Confessions of a Church Planting Team Member

Diane, one of our Leadership Team members, recently published an article in Prince of Peace‘s newsletter about her experience in church planting so far.  I must say I’m very proud of the witness she gave…here’s the text reprinted…

DEAR FRIENDS IN CHRIST,

Like many people approaching middle age, I’m in self-evaluation mode. I’ve been reviewing my life, examining what I’ve done (not much) and what I’ve left undone (quite a bit). I’ve been reading my story and, frankly, I’m a little disappointed.

Donald Miller writes about this kind of reflection in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. Miller and two filmmakers were writing the screenplay from his book Blue Like Jazz when he realized that his life was actually rather boring. The natural progression of events didn’t make for a good movie, as one filmmaker explained:

“In a pure story,” he said like a professor, “there is purpose in every scene, in every line of dialogue. A movie is going somewhere.”

The last line rang in my ear like an accusation. I felt defensive, as though the scenes in my life weren’t going anywhere. I mean, I knew they weren’t going anywhere, but it didn’t seem okay for anybody else to say it.

Too often, the scenes in my life seem like a random search for answers to innocuous questions: When am I going to lose 15 pounds? When will I have enough money to buy a new camera? Will we ever finish painting the family room? If I’m committed to action, the answers can be good, but they do not make for a good story.

Miller imagines God as our Writer; we are the characters of His story. As I evaluated my life, I realized I had an amazing opportunity to commit to His story for me right now: a story about a new community of faith being created where there wasn’t one before in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. The story of a group of people who want to turn their fantastic experience with God and their home church into a similar experience for others. It’s a story of setting aside worldly desires and making the Savior’s greatest desire for us — Love one another as I have loved you — a number one priority.

It’s impossible to be a character in this kind of story without being transformed. There will be conflict. There will be joy. There are days when I feel completely unqualified to be a part of this endeavor. There are moments when it all seems like a lot of fumbling in the dark. But there’s a reason the Bible says “Do not fear” more than 200 times, says Miller: “The great stories go to those who don’t give in to fear.”

Thanks to God and the steady, patient guidance of Pastor Scott, the LITH mission is in the early stages of a very exciting story. In June we will have more clearly defined our vision; by September we hope to have a place for monthly worship, meetings, and Bible study. The story is developing, and it’s a lot more exhilarating than any story I’d write for myself.

Miller imagines God as he “writes the world, sitting over planets and placing tiny people in tiny wombs,”

If I have a hope, it’s that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically, into the story, and put us in with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say, Enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.

All praise and honor and glory (and creative license) to the Writer of our stories!

~ Diane Strzelecki

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