a story of real heroes

When talking about the concept of church planting with observers, I am often asked either "What excites you the most about planting a new church?" or its alter ego "What frightens you the most about planting a new church?".  In the quieter moments of this journey, like enjoying a caramel latte at my remote office, I realize that the answer is quite the same.  What both excites me and terrifies me is that, somewhere in the future, in part because of my participation in its conception, a life giving community of people who lead and live and love as Jesus did will exist where one didn't before.  Prior to this neighborhood, I was privileged to spend more than 13 years in a community that has experienced over 100 years of life giving and life changing influence in their own neighborhood... and it all began as a few people who felt a call to a new and growing neighborhood across the water. 
So this is all exciting to me, probably more so having experienced all that has occurred in that immediate context as well as literally worldwide.  To think that, because of a "mustard seed" beginning, years and lives down the road, a light to the community and the world, bearing witness to a life giving faith in Jesus who calls us to this, will be shining brightly because we said yes, both encourages and scares the hell out of me. 
It would all, most likely, be overwhelming and I'd want to walk away from it all if it weren't for the real heroes of the story.  As someone who thinks that Gods character is, has always been, and always will be unchanging, I think that his methods of working through and leading people has not changed either.  The names are changed and certainly the times and cultures, but the realities have not.  What I mean is simply this ... certainly God lays a plan before individuals ... insert Noah, Abraham, etc here.  This is true and is seen throughout the stories in the Book of Books, but what about those who followed those that are traditionally seen as heroes of the faith?  What about Mrs Noah?  What about the sons of Noah and their families who obviously did the bulk of the work without the benefit of a personal conversation with God?  In my opinion, those are the real heroes.  They were the original first responders that we talk about so often in our context.  They were the ones who sacrificed time, resources and reputations to run towards the challenge instead of going to the "safe spot".  All on the impression of another who thought that God was leading.  In case you were wondering...this still happens today in the form of church planting.   We may not be building boats, although my new neighborhood is home to the "Center for Wooden Boats" ... ironic???.  We are building refuge from the storm, if you'll forgive my reaching for metaphors.
Once again, the real heroes are those who have gone to this place with me.  First and foremost is most definitely my wife, a real time, real life, more beautiful version of Mrs Noah.  She is the one with the most to lose in this were it not really God's lead.  Fortunately, soon after my own wrestling's with God's lead, she is open to her own.  She's even pretty good with a hammer.  Other first responding heroes are those of my "core team" who, for whatever reasons, have followed into the unknown and grabbed on to the dream.  They have risked resources and reputations to help in the construction with something, not unlike the ark, that no one has ever seen before.  Its not that this neighborhood has never seen a church ... they've never seen "Common Table". 
So what about the rest of the story?  We know that in Noah's case, no one else participated in it.  I'm pretty sure, having dealt with volunteers throughout my years as a pastoral artist, that the work would have been much lighter, had anyone else jumped in...had anyone else been willing to risk resources and reputation to see it through.  I've heard that the process of church planting should be seen as a spiritual opportunity, not only for those actually doing it, but also for those willing to jump into it with the eyes to see it that way.  Everyone who reads this has an opportunity to be a hero...to be a first responder...to see participation in it as life giving, not just for the moment but for generations to come.  The heavy lifting of building a life saving and life giving entity is a spiritual opportunity that relatively few will ever be brave enough to run towards.  It falls on the real heroes ... those willing to risk resources and reputations to see it through until its afloat.  I am fortunate enough to know this first hand as my wife and I have had a hand, from a distance, in a number of new churches across the country.  My story has been part of theirs and my part, small that it might have seemed, has helped these to become realities where once they had only been dreams. 
The most responsible thing that I could do is invite all who read this to consider being a hero in this neighborhood, to people you may never meet, but who will be forever changed because something that wasn't before, is now, and will be for generations to come.  Resources are certainly a big part of the reality here and how you allocate yours is undeniably a spiritual practice.  You can consider the opportunity to be a hero in Seattle with your resources and/or you can contact me to put us into your prayer life.  I'm not sure where your life is at in this moment of God's story, but I do know that, while risky, being a hero is a great deal more fulfilling than being a spectator.  To all of the heroes out there, I salute you.... thank you for risking.  And right on cue, it's beginning to rain.