timmcollins.com

I wish I could send a letter to me. Specifically, to me where I was 3 years ago, when the transition started from the more-traditional First Baptist Church to the not-even-remotely-traditional RidgePoint Church. As I look back over the path we’ve traveled, there are some tough lessons I’ve learned that would’ve helped more if I’d known them sooner. If I could talk to the old me, here’s what I would say…

Insiders will always tell you what they want. Or what they need. Or what they think they need. Or what it’s going to take to reach them. They’ll talk to you about the music and the dress code and the lighting and the subject matter of sermons and how some (or all) of it doesn’t work for them. They’ll say it loud, and they’ll say it proud, and they’ll often be the only voice you hear. And because they’re often the loudest or only voice you hear, you’ll tend to give them a lot of attention.

But that’s where you’ll go wrong.

You see, the people you’re supposed to reach don’t really care about the church. That’s the point. They aren’t going to stop by your church on Sunday morning on their way to the lake to explain why they aren’t staying. They aren’t going to email you to tell you the things you could change to make them more interested in coming. They aren’t going to give a voice to all the things you need to do differently to reach the unchurched. But their voice is EXACTLY the one you should be listening to.

That’s the problem. The voices you hear aren’t most important, and the one you need to hear isn’t speaking. So what’s the solution? YOU. You speak for them. You be their voice. You be the champion that fights on their behalf.

It won’t be popular. And it won’t be fun. And it won’t win you a whole lot of friends.

But it’s the right thing to do. And it’s what God told you to do. And it’s what Jesus said he would do.

Remember that whole “leave the 99 sheep to go after the 1″ thing? How do you think those 99 felt about it? I’m guessing they didn’t like it very much, and probably spent a lot of time bleating and complaining.

But the shepherd didn’t care because what he was doing was right. It’s not a popularity contest, it’s leadership.

Do the right thing. Let the chips fall where they may. And in the end, what matters most isn’t who is still your friend or how popular you are. It’s whether or not you were faithful.