, for now I just really miss my friend.
I know that’s true of many of us.
So, what now?
It's a question many of us have asked. What happens to the Creo Collective when it suddenly loses its founder and lead visionary?
My city, like Baton Rouge and Dallas, is in deep pain and despair. These cities are groaning with the whole creation as in the pains of childbirth (Romans 8:22) because of the violence and injustice against Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the five officers killed in Dallas.
What can we do? What should we say? These are hard questions that need answers from many different voices and vantage points. I want to provide just one important answer as a pastor ministering in Saint Paul...
This year my wife and I celebrated our 16-year anniversary. It’s been an incredible ride. The road has included five moves, two dogs, three academic degrees, two church plants, and two amazing children. When it comes to being a godly husband, I don't claim to be an expert, but my tires definitely have some wear. Over the years I’ve learned a lot and still have much more to learn. Recently, I was reflecting upon the apostle Peter’s instructions to husbands in 1 Peter 3:7, where he says,
"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
Like most pastors, I didn’t go into ministry because I wanted to preach. I went into vocational ministry because I wanted to see lives transformed by the gospel.
God had stirred up my heart and pursued me. I had been skeptical and he opened up my eyes. I wanted to help others come to know Jesus as I had. So I began serving, got some training, and entered into vocational ministry.
Early in ministry I joined a church plant and we began rapidly growing. We moved into a new building. The crowd continued to grow larger. Excitement was high. In many ways, it was a dream spot for a young church leader to be.