In February of 2008 I was ready to quit.
We had planted Church at the Grove in September 2006 and had an exciting launch and quick growth in the first year and a half. There were several disappointing circumstances at the end of 2007 that led some families to leave the church. Our attendance was stagnant and I was simply tired and discouraged. Our financial support would be ending later in the year and the numbers did not add up for us to be self-sustaining. I spent some time on more than one occasion looking at the classifieds in the paper thinking I could get a “regular” job and be a great volunteer leader to a pastor somewhere.
I called one of my most encouraging friends, Mike Linch, pastor of NorthStar Church in northwest Cobb County where I had served almost 5 years as student pastor. I knew Mike understood what I was going through after planting NorthStar several years earlier. He shared with me some of the ups and downs he personally had experienced and then gave some simply, yet profound advice.
Don’t Give Up! Hang in there! Give it some time! Think Long!
I listened and God has blessed my “Thinking Long”! I am in this for the long haul! I love church planting! I love Church at the Grove. I intend to honor God and spread the gospel through a long term commitment to a local church that plants churches!
I am reading Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around your Biggest Dreams and Biggest Fears. In the book Batterson issues a challenge to “Think Long” in our prayers, dreams and ambition to see God move.
He states,
“We live in a quick-fix, real-time culture. Between the news ticker and Twitter, we’re always in the know, always in the now. We don’t just want to have our cake and eat it too; we want the instant brand. We want to reap the second after we sow, but this isn’t the way it works with dreaming big and praying hard. We need the patience of the planter. We need the foresight of the farmer. We need the mindset of the sower.”
Batterson goes on to tell this incredible story about “Thinking Long”:
“On the Swedish island Visingsö, there is a mysterious forest of oak trees; mysterious because oak trees aren’t indigenous to the island, and its origin was unknown for more than a century. Then in 1980, the Swedish Navy received a letter from the Forestry Department reporting that their requested ship lumber was ready. The Navy didn’t even know it had ordered any lumber. After a little historical research, it was discovered that in 1829, the Swedish Parliament, recognizing that it takes oak trees 150 years to mature and anticipating a shortage of lumber at the turn of the twenty-first century, ordered that 20,000 oak trees be planted on Visingsö and protected for the Navy. That is thinking long. For the record, the lone objector was the Bishop of Strängnäs. He didn’t doubt that there would still be wars to fight at the end of the twentieth century, but he was the only one who anticipated that ships might be built of other materials by then.”
Chances are some pastors and church planters reading this might be in the midst of some discouragement and doubt about continuing on. Listen:
Don’t give up! Hang in there! Give it some time! Think Long!
