The Measure of Success

Mark Driscoll describes a church planter as the guy or girl who isn't going to wrap themselves up with a blankie and cry in the corner.  It's somebody who has a wild look in their eye, somebody who's scrappy, the kind of person home invaders would fear to face.  While the average pastor wearing a sweater vest would try to counsel the home invaders, the church planter would go a little UFC/MMA on them.  In the world's eyes you have to be brain dead to be a pastor or in ministry.  At least when you are pastoring an established church no matter if they are on the decline or not you know you have some people that will be there every Sunday.  As a church planter, you not only need to rely on God but there are times you need to make opportunities happen and bust down doors.  For me planting Embrace has been my dream.  I am living out what I have always dreamed or what God has put in my heart.  The world measures success differently than followers of Christ.  The world thought the Cross was a big failure and yet it is the symbol of our faith.  I have to look in the mirror everyday and ask myself the question: would I be willing to do the right thing despite looking like a failure to the world, or my denomination, or even the people I'm leading?"  Even though I'm living out my dream and call it doesn't mean it's been easy.  If it were easy everybody would plant a church and they would all succeed.  I get tired and my knuckles bleed at times from knocking on metaphorical doors.  I've been rejected, mocked, misunderstood, taken advantage of, and have taken a pounding.  In the midst of it God has sustained me and given me a team of people who are making the vision their own.  Have we succeeded?  Absolutely!  Will it look like what we envisioned?  Maybe or maybe not, I'm not sure, but time will tell.