Читать книгу Embrace - Rosario Picardo - Страница 3

by Dr. Charles Gutenson

So, you want to be a church planter, eh? Are you sure? As with so many things, church planting looks glamorous when observed from the outside looking in….at a successful church plant. But, from the inside looking out, not always so much. I recall a sermon delivered by then Dean of the Chapel, Jerry Mercer, at Asbury Theological Seminary. The text for the day was Ecclesiasticus (yes, otherwise known as the Wisdom of Sirach, one of the Apocryphal books), which reads:

My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal.

Serving the Lord is a right and good and wonderful thing, as is church planting, but both require preparing ourselves for an ordeal—an ordeal of self-sacrifice, surrender, and embrace of the very same priorities modeled by Jesus, ones that often seem strange in the 21st century.

Perhaps one of the biggest favors Rosario Picardo does for us in Embrace: A Church Plant that Broke all the Rules is to help us see both the challenge and the opportunity that church planting offers. He reminds us that we need to be cautious going in, because while all the “conventional wisdom” is invaluable, every church plant is different and the “conventional wisdom” has to be adjusted to fit the particular context. He shows us that persistence and the willingness to go back to the drawing board are essential. And, perhaps best of all, he helps us to see both the incredible joy and the inevitable heartbreaks that are part and parcel of the church planter’s life—particularly the inner city church planter.

In a delightful mix of personal testimony, theological reflection, and glimpses into his own ups and downs, Picardo provides an invaluable service to contemporary church planters and those who serve alongside them. As you will likely pick up from the reading, he is a 30 something bundle of energy who just doesn’t know how to quit. In the end, that infectious spirit comes through as the ideal supplement to his words of insight and wisdom. So, you want to be a church planter? Well, you would do well to review the lessons of this book, and then discern how they might be applied in your own context. Notice the subtitle: A Church Plant that Broke all the Rules, which serves as a subtle reminder that the “rules” of church planting are there more as guidelines than as absolutes, more as pointers than as destinations. Our prayer for you is that, in your own discernment process, the Holy Spirit will bring you the right teammates and guide your steps as a faith community. Church planting can be great fun…but, always be ready for the ordeal!