Comfort Zone
Risk Worth Taking
You probably don’t know that I love the tv show “The Voice.” I fell in love with it because the people who get to be on the show are judged initially because of their voice. None of the judges can see them. To me that seems more fair then the other talent judging shows. The voice coaches seem to be telling the singers regularly to get out of their “comfort zone.” They push them to try things with their voices that they haven’t done before because taking those risks will pay off by getting them to the next round.
Lately, I have been doing a lot of things outside my comfort zone. Planting a new church has been extremely outside my comfort zone. Now I have been negotiating a commercial contract for lease space for us to grow in to. I have never done this before. Luckily, I am smart enough to know when I need help so my friend Allen (a contract lawyer) went over the contract with a fine tooth comb. I honestly worried that we, as a church, were not ready to expand. I laid awake at night trying to figure out how to pay for it. All the experts on church growth have told me we have to do this. We have to take the risk before we are ready so when people come to visit, we are prepared for them.
Sunday, I am asking you to go outside your comfort zone by having church in the park. We did this one other time and it was wonderful but this time will be a little different. People will be bringing their pets! It might be chaos but I hope we find the joy in that. I am asking you to talk to people you do not know and welcome them into community with us. I am asking you to love your neighbor. For many of you this is terrifying because you are just not wired that way. I get it. But I need you to take the risk. I promise it is worth taking. Because what we are creating as a community of grace and hope is a beautiful thing and people need it. Belonging to a healthy community that loves and supports each other is a need every person has. Having the love and hope that Jesus gives us for a better world and a better life is something that everyone needs. Please take the risk and get out of your comfort zone to welcome the stranger, love your neighbor and give God the glory for the fine things he is doing through us.
Matt 22:37-39 “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
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