An article I wrote for a denomination newsletter.

My father was in the Navy for 29 years. This meant frequent and sometimes long deployments where he could not be around very much. I didn’t have as much time with my father as other kids my age did but I also valued the time and the things he taught me more than other kids my age. When I was thirteen my dad came home with a small slip of paper that had a quote on it from a book he was reading. Dad told me that he wanted me to have the quote and he encouraged me to live by the words it contained.

Over the years I kept the paper in my wallet and would come across it at oddly appropriate times. Finally the paper became so worn I had to remove it from my wallet, hoping to salvage it in a keepsake box but realizing it would never make it I threw it away. It didn’t matter though. The words that the unevenly cut piece of paper contained had long been imprinted on my mind and had worked their way into my heart and often pervaded my thinking.

The quote has many variations but this is the one my father gave me: Far better is it to dare mighty things to win glorious triumphs and suffer much defeat than to live in the grey twilight where one does not suffer much nor enjoy much.

It’s better to go for something big, something impacting, and possibly (or even likely) fail than to play it safe. Because when you play it safe you may never have to suffer the agony of defeat but neither will you ever enjoy the exhilaration of victory.

Reggie McNeal states in his book The Present Future that just 4% of those born after 1976 consider themselves born again. I have quoted this statistic several times when speaking about church planting and have even heard it quoted from other’s pulpits. I was in conversation with a church worker a few weeks ago and he quoted me this statistic and I just smiled. I wondered if he even knew the source of the statistic, coming from Thom Rainer but quoted by Reggie McNeal. Regardless of the source or even its accuracy I have never heard this number argued.

A quick glance at the previous generations: Busters (born between 1965-1976) and Boomers (born between 1946-1965) claim 15% and 35% born again respectively. At this rate the children of the current generation will claim less than 1% born again! To some of us this statistic has become trite or perhaps so overbearing it’s less painful if we just ignore it. What’s much harder to ignore is when you see your children leave the church as they read adulthood, which is what we have seen and will continue to see unless something changes. I have never encountered a more fitting time to be called to action to “dare mighty things”.

This solution is not programmatic but quite pragmatic and likely will be problematic- but worth every effort. It is a mindset that must pervade our thinking if we hope to see the gospel of Jesus Christ thrive.

Jesus never promised his disciples an easy life instead he told them to leave and take no money. He warned them that people would reject them and not give them shelter. He called them sheep with no protector. He warned them that they would be flogged and hated for what they represented. He said that who ever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will find it.

Maybe Jesus was just painting a worst-case scenario? Maybe not! Just read the book of Acts, it appears he was right about all of those things. Jesus was possibly the worst motivational speaker ever! He broke all the rules of discipleship and all the rules of rallying people to his cause yet he began the most successful movement in history with a handful of underdogs and saying things that were hard to hear.

Church has become a very comfortable thing for all of us ranging from paid staff to infrequent visitors. We are far removed from the days of dangerous Christianity, the Christianity that Jesus inspired and warned about to his first followers. We seldom blaze new paths or even try things that could possibly fail. We try so hard to minimize failure that we also eliminate any chance of success.

The call to church planting was incredibly frightening for Heather and I. It is easily something that could grip me with fear if I let it because the reality of the situation is that we might FAIL. Fortunately when we were faced with the decision to pursue a dangerous ministry God gave us the courage to go for it. Regularly I remember those warnings of Christ in Matthew 10 and I remember the quote my father gave me- the two go so well together!

Here we are in Suffolk not certain of success but certain that God delights in people willing to be adventurous to expand his kingdom. Let me encourage you to remember or perhaps discover for the first time the adventurous lifestyle you were called to when you signed on as a follower of Jesus Christ. Adventure is not just for church planters but for all followers of Christ. There is nothing safe in following Jesus Christ but there is much victory to be gained for those willing to step out and ask God for the victories while embracing and not fearing failure.