First thought…Not again!! Part 1

September 1, 2008, I wrote a rather lengthy post on transition, you can find it if you want to read it…I suggest you do if you are in any kind of transition.

In light of that post, here we are again. Not in the exact same sense, but I do find myself in a peculiar and wondering/wandering situation. When I moved to Atlanta to plant Renovation Church everything seemed to be falling into place. We had a core group of people who were already gathering and just waiting for us to engage. I had a great job, doing something I loved (in case you missed it, I was working as a sports agent), and the outlook for the future looked incredible. We began making plans for inviting families to gather, I was traveling recruiting athletes…it was the perfect situation.

There are several details that I will exclude in the following paragraphs for the cause of Christ, and me not being an idiot an shaming His name through any angry writing. So we go on.

There almost immediately began to be some issues within our core group. My understanding of who and what the church is, and the role of a pastor in this organic movement differed greatly from that of two of the central leaders in this group. We wrestled with it, discussed, and soon realized that we had very different visions for where we wanted this thing to go. I wanted to launch a new church, they wanted to start a monastic group. If you don’t know the distinction between the two go here.

I loved their sense of community, and desire to avoid becoming institutional, but the Church is the redemptive agent of God, and we can not just cast it aside because she is messed up. We have to love her, protect her, and be a part of reforming her. She is Jesus bride, and you can’t love Jesus and hate His wife!

Needless to say there began to be a drifting which became a wedge, which became a general separation. We (me and them) have done a fairly good job at keeping the relationships in tact, but amiably went our separate ways, with several families caught in the middle. (still figuring that out)

selah