Share Today’s Stories Later Today 12

We hear stories from the corporate world about research and development departments, including large sums of money spent on keeping everything a secret until the product is ready for release.  Corporate spies, insider information, classified documents, and top secret information are constantly matters of concern.

Such is not the way of life in the Kingdom.  We are not trying to roll out a better cell phone before our competitor down the street.  We understand this to be the case.  However, sometimes our practices betray our beliefs. 

We fear telling today’s stories because we don’t have all of the “bugs” worked out yet.  We don’t want to share what we are doing with others until we’ve got it “right.”  We go underground with an idea and practice, sometimes for years, before tweaking it to perfection and then launching it to the masses.

Again, we are not trying to figure out the perfect hamburger before opening shop and talking investors.

We fear sharing stories that make us look like we don’t have it all worked out.  Of course, we’ll tell our success story and add–but if we wrote down all the things we did wrong, it would require publishing five volumes.  We fail to see the value in transparency and sharing what is not working and what is only working so-so–along side of what is working well.  Remember, the conference you need to attend is the one no one is willing to host.

By the time we figure out what is working, take to the speaking circuit, and publish a book, we are years removed from such a move of the Spirit.  While the Lord is not limited by time, He often works through contextual matters in time.  This often means that by the time your church hears my success story, she is now more removed in time than when I first experienced it.  Context shifts.  Cultures change.  Society moves on.  And your church is now five to ten years late to the game.

We must learn to compress time for the gospel.  In our highly integrated and globalized world, it is poor stewardship to fail to share what is working and not working in the moment.

For the past two years, I have served as the pastor of church multiplication with The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.  My primary responsibility involves equipping our members to multiply disciples and churches from the harvest fields.  I often receive calls from leaders in other churches wanting to come to Birmingham to talk about what we are doing in the areas of leadership development, church planting, and pastoral training.  My response always involves saying–in light of sharing what is working well–I will share everything we are doing, but the bugs are not worked out, all matters are not to my full satisfaction, and I have more questions than answers at times.  One of the reasons I welcome these conversations is to give away what has been entrusted to us, even if we are only two years into the journey.  I want other churches to take what we are trying to do (warts and all) and improve upon it for the advancement of the gospel among the nations.

No top secret R&D department.

No hiding, no concealing, no embarrassments.

No what will they think if we share this now only to see it tank later.

No formula that once shared requires the termination of the listener.

No sharing only what is working well and avoiding discussion of what is not.

Sharing today’s stories later today is the way of the Kingdom steward.

With this in mind, I plan to take the next few blog posts to share with you what we as a church are doing in the areas of training church planting teams and church revitalization.  It is my hope and prayer that these future posts will be of encouragement and assistance to you.  We are in this mission together.  Here is a small way I can co-labor with you in this journey.  Stay tuned.

(image credit: Microsoft Office)