reset

Like most kids, I loved video games growing up. I remember my first experience at my neighbor’s house on his phenomenal, newfangled machine called a Comodor 64. WOW! Then came the Atari with the amazing graphics and sounds of Pitfall. Finally, one company rose to the top of the video game pile and accepted the nerd challenge. They created the system to beat all systems: Nintendo! The original was a thing of beauty. Mario, Mario 2, Mario 3, Mario 89… Ahhh, memories.

That wonderful contraption had two huge buttons on it. One was “power” and the other was “reset.” If you (not me, of course) were doing poorly on a game, the reset button was your (not my, of course) saving grace. Simply hit that button and start over again. Some people (not me, of course) needed that advantage badly. It was a clean slate. Fresh. Brand new. And, as an added bonus, you had the knowledge of what you did and how you played before the reset button was hit! It was phenomenal. Sometimes I wonder if this whole church planting experience is a spiritual reset.

In some ways, the thought of a brand new church energizes me. We get to start over! Fresh. Brand new. We don’t have all the hang-ups of an established church in a religious culture. We have an opportunity to build something truly healthy and truly beautiful from the ground up! And, as an added bonus, we have the knowledge of what goes on in tons of other churches across the country!

In some ways, the thought of a brand new church paralyzes me. We have to start over! Fresh. Brand new. There’s no established people to work with, tradition to lean upon or culture to learn from. It’s all on our shoulders to build something from the ground up. And, as an added "bonus," everyone is watching and waiting. We don’t know how to do this! Where do we go now?! Where should we invest our time and energy?! What does a truly healthy church even look like?!

For several months now, God has been challenging and teaching me to view our circumstances through a different lens. At moments like this, I must admit, my perspective is predominantly negative. The challenge is to see it from a positive angle, through eyes of faith. "I get to reset" instead of "I have to reset." Maybe this is a blessing and not a curse. Maybe it's best to go slow and be intimate. Once again, perhaps God doesn’t want me to necessarily do anything for Him, but to just be here with Him.

I don’t know why this is so unbelievably hard for me, but it is. I've struggled with it my entire life. But lately it's different. I feel like God has stripped me down to nothing, reset me, as a person, and is now building me back up brand new, healthier and more Godly. I'm learning to trust Him completely, in every situation, with every issue. I'm learning how to push through the fear and ignore the lies. I'm learning that He really does know better than I do. Isn't that something?! Before God could plant a new church through me, He had to replant me!

It's a new year. 2008 is gone and 2009 is here. Even our President-elect is promising newness, change, a reset. Whether our circumstances don't change all that much, or if the situation is altered dramatically, maybe a reset is still possible. Maybe this year we can reset our minds, reset our hearts, reset our attitudes. Maybe we can gain a new, healthy, Godly perspective. Maybe...