Mark Johnston

When Slower Isn't Better

The Journey is eight and a half years old.  In the middle of our existence so far, a little over four years ago, we began a process of change.

In our methodology.  In some of our theology.  In how we go about helping people find Jesus and follow him fully.

At first, I just ran pell-mell into the changes we were making.  They'd been marinating in my spirit so long that now that I finally felt free to express them I did so with abandon.  I don’t think it was reckless abandon; it was just bold, progressive application of what I could see clearly was our course forward.

Then I began to get advice.

Some people I respected encouraged me to slow down; to take my time.  When it came to most of our changes, they reassured me that they were good and healthy; but they urged me to move ahead one tiny budge at a time, until slowly, almost imperceptibly the vision could be realized. 

Four years later, I believe they were mistaken.

Maintenance of the status quo, the security of relative stagnancy, and a subversive approach to change that seeks to create it without anybody knowing it happened until it’s too late is a great model for aging denominations, ingrown churches with entrenched politicians jockeying for power, and other entities with a lot to lose.

But it may be a bad philosophy for a church planter.

I can honestly say I don’t regret doing anything too quickly over the past four years (I did some stuff that was wrong, but taking six more months wouldn’t have changed that – ministry is risky).  But I regret every single time I moved too slowly and vacillated on the vision.  To keep a few people happy.  To quiet my own fears.

And here’s the thing: I’ve come to believe it can be almost disingenuous to move too slowly.  If some of the people you're leading aren’t on board, and aren't ever going to be, you’ll have wasted years of their lives when they finally figure out what you’re up to.  Then, when they leave (and most of them will), you’ll be tempted to blame them for their “lack of vision” instead of yourself for beating around the bush.

If God has given you a vision of a new and better future and you know your heart will break if you don’t reach for it, why are you moving so slowly?

If you’re not quite sure you’re seeing it correctly yet, then by all means slow down and seek further instructions.  If the people in your core are open but struggling to grasp everything, then by all means slow down and make time for them to catch up.  But if you know it’s right and the people who matter are with you, then maybe you should speed up.

Someone once told me that the best way to move a piano from one side of the stage to the other in a church is one inch at a time.

That may hold true for pianos, but not for divine direction in a spiritual community teetering on the edge of either extinction or explosion like we were.  If that’s where you are, and you have direction from God, you’d better go for it.  Because slower isn’t always better.

The First Part

Sunday, I preached about “The First Part of My Income.” I encouraged everyone who gives out of resentment or guilt, begrudgingly, merely to meet the minimum requirements, or in an attempt to monetarily manipulate God to simply stop. 

God doesn’t need your money.

On the other hand, if we've had an experience with God, are grateful for what God has done for us, and trust God to continue to provide for us we should make at least a Jacob vow: “Of all that you give me I will give you a tenth” (see Jacob’s story in Genesis 28).

God wants to work through your money.

We think paycheck to paycheck; God thinks generation to generation.  We see immediate sacrifice; God sees long-term blessing.  We have a small pie mentality; God has a big pie perspective.  Jacob was running from his brother just trying to stay alive when he experienced God in Genesis 28.  He was living very much in the moment.  God told him, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.”  Big pie perspective.  And Jacob’s response?  “Of all that you give me I will give you a tenth. 

The first part of our income presented to God regularly is an expression of gratitude and trust.

We can argue about whether or not tithing is for today until we’re blue in the face (and most of the people I’ve encountered who insist that it’s not quickly become quite blue in the face).  But what we can’t argue with is the clear, clarion call of God to those who experience him – a call to be radically generous and selflessly committed to his purposes on the earth.  For me, that begins with a tithe.  How about you?

I give because I truly believe that everything I have belongs to God.   He has just entrusted it to me for a time.  The peace that comes from knowing that God is in control of EVERYTHING that happens to me is priceless… (SM)

The more I know God, the more my focus turns away from myself and toward God and what God is doing.  God’s heart and desire is to reconcile people to himself.  [Giving] partners with God’s plan, and I want to take part.  I’m not missing out by living small, but am making choices to live large following God all the way. (SL)

For us [giving is] just one of the steps of being a follower of Jesus. We have given… faithfully for over 14 years. He has blessed our family in so many ways – salvation, protection, healings, financial[ly]... We can't imagine not giving – it is a way of life for us.  "Put your money where your heart is." (C&PR)

I give because I was taught to as a child but as an adult I continue because God has been faithful. We have always been blessed to have enough even when it has seemed impossible. I continue to be surprised at the ways God continues to prosper us. (CT)

Send Me In, Coach

I’m not very athletic.  Okay, I’m not even slightly athletic.  Consequently, I didn’t have much of a chance growing up to interact with a coach.  (I tried out for the basketball team once, in seventh grade.  The coach was kind… but honest.) 

It wasn’t until much later that I began to understand the role of coaching in areas of life other than sports; and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to realize the explosive value coaching can bring.

Like you, I’m sure, I have some degree of talent – but I’m not even close to the top of the pile.  And along with my average abilities I also bring lots of naiveté, insecurity, bad habits, wrong attitudes, and ineffective tendencies to the table.  Coaching has helped me tackle (*gratuitous sports reference) all of these: systematically and much more effectively than I could have on my own.

Here’s what I’m learning about coaching:

• A coach doesn’t have to be an all-star player.  On any great sports team, most of the players can out-run, out-tackle, out-hit, or out-pitch their coach.  A coach isn’t just someone who’s great at the game, it’s someone who’s great at pointing out where you are great (and not so great) at the game.  The best coaches are people who blend analysis, encouragement, and discipline into every interaction in a way that leaves you informed, motivated, and determined to change.  When you’re looking for a coach, don’t just pick the person with the biggest successes; pick someone with admirable successes and a proven ability to train others.  You’re not choosing a coach you can brag about to your friends, but someone who can help you grow.
• The best coaches have a niche.  That’s why you’ll usually need several.  I asked one of my pastoral coaches once, “So, what are you doing to grow spiritually?”  His response?  “Probably the same things you’re doing.”  He’s still a great coach for church leadership, but I needed to look somewhere else for the specific spiritual growth stuff I was craving in that moment.  There’s nothing wrong with that!  If you play football and basketball, you probably won’t have the same coach for both (unless your school has some serious budget problems.)  Chances are good that no one person will be able to help you seek excellence in every area at once.  One of my goals this year is to find a parenting coach.  Don’t just seek out a coach, seek out coaches.
• Coaching only reaches maximum effectiveness when it’s paid forward.  I’ve experienced coaching for a few years now, but it’s only over the past several months that I’ve started coaching others.  I’m hugely humbled by the opportunity to spend monthly intentional time with a handful of people who are seeking insight, accountability, and support as they pursue leadership and ministry.  There’s something potent about this, about closing the loop – it perpetuates the growth you’re experiencing.  Look for people you can download from; and then look for people you can upload to.  It will take coaching to a whole new level for you.

I’m not good enough and I don’t have long enough to accomplish everything God has called me to accomplish.  That’s why I need coaching.  How about you?

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (I Timothy 4:8 – NLT).

All Means All

Not long before he flicked on his jet pack and ascended to heaven, Jesus told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go… (Matthew 28:18,19).

Jesus has all authority.

We so easily fall into the trap of approaching our lives as if Jesus has ever fluctuating levels of authority.

Jesus didn’t get an A on his entrance exam to divinity, answering all the questions correctly except one or two.  He’s not 97% cacao, 2% milk, or heavyweight champion until someone stronger comes along.

He has all authority.

His all-encompassing authority isn’t tied to how we’re feeling or what’s happening around us or what’s being done to us.  He doesn’t increase in supremacy when we get good news and shrink in it when the news is bad.  He has all authority.

It’s not reduced by our emotions.  Our circumstances.  Our relationships.  The devil, the weather, the calendar, or the culture.  Not even our sin (If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness (I John 1:9 – emphasis mine)).

So if Jesus has all authority, why doesn’t everything easily line up with him?  What’s the wild card?

We are.

The realization and application of the authority of Christ in our lives hinges on our surrender to him; on our submission to the rule of God – the all authority of Jesus.

And it rides as well upon whether or not we’re doing and “going” what and where he’s called and commanded us to do and go.  Jesus said, “I have been given all authority… therefore, go and make disciples…”  It’s not that Christ’s authority doesn’t extend into the areas we enter outside of his calling to us; it’s just that he’s unlikely to continually exercise it for our good there.

So if you’re not doing God’s will, turn around.  And if you are doing God’s will, be encouraged.  That business you’re trying to start that you’ve committed to giving 10 or 20 or 30% of the profits from toward the cause of making disciples?  Jesus has all authority over it.  The church or ministry or team you lead with the goal of reaching people and making them disciples?  Jesus has all authority over it.  The degree you’re pursuing so you’ll be better equipped to make disciples in the marketplace?  You guessed it: all authority.

If you’ve been guilty as I have many times of diminishing the power of Jesus in your own mind, pray this prayer with me and recalibrate your life to his authority:

Jesus, “all” means “all.”  I’m sorry that I’ve tried to reduce your authority incrementally when I’ve been distracted and exponentially when I’ve been discouraged.  You don’t have 70% authority or 95% authority or even 99.9% authority: you have all authority.  Therefore, I will go do what you’ve told me to do and trust that you’re with me and will enable me.  And when I face difficult moments or seasons, I will know that they too lie under your all-encompassing authority – and will turn out for my good.  I submit to your all-encompassing, all-enabling authority over me and everything around me for the glory of God.