It’s Saturday morning.
Not any ordinary Saturday morning.
www.lovestoke.orgvolunteers are out painting school toilets & litter picking around the same school in the Trentham area of our city. Trentham is a southern suburb that is affluent; professional; middle class; and desperately disenfranchised from our city. It has been reported that Trentham wants to go it alone and leave the city boundary.
This is no ordinary Saturday morning because tomorrow we (BCC) plant our second congregation in the school mentioned above in the heart of Trentham. This is no ordinary morning because 20 months ago we embarked on a journey to build an extraordinary, new breed of church in my home city. This last month has seen the realisation of this with continued growth, development of leaders, recording of a live album, establishing several campuses across the city & now our second congregation.
‘Burbs Family is specifically designed congregation with 21st century suburban family life in mind.
BCC is fast maturing into a next level church, some might say, a premiership church. All I know is that I am not the same person who arrived back in Stoke on Trent 20 months ago.
When I say, ‘not the same’ person, I am but, I’m not.
I have become so consumed with Jesus & building great church that some of the stuff that runs alongside I really have no time for. I am very much in the ‘Jehu season’ of life where I am SO focused on fulfilling the stuff that Jesus is interested in that much of the ‘other stuff’ that possibly other churches, even pastors do, I have no interest.
I’m kind of living the ‘no frills’ leadership which, to the consumerist christian, would really be too abrasive to cope with as it demands a ‘no frills’ demand & challenge to cast all religious nonsense off and get down to the real business of pursuing Christ & His great commission.
‘Burbs Family is not ‘another’ congregation.
If you want comfortable, don’t bother.
If you want to make a difference, bother.
I live in Trentham.
I bother that people feel disenfranchised with the rest of the city. I bother that when the facade of prosperity is stripped away there may be huge houses but not many homes. I bother that there is a large percentage of people in Trentham that used to walk well with Jesus & now don’t. I bother that a greater percentage of Trentham may seem to have much but how will that help them in eternity?
Tomorrow I’m involved in planting a congregation in the heart of Trentham.
Why?
Simply because I feel like it.
Because I bother.
How you feeling?
What you doing tomorrow?