Under-Qualified: Part 2

Well I’m back from the Summit (thanks Liz).

It was good to get away for a few days and think about church planting constantly.

It felt like a really productive time. Like we’ve moved forward a few conversations, which is really what the majority of the early stages of planting seem to be about, conversations.

We (another of the people who are keen to plant this church and I) met with the dude who’s planting in the area we have been thinking about going to. He’s doing pretty much what we would have done, and he seems to be reaching pretty much the exact same people we would have sought to reach. And he’s probably doing a better job than we would do.

When we talked about us going to the same area as him, he said “the more churches the better”, which was generous of him. I loved that he just wanted people to be doing kingdom work, rather than wanted to protect his empire. He didn’t seem threatened by us at all. Maybe we’re just not that threatening.

That said, it seems a bit silly to us to go to the suburb he’s in to do what he’s doing. So unless we feel called to do something really different to him, we’ll probably go somewhere else.

It’s kinda disappointing because it was feeling exciting for a while there to have a place we could start thinking and dreaming about. Somewhere to invite people to. Now we have to go back to the drawing board. We haven’t totally ruled the old place out, but it’s looking a whole lot less likely.

So while I’m here, let me ask you dear readers, if there is anywhere in Sydney, and any group of people in Sydney, that needs a church, where do you think it is and why? (That is if you think anywhere needs a church.)

Aside from all that, how am I feeling?

Inadequate. Spending a few days thinking about planting and hanging out with planters has just made me realise what a huge task it is and how ill equipped I am for it. There were so many people at this summit who are much better people to be planting churches, more faithful and faith-filled, better leaders, and better do-ers, better with plans and better with people. It makes me think I should just go work in a church somewhere.

I guess it’s an appropriate way to feel, but it’s not how I want to feel. Confident and excited would be much better in my opinion.

But maybe I’m just tired. Perhaps I’ll feel better in the morning.

All that said, I still think it’s important. I’ll go plant because I’m called. And I’ll go because I love Jesus and I would love other people to meet him too. And if I fail, a least I’ve failed at something important.