God is unfair to me, again

So there are some things I gotta say. Because to not say them would be, well, grossly ungrateful.

Just got a comprehensive report on 2009. To my pleasant surprise, in a year when we had the privilege of sending out perhaps 10 times more people than ever before, our finances nevertheless still GREW by 9%!

Just to put this in perspective (and to brag on God a little more) we added up about $6000 (a month) in tithes that we sent out to church plants or sites. Yet our finances are about as good as or a little more than before! In addition, our attendance is better than ever, and God is sending us great leaders from all over the world (last week one came from Yerevan, Armenia!)

It does not make logical sense. Last year a very smart man sat in our finance team meeting, and reminded me how our plan is "not very well thought through, and doesn't make much sense. You will run out of money and lose people until you won't be able to sustain the "mother church" well enough to keep birthing daughter churches."

I will admit that sometimes I get anxious about the plan God has sent us on. It really is a Wild Goose Chase, to use Mark Batterson's imagery about following the Holy Spirit.

But either giving works, or it doesn't. I believe God is showing us that is does! All I know is this; this is not fair. God is not fair. He treats me much, much, better than I deserve.

ideas rumbling around in my brain

So today we kicked around some new Ministry School ideas. These may sound like slight adjustments, but we get excited about every little idea to get a few more people into their calling. Here's some outlines:

1. We are working on a partnership with Brian Bolt where our students would share some classes via video, and have internships available to them.

2. We are considering a new name City Reach Master's Commission. This new style would make a school available to any church that might want to partner with us to reach their city through discipling leaders and planting churches with dangerous, high-character, highly effective and visionary students. The name would personalize to the city; Gettysburg City Reach, Pittsburgh City Reach, Tulsa City Reach, for example.

3. There is a possibility of bringing Valley Forge Christian College students here for some classes to get them around the church planting spirit and infect them with passionate vision.

4. We are also hoping to develop a serious church planting school for students who wish to plant world, highly effective churches.