Obstacles, part 1

Mark Guinn | November 6, 2008

It seems a little bit insignificant on the day after an election, but Matt asked us to think a bit about the obstacles in our lives and ministries.  That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, being just two months now in a new country (Northern Ireland).  To keep in the spirit of the day - what is holding back “change we can believe in” here?

Personally, the biggest obstacles I face as a pastor are timidity - shrinking away from risk, particularly in conversation - and a lack of reliability and faithfulness to do what I say I’ll do and/or see something through to the end.  That would include both the usual “you e-mail me and don’t get a response for two weeks” as well as the less obvious “I get really excited about something for a few weeks and then move on to something else.” I’m coming to believe that there are SO many things I miss out on in the kingdom because I either don’t strike when the iron is hot or don’t see it through to the end.

Corporately, I think we dealt with the same issues in the church I was part of and then pastoring in Indianapolis. It’s hard to move forward when there’s about a 60% chance anyone who promises to do something is going to forget, get bored and quit, or just drop the ball (including yourself). I don’t know if it’s just a generational thing or what, but Biblically I think this faith thing only works well on the 10-year plan, not the 10-day plan.

In my new situation I would say there are some different dynamics. Personally, I’m finding one of the biggest obstacles is that I grew up as a church kid. I’m now really wishing I new how to throw a really good party and that I had ANY idea what to do at a dance club. Corporately, I think we face a lack of hope that things could be different (which is fair considering the history), as well as a LOT of baggage from well-meaning, under-loving, over-aggressive evangelism. There’s a sense that people feel like they know what Christianity is all about and they either like their version too much or don’t want anything to do with it.

That’s what I see right now. I’d love to hear what some of you other guys think.

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2 Responses to “Obstacles, part 1”

  1. Matt Conner

    I definitely believe the bar is set too low many times in the churches that we are in. If people don’t have to truly commit - in other words, if the mission isn’t truly dependent upon them - then we are subject to whims and emotions.

    I wonder if we set out to do things that placed us in a “must follow through” position, if we would see more things accomplished for the kingdom.
    Thoughts?

    November 6, 2008 at 9:06 pm

  2. Mark Guinn

    I think that’s true. I think it’s a costly thing to do, though, because you know that you’re going to have some train wrecks. Then there’s the haunting fact that I can’t take people farther than I’ve gone myself - so if I can’t be counted on we’re in trouble. Plus, it requires confrontation for it to work (i.e. you have to actually follow up with people if they drop the ball instead of just fixing everything yourself) and who likes that.

    But who knows, maybe if we did that people might actually grow in their faiths? That would be a novel idea.

    November 12, 2008 at 7:19 am

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