Rebellious Trust.

There are 2 kinds of Christian leaders. The ones meant to inspire us and the ones meant to guide us. The inspiring ones are the missionaries, the urban ministers, the guy who sold all his stuff to go build orphanages in Russia. The quiet assumption seems to be that these guys serve a concrete purpose when we publish their stories or put them in our pulpits: inspire people… but not too much! Most pastors don’t want their people quitting their jobs and hitch-hiking to Mexico to bless the poor. Keep your job. Serve at our food pantry instead.

The leaders meant to guide us can be church growth consultants, that latest book on leadership, the church council with more common sense than Spirit sensitivity. (After all, who wants a bunch of intuiting, emotional holy rollers making important decisions for a whole group of people?)

Now I love those people: the Dave Ramseys of the world that don’t mince words or hyper-spiritualize every decision. They challenge the dreamers and thrill-seekers in a healthy way. But there’s a double standard here. Let the radicals inspire you and increase your “buy in”. But let the middle-of-the-roaders guide your daily decision-making. The maxim here seems to be “God blesses those who act sensibly.” That’s in the bible right?

But I feel in my heart and in the heartbeat of my generation a quiet rebellion against these moderating norms. In the church today, a growing movement of restless hearts of all ages is calling the bluff of the Evangelical middle class. We are taking their faith heroes. And we are making them our day-to-day heroes. We are opting for purpose over glitz. We have seen the evil of too much. We are the Occupy Generation.

We are angsty, immature, and rebellious. And we won’t listen to timid pastors or the clerical bourgeoisie. We are looking for humble radicals with settled hearts and fearless belief to BOTH inspire AND guide us. We seek courageous souls who simplify their faith and take Jesus at his word. Rich or poor. Young or old. It doesn’t matter. Our souls are parched and yearning for authenticity, integrity, and hilarious trust. Who will lead us? Only those with the courage to practice what they preach.

Bill Ringold will lead us. Over 85 years old, he invited Debra and I to coffee to seek our input on how our church can become radically missional. He said, “I don’t have many years left on this earth to serve the Lord and make an impact. So I can’t waste my time.” Yesterday he had a cornea transplant but said, “if you want to meet up next week, I won’t let a little thing like surgery stop me. I’ll just come looking like a pirate!”

Steve Nicholson will lead us. I stood there sharing a painful experience with him in the lobby one Sunday morning while dozens of people vied for his attention. I kept apologizing for taking his time. He smiled and said, “are you kidding me? This is why I’m here!” He took me to Houston and encouraged me listen to the Holy Spirit and prophesy over a room full of people. But he went first. He taught people how to pray for the sick. But many Sundays, there HE was, praying for the sick.

Mike Lotzer will lead us. He got convicted by his own sermon series on social justice. So he sold his house and downsized.

Ben Swanson will lead us. He said, “The first year I pastored here, we just gave tons of money away just because we felt like it. We figured, “the church will probably die anyway. We might as well go out with a bang. Then the church started to grow and I woke up one morning and thought, ‘gosh. I hope I don’t wreck this thing…’ and I realized I’d become way too attached to the ministry. It was like, ‘my precioussss!”

I could go on and on. These men are radically flawed. But there is an otherworldly quality about them. That’s what I’m after: people who do stuff that makes no sense unless there is life beyond this one, and hope that can trump self-interest. These are the courageous hearts than can shepherd our generation.

It is yet one more reminder that my time is better spent following Jesus than teaching others to follow Jesus. It’s better for me to look at my heart than to look at my strategy. Yes. Even in the day-to-day.

We bought a house yesterday. God told us to move there next week and He's clearly arranged the timing with hilarious perfection. But excitement quickly gave way to anxiety as I crunched the numbers and realized that I don't have enough notches on my belt to tighten it that far! I literally have no clue how this is going to work. But we're committed to moving and I'm committed to WDA. Not because it makes sense but because I have 0% doubt that God spoke 3 years ago and has been speaking ever since about it. 

Debra turned to me with a twinkle in her eye yesterday and said, "It's going to be an adventure. And I'm excited to have this adventure with you." So here we go! 42% funding and a small trailer of furniture moving to an somewhat unappealing southern town for a life we know very little about. It's so silly in fact that it makes me laugh. 

But I'm dead serious. It's time to practice the trust I preach with the zany confidence that God will come through. Even if it's not the way we thought, we both feel certain that God will come through.