Question: Are there challenges in shepherding a church?
Answered rhetorically in the form of another question: Has congress done an incredibly poor job in handling our debt-ceiling crisis?
The answer of course is yes. There are challenges in the church world. That’s simply what happens when any organization is established and run through the filter of relationships. When fallible humanity is involved it’s going to be messy at times.
Every season of our church planting experience with Orlando North Community Church seems to have had its own set of challenges. However, no matter what season we found ourselves in, one thing I have noticed is the way our tribe rallies around one another through thick and thin.
Church is family, not a facility or a business. Being part of Orlando North has opened my eyes to this reality. For a church our size we’ve experienced issues that would only be seen in a church much larger than ours simply because of the statistical probability of larger quantities. But nonetheless, here we are…people with real big issues…that need real big resolutions.
One of two things is true about our church that I can deduce because of the circumstances we’ve faced within the people of our tribe:
- We are cursed and trouble seems to follow us.
- God established this church as a hospital filled with people he could trust to take care of those who were hurting.
I am 100% convinced we are option #2. We are set up here relationally to take care of each other, and through these circumstances let the world see Christ in us. What brings me joy in my job is the fact that I get to be in a tribe with people who genuinely care for one another, and are also passionate about serving those who are not a part of our church community. Orlando North, you are unique. Don’t lose that.
- May we never become an institution.
- May our doors be open to the sick and the hopeless.
- May they find compassion, ministry, and hope when they encounter Jesus’s love in us.
- May we be known for our love and not our programs, facility, staff, or talent.
Rob
Rob, you’re truly a loving man of God and a great pastor. May your compassion continue to bless and oil the wounds of your Church and produce a wonderfully whole body for our Healer to present to His Father.