Our "new" home
As we began this grand experiment of starting a new church. Both my wife Michele and I, were reminded of the time that we bought our first new home. After several years of rentals, fixer-uppers, and "projects" we decided we must build a brand spankin' new home. We were willing to pay whatever price, suffer whatever discomfort, cut any red tape needed to make it happen. We were told it wasn't the right time (I had just started a business), we didn't have enough money, and we were not prepared...but we were still able to purchase exactly the home we had dreamed of.
Today we both feel the same way about our new "church home". As Mark Batterson often quotes Michelangelo: "It's time to criticize by creating". http://www.evotional.com/2006/04/why-we-go-to-movies.html So here goes... No more Fixer-upper churches. No more broken-down project churches. No more trying to fit into someone else's vision. (Or even more often, someone else's lack of vision) We are ready to pay the price, face the discomfort, endure the journey...we feel like it's worth it.
Please don't bother writing that "it's the 'Lord's house'-not yours"! I am aware of that fact and I still think it's a perfect analogy for us. Besides, after nearly 11 years in our "new" home we have increased it's size, made improvements, and constantly worked to maintain it. We still consider it to be the only place in the world we would want to live. Someday, I believe we will say the same about actionchurch.