Embrace the Supernatural - Just Walk North

One day, God said to Phillip, "Start walking south."  That's it.  Just walk.  And Phillip did it.  He had no idea what the plan was.  He had no concept of what God had in mind other than to walk.  So he walked. 

Phillip was completely unaware that a super important dude from Africa would be on that same road at that same time.  He had no idea that very dude would be reading from the Hebrew scriptures at that very moment.  He had no clue that the chess pieces were being put into place for the message of the Gospel to be spread to Ethiopia.  Here's what he knew: Walk south.

Sometimes I picture God like he's playing a board game... Just the right people at just the right places at just the right time, creating wonderfully crazy experiences.  I start thinking about everything that had to go just right for Phillip to walk up alongside that specific chariot at that perfect place in time, and I remember that God sees it all.  He doesn't just see all that's happening.  He sees how it's all connected and how one happening changes another and how all of it moves us along towards some greater end.  And here's the best part: He can be trusted with it all.

When Mandy and I said that we would take this step of faith into Janesville, I kind of felt like Phillip.  Start walking south. (except that Janesville is north, but you get the point)  Just walk...north.  You don't need to see all of the pieces I'm putting into place.  You don't need to know that I've been working on hearts of people in Janesville for exactly this purpose.  You don't need to understand every part of my plan.  Just walk.  So we walked.

Slowly but surely, God keeps moving more and more pieces into place.  My friend, Shawn, is principal at Lincoln Elementary in Janesville, and he and his wife are just as sold out to redefining the relationship between a church and a school as Mandy and I are.  The school district tells us that we can have our pick of school facilities for a fraction of what we would spend on anything else.  Over 100 people show up at our first meeting in the midst of a snowstorm, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to bring their friends and family to Jesus. 

Every time another piece falls into place, I start to think, "There it is.  That's why God told us to walk north."  But then another piece falls into place.  And another.  And I'm learning that no matter how much I want to understand the entirety of the plan, if we just keep walking and trusting, it will unfold in ways that we never could have imagined.

Sunday night at Parker High School, we had our second meeting, and we talked about how important it is to remember that we aren't creating an institution.  We're not starting something with our best efforts and smartest plans.  We're hoping to be a part of a supernatural move of God, and while we have got to be willing to put plans and systems and organization in place, we should only do it in response to the supernatural movement and leading of the Holy Spirit.  So we prayed.  We sang.  We shared our stories.  We prayed some more.  Because the most important thing that might happen in the lead-up to launch isn't our planning or our marketing.  It's our complete and utter dependence on a supernatural move of God. 

I'd always rather we wait on the Lord and then play catch-up than make our own plans and ask him to bless them.  Look at what he's already doing.  We have over 70 people who've committed to being on the Launch Team, and we don't even know where we're going yet.  Double that are already interested in being a part of the ministry in some other way.  We've got people interested in running Kidzworks, Guest Services, Prayer, Administration, and Community Service Teams.

None of this has been in the plan so soon, but God has been moving the pieces into place in his timing, and we're just going to do our best to keep up.  So keep praying.  It's the only real part we play in calling down his supernatural power to be at work in our church and in all of Janesville.  We pray and we walk.  North.