The Power of the Whine
Mar/05/2010 07:07
One great thing about the internet is the instant collaboration and commenting that takes place except when what you say (write) comes out so fast that you can't take it back.
Yesterday Bill Streger posted a very intriguing blog post asking tough, critical questions of Acts 29 and the types of church planters they were recruiting. Bill is an Acts 29 planter, so he's an insider with insight that you and I don't have. His main contention with Acts 29 was that the recruits he was interviewing were all the same. In his words, “they all sound the same.” Apparently, they looked the same, talked the same, developed the same plans of action, and were all trying to reach the same hip, urban, sophisticated crowd. I thought his post was great and his point “that uncool people need Jesus too” was worth considering. So I commented...
Have you ever had that moment where you wish you could immediately hit unsend? As I was reading my comments right after I posted them, I wished I could’ve hit unsend. It wasn't the content of my comment but rather the tone of the comment. I sounded like a spoilt 11 year old girl.
The reason why I'm posting this here is two fold:
1) be careful not only of what you write on other people's blogs but how you write it. I think I gave the foreign mission crowd a black eye amongst the urban church planters by sniveling my way through that comment.
2) try to make your point when and where it will be heard. There's nothing wrong with my comment per-se. It's true. Why is it that if I wanted to plant somewhere in N.America I would have a $50,000 salary to do so today? Why are most church planting/missional orgs/congregations funneling MILLIONS of dollars into American cities and doing the same type of ministry as everyone else? Why do urban American church planters get money thrown at them but those of us wanting to plant and grow churches on foreign soil have to grovel on hands and knees? Not sure. But, having that kind of discussion is appropriate here, not on a blog post about Acts 29.
So here it is, the apology and warning. I’m sorry for sounding like a spoiled girl scout and next time I’ll be more careful with what I say or write.
Yesterday Bill Streger posted a very intriguing blog post asking tough, critical questions of Acts 29 and the types of church planters they were recruiting. Bill is an Acts 29 planter, so he's an insider with insight that you and I don't have. His main contention with Acts 29 was that the recruits he was interviewing were all the same. In his words, “they all sound the same.” Apparently, they looked the same, talked the same, developed the same plans of action, and were all trying to reach the same hip, urban, sophisticated crowd. I thought his post was great and his point “that uncool people need Jesus too” was worth considering. So I commented...
Have you ever had that moment where you wish you could immediately hit unsend? As I was reading my comments right after I posted them, I wished I could’ve hit unsend. It wasn't the content of my comment but rather the tone of the comment. I sounded like a spoilt 11 year old girl.
"My wife and I have been working in Europe and concerned for Europe for the past 8 years. We’re moving back to Europe (to Portugal) in May which only has .08% born-again population according to the last sociology census. The sad/ironic thing is that we’re trying to scrape money together for our project and at the same time have been told that if we were considering planting in Las Vegas or Salt Lake that we would have an all expenses paid church planting career if we wanted it. I know a group that is pouring over 1 MILLION dollars into this project alone. There are more Christians in Mormon Salt Lake than in the entire country of Portugal and we can’t get $2000/month in support.
Am I missing something?"
The reason why I'm posting this here is two fold:
1) be careful not only of what you write on other people's blogs but how you write it. I think I gave the foreign mission crowd a black eye amongst the urban church planters by sniveling my way through that comment.
2) try to make your point when and where it will be heard. There's nothing wrong with my comment per-se. It's true. Why is it that if I wanted to plant somewhere in N.America I would have a $50,000 salary to do so today? Why are most church planting/missional orgs/congregations funneling MILLIONS of dollars into American cities and doing the same type of ministry as everyone else? Why do urban American church planters get money thrown at them but those of us wanting to plant and grow churches on foreign soil have to grovel on hands and knees? Not sure. But, having that kind of discussion is appropriate here, not on a blog post about Acts 29.
So here it is, the apology and warning. I’m sorry for sounding like a spoiled girl scout and next time I’ll be more careful with what I say or write.
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