Is God Crazy? The Journey into the Unknown

Nathan here! I'm not a poet. I'm not an eloquent writer (you'll find that out soon enough), I don't find nice beautiful pictures or paintings to post on whatever I'm thinking about...I'll leave that for Sandra...she's so good at that stuff and whatever she writes is so meaningful.

Anyway, I'm going to try something new.  I'm going to actually try and blog what is going on down here in Mexico City.  I haven't really done this before but I think its a good idea and besides, Sandra has been on my case for years asking me to at least do one entry.  So it got me thinking, why not share with the world, or at least those select few who are following us, what on earth is going on down here.  If you are looking for regular updates on what really is happening week in and week out, you may be disappointed with this blog.  For that, I refer to you out Mexican Monday Moments, kliewers@gmail.com.  There you will find a picture and a precise statement or two about something specific you can pray in regard to our ministry here.

I'm taking on this new endeavour but this is going to be more like a journal or something of the like.  It has everything to do with what my/our ministry is up to here but I'll give a more personal take on it.

So let's get started.  I've called this post, and those that follow this, Is God Crazy?  The Journey into the Unknown, because sometimes that's how I feel.  Sometimes I sit back and wonder to myself, what on earth is He up to and why on earth do I trust someone who calls us do the the seemingly illogical stuff... and yet I still keep following Him.  You ever wonder to yourself, "what am I really dissatisfied about?" What have you done about it?  If you are a leader, whether in the church or in a business or some other non-profit, have you ever wondered to yourself, "Is what we are doing setting ourselves up for success?" First, you need to ask that question, then if there is a sense of dissatisfaction, change whatever it is you are doing, cause whatever you are doing isn't working.  This is what I've have been walking through for the past year or so.

A while back I began asking the question, "Is what we are doing in Mexico City in our little church plant, working?"  "Are we setting up our friends for success?" In other words, Are we planting a church that will be easily reproducible, that can easily multiply, that will be sustainable, and all those other catch phrases we in the Church planting world use in regard to handing the baton over to the nationals with whom we are working with.  You know what?  I had a growing concern and conviction that we were NOT heading in the right direction.  A growing sense of fear began sink in as I asked myself, "how the heck would we ever change major direction in the church plant in Mexico (I was in Canada as I thought about this).  The "machine" was already in motion, the "Flywheel" (concept taken from Good to Great, Jim Collins, I highly recommend the book), was moving.  But I wasn't satisfied.  Then it hit me, "GOD YOU'RE CRAZY!  How on earth would this ever come to be?

I would love to write about the 8 months that took place between those initial thoughts and how we got to where we are now as a church, but I don't think blogs are supposed to be long drawn out books.  If you want more, take me out for coffee and I'd love to share the journey with you.

Let's jump to this side now.  The church has gone from the comfortable to the uncomfortable, from the known to the unknown, from the traditional building, central location model to the living room model (House church), from doing church to being church....Yup, God has shaken up our world of everything I have ever known to a way of life I have never experienced before as a community of believers.  We are in our 7th week of meeting in a home.  Where are we going?  I think ultimately God only knows, though I believe He has given me some points of direction.  I am learning to hold everything that I have with my hands open and palms up.  I get into trouble if I hold on to anything too tightly, I don't recommend it.

You know as a Pastor, we are supposed to guide and protect and nurture and listen and know what's best for the people we are shepherding.  We are supposed to listen to the Chief Shepherd, the Good Pastor, to know what the true needs of our community are.  Sometimes that's really hard to do.  It's hard because when we believe God is guiding His community in a certain way, we need to follow and guide the others to follow that way as well.  What happens when there are some who don't like where "God" wants to go?  You really begin to see who is really committed, not to the Pastor, or to a certain model, but to Jesus and to the community.  But its hard to find the balance between being sensitive to people's feelings and habits of thinking and doing church, and challenging them to start growing and moving them from living a "comfortable" Christ-following lifestyle, and start being the church.  That's hard.  And that is where we are now.

Stay tuned for the next, Is God Crazy? thought. Not sure when, hopefully soon.  If I'm saying yes to journeying in this blog, I'm saying "no" to something else....hopefully that "no" isn't you!

Saludos

n8 (Nate)