Ignorance is Good

August 2, 2017

There is freedom in not knowing what to do. When you haven’t a clue, the world is wide open. Add to that the fact that being retired from over forty years of ministry, I don’t have anything to prove and nothing to lose, I figure I can’t lose. So when I agreed to try to help out a struggling sister church, it is with an excitement I haven’t had in some time. Years ago, I was keenly sensitive to the numbers; the rise and fall of attendance, the state of our finances. Others could (and some did) come and go with impunity, but my whole life and livelihood was tied up in the church’s success. It was a weight I didn’t even realize I was carrying until that Sunday when the mantle was passed to my successor. I literally felt that weight of responsibility lift off my shoulders. 

Once upon a time, I thought I knew how to grow a church. Near disaster nearly fifteen years ago cured me of that fantasy. I can freely admit to the people that I don’t have the answers, which frees me to listen. Too often, leaders come into situations believing that they have superior knowledge or skills that are going to save the day. They have a Messiah complex, a Superman mentality. I’ve listened in pastors’ gatherings as the supposed leaders belittled and berated their congregations before other pastors. That’s not leadership; it’s no wonder so many churches are failing when so many pastors hold such attitudes.

I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never pastored a city church; I’ve never had to deal with language and cultural barriers. But I have dealt regularly with a God who is greater than anything this world has to offer. Jesus said the gates of hell cannot stand against the onslaught of the church. No matter what the circumstances say, the victory is assured. I have no wisdom of my own, so I have to trust in God’s. Fortunately, according to James 1:5, it’s available for the asking. I’m asking, and expecting. And because of God’s promise, I have hope, and for that I am thankful. And free.