Lately I’ve observed a greater fire in the people of Southbrook Church than at any other time in our history! I’m thrilled to see this–we’ve endured a lot to get to this point. Good news!–once you have momentum it’s easier to keep and the Lord’s work is more exciting than ever. For example–this past Christmas Eve we saw a greater harvest than ever before (at any other single event) when 244 people bent the knee to Jesus Christ and were adopted into God’s own family!
What does that have to do with the “greater fire” burning in the hearts of those who call Southbrook home? Simple–we are starting to think with the mind of Christ. We are starting to love what He loves (lost people), hate what He hates (sin) and work for what He wants (to seek and to save that which was lost). You all are the ones who invited more lost people to Christmas Eve services than ever before–by a huge margin! You are the ones who fought through all the excuses and denials and kept right on praying and fasting. In short, you partnered with God to be a part of leading many to Christ!
That’s an on fire church! And I want to keep the fire. But guess who doesn’t?
Satan. So he will do everything in his power to discourage us. Sometimes he uses others to throw water on the fire. Sometimes he brings pain and trials into our lives and tries to get us to forget that God can bring good even out of bad. And sometimes he just distracts us with apathy or interest in other things over God. Whatever it is, I want to encourage you to stay the course when you come to one of those nasty forks in the road.
A couple years ago I wrote a post about this. Here it is…
I love mountain biking! That’s no secret to those who know me. The fresh air, challenging single-track trails, beautiful mountain and wooded landscapes, the challenge to better your abilities. I could go on and on and on! It may be because I grew up loving motorcycles and skiing–two similar, fringy type sports–that I am naturally drawn to MTB! I’ve only been at it for about a year, but I am irreversibly hooked!
But recently there has been a fork in the road situation that threatened to take the joy right out of it. And it’s a different kind of fork than you are probably suspecting. I’m not talking about this kind of fork… t it for about a year, but I am irreversibly hooked!
But recently there has been a fork in the road situation that threatened to take the joy right out of it. And it’s a different kind of fork than you are probably suspecting. I’m not talking about this kind of fork…
No, I’m actually talking about THIS kind of fork (pictured below)…
You see, I had have an awesome mountain bike with killer components–with one exception–the widow-maker, front suspension fork I have been riding on since day one. The manufacturer had to save somewhere I suppose–and they chose to cut costs with the fork. The original fork–a Rockshox Toro 2006–was cheep back then. Today it wouldn’t be good enough for Walmart! It would be the equivalent of putting VW suspension on your Cadillac SUV. The SUV would look sweet but the moment you tried to drive it over anything greater then a pebble in size, the cat would be out of the bag and you out on the pavement!
Which brings me to the point. I was spending waaaay more time face first on the MTB trails than on the bike and nearly all of these unintentional dismounts had to do with my squirrely front fork. Well no more! I’m not going to keep letting this little bit of leaven ruin the whole lump!
The other day I upgraded to a Rockshox Reba Race and I’m like a whole new man!
Made me wonder why I wasted so much time with what amounted to about 2% of the bike. It might have been small in the scheme of things, but it caused a lot of damage. And the more I tried to tweak it into compliance–the less cooperative it was!
We do this in churches too. Spend 98% of our time trying to please the vocal malcontents–those who will never be happy no matter what you do. All the while the 98% who are fired up are left to fend for themselves.
Listen pastor! That 98% is your army! Move out with the movers and stop tweaking the 2 percent into line. They don’t line up…ever. But they might line up somewhere else. So by endlessly going back and forth you actually waste their time AND yours.
So, when you come to a fork in the road and the paths ahead are blocked by the 2%ers–move on with the 98! If the other way is the right way, go right through the 2%ers. Don’t worry, they’ll move–no one will get hurt if you follow God’s lead. The 2%ers make a lot of noise. They are, after-all, the ‘squeaky wheels.’ However; when anything actually comes at them–they move. Their strength was in their posturing–any real danger and they run.
Oh, and there’s one more caveat to going with the 98%ers–excellence attracts excellence. Soon and very soon you’ll notice that the forks in your road lead to greater and greater opportunities for God!
So upgrade that fork and move on with the movers. You’ll be glad you did!
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