In 2008 I became convinced something was badly wrong with how we led people in the church. Very few were transformed personally and even less were having an impact in their world. We had succeeded in getting people more committed to God and the church. But now we spent most of our time encouraging them out of hopeless instead of equipping them for impact.
I knew the issues were with us, our message, and methods – not the people. But I could not see clearly enough to change things. Nevertheless, I was so convinced something better was possible, that I walked away from success and growing influence to find it. Most people thought I was crazy when I tried to explain what I was doing and why. Sort of like this:
Solving a problem no one recognized
At the beginning I was exhilarated by the new mission. Within a few years though, I felt like I was in prison, isolated, and alone. Churches and ministries grew and thrived while I sought solutions for problems no one recognized. Though I found my answers, I began wondering if change was possible if no one noticed what was wrong. Plus I still could not determine HOW to implement the answers I was finding. So I kept looking to solve that larger puzzle:
Then a few weeks ago, something changed. I wish I could explain it HOW it happened, but I cannot. All I know is that I woke up one morning and saw clearly how to initiate and implement our solutions. I have worked to solve this entire puzzle over the last decade. Over the past 9 months I have wrestled intensely for a clarity that proved elusive. This is me right now.
I wanted you to hear first because you have prayed, given financially, or encouraged us over the last few years. We just found the last piece of the puzzle I have been trying to solve. I feel like I have come alive again in ways I cannot fully describe.
My history in ministry has been that I always deliver on promises. Recently I have struggled to complete most projections and stumbled in awkward ways. The enigma is my uncommon wisdom and clarity for consulting clients and business partners while being unable to see for myself during this time. It really makes little sense.
A clear path forward
I am thrilled to inform you that we have a clear path forward to implement AND scale The RAINMAKER Project. We will be able to do this quicker, simpler, and in a more manageable way than I had imagined. We can also do it without violating ANY of our deeply held values. This was always non negotiable and caused some of our fits and starts in moving forward.
Over the last nine months, I started wondering if we could pull this off. Now our path is so clear and so clearly mapped out, I am shocked I could not see it before. As much as I hate passive sounding platitudes I would have to say, ‘the Lord has released us‘ to move forward. There is no other explanation I can find. We have grace to do this now, where we did not before.
Our focus is not creating a big splash or gaining quick attention. Our goals are helping people knowing God, become more like Him, and fulfill their life purpose practically. We want to help people onto a path of increasing impact and influence in our world that continues inter-generationally. As such our approach and methods may seem pretty ordinary when rolled out; that is by design.
This update is only sent to a few friends and though it resides on our website, it is hidden from public view. We had to create it here so the video portions worked. I thought you might enjoy the imagery from a great movie; it pretty much describes how I’ve felt over the past few years and now. BTW – you can click on the images and play the video clips with sound.
Stay tuned, we will be underway shortly, in a brand new way.
