GlocalNet

I’m grateful to be the pastor of NorthWood Church.  I’m often asked by people who know me well - how I’ve stayed at one church that I started for 25 years.  The answer is simple - it’s not been the same church - it’s been an evolving church.  It wasn’t a matter of starting the church, setting things in place, and then doing the same things in the same way again and again and again - it’s always been evolving and for me, it’s made it an adventure.  Some churches, large and small alike, if you visit them - they are so defined by when they started and how they did things in the beginning - it’s just as they grew they did the same things bigger and better or if they declined they did them worse and worse!  NorthWood has been a journey kind of place - on a clear path of Kingdom Transformation - but it’s taken us on paths we didn’t expect.  What has made it unique? 

First, I believe we haven’t tried to follow God in a linear way - but in a journey sort of adventure way.  Yesterday Nikki and I were talking about the concept of discipleship about how we get the idea that you do these 3 steps to prayer, or 10 steps to spiritual maturity and from getting mature then God uses you.  But, that really isn’t how God works.  Often it’s the youngest Christian, or even the weakest Christian, or the least likely Christian that God uses to do something incredible.  Why?  It’s about grace and not our ability.  All of the books on how to do church, and how to follow God - which are good and have many good things that we all need to learn from - can actually shortchange God’s ability to work based on me.  God is not obliged to do what he does based on me but based on him.  My daughter Jill said something very profound - she just received her degree in Social Work and has studied development a lot “Dad, we do what we do, not because we serve people, but because we serve God.  If I’m serving God then it isn’t up to me to decipher who’s worthy or who isn’t.  It isn’t someone’s circumstances, but my desire to serve God that makes me move - or it’s man centered and I am put in the position of determining who’s worthy and who’s not.”  Dang that girl could preach!  Someone yesterday was tweeting a book or article where I said, “We never planned a lot of what we do, God would speak, we would move, and crazy things would begin to happen.”  We have always been ready to follow God outside “our” box when he told us to - be it loving Vietnamese, the inner-city, Afghanistan, Jews & Muslims, or members serving gay people dying of AIDS. 

Second, we gave our people freedom to hear from God and do what he was calling them to.  Though we work in Vietnam and Mexico overseas - and Haltom City and Keller (our spot) - here - we have people that work around the world doing things on their own.  We believe as a body if we focus deliberately on a few places mobilizing all our people according to their passions and jobs we can impact a city - and we have.  At the same time, God is going to call some to do different things - and though as a body we may not do it - as individuals in the broader body of Christ we need to release people.  People that are waiting for church programs to help them fulfill their call - don’t get call.  We encourage people to hear God’s call and follow it.  That means they do what they do without a public push for volunteers or funds - but God is enough.  Money should never stop anything we do.  What we do as a body - Keller, Vietnam, Haltom City, Mexico - we do together not on our own.  What we do as individuals we still have prayer and encouragement. NorthWood has as many people doing things outside of the NorthWood focus as we do inside.  People who wait for the church to bless them and send them, need to remember that it is God that calls.  People who would use the church to extend “their own” agenda don’t need to forget Acts 5 - Ananias and Saphira - God won’t stand for that either.  There are some things God calls us to do as a body together - and there are some things that he calls us to do alone.  Moses as an individual had some specific things God called him to do - but it always related to the greater body.

Third, I believe in stretching so far it’s impossible to bring everyone on at first, so multiple little things along the way bring different people to different levels.  I had a young member who’s been at NorthWood 15 years - they told me they attended the Global Faith Forum out of obligation - but after the first session they cancelled the rest of their week so they could be there. They said it had a profound impact on them.  They’d heard me tell stories of these people and how we were now helping other pastors engage in other parts of the world - but when they saw them, heard them, visited with them - they “got it.”  It made me realize, they had just moved on a scale of 1 to 10 from a 4 to a 6 in terms of seeing the importance.  Now the next step will be for them to engage in some way - but for them, they had to “get their head out of the sand.”  I learn something and want to grab everyone real quick - I have to remember sometimes it takes time for people to come along.  They haven’t seen, experienced, read, or been with me when there was a lot of learning taking place.  I have to remember it takes time.  Change I was reading really doesn’t happen with one big event or a new idea that everyone jumps on - but with gradual small steps in the same direction. 

Fourth, I believe as the senior pastor I’ve had to be open which opens our people and our ministries.  Is there a better way to do it?  Is our paradigm right?  We’ve started 7 to 10 churches a year in the U.S. for the past 10 years - but Brian Hook came up with a different way that he wanted to pilot.  I didn’t like it at first - but we wound up with 30 churches this year we helped plant.  I like it a lot now!  We have a group in our church that are studying after-care for special needs adults out of high school.  They are doing it and not waiting on me or us or budgets or programs.  Those that always want the “church” to do it forget they are the church.  NorthWood has created an environment for entreprenural staff and members.  That’s a radically different mindset from churches that focus on keeping the tried and true, people managed and maintained, stay within the lines mindset, don’t change it attitudes.

Fifth, I believe we have always focused on the big picture - not just a big church.  I want our church to grow - I’d love to see it packed out 7 days a week twice a day!!!!!  Why not!!!!  But the kingdom is far bigger than any single local church.  Though well over 3,000 people consider NorthWood their church home, there are over 50,000 in different churches we started because we saw the whole city and not just our property as our focus.  We didn’t start engaging the world because we were big, rich, strong, and influential - we started in obedience to God when we were small - that drove us to work on our inner city work.  That has driven us to look at our own city from Revive to our youth and children’s ministry.  It has been the big picture of the Kingdom of God that keeps it all connected.  It has been the geography of a global word that’s been the basis of our playing field in how we work glocally.  It’s been the concept of the family that holds us together.  It’s been the love of all cultures that has caused us to engage the world deeply.  It’s been the Great Commission - the Mission of Jesus - calling his family together - that has caused us in a global era to work with gatekeepers from nations in everything from government, to other faiths, to business - you name it. 

Are there headaches with a church like this?  Daa - yeah.  But I wouldn’t trade them.  I walked into our church a couple of weeks ago - and saw the people in the worship service - but what struck me was - these people are here and we are defined not just by what’s on that stage - but by our influence in nations and domains of society.  Connecting with God’s bigger plan and purpose always ensures you a future.  Focusing just on your four walls - ensures you are driven not by God’s kingdom, but one you have created that is tied and driven by you or your staff or a few individuals.  God has something much bigger in store for all of us than our own little empires.  In a week I’ll be with some guys who have tens of thousands in their worship - but the largest worship venue any of them have is 1,000!  Their largeness isn’t just related to the numbers of people worshipping in multiple locations in global places - but in the masses they send to engage the whole of the city all over the world.  God give us visions far beyond our own “little” stuff to your massive kingdom so we can be a part of that which is eternal, global, and family.  When we do that - we will love all people, all places, in all ways, everyday starting at home and extending beyond.