I wrote this to our A29 Network recently and it served to encourage and challenge us, so I thought I'd post it here as well. I hope it serves to encourage and exhort you also...
To My A29 Family,
I have been meeting with leaders of denominations, church planting boards and many other organizational leaders lately, sharing with them why I believe they should partner with Acts 29. Regularly they ask me, “What’s so great about A29? Why are so many young men joining?”
There are many things that are great about Acts 29 – Our strong emphasis on Christ-centered Theology; the assessment process that Tyler Powell navigates for us; Scott Thomas and the Admin teams’ tireless work and care for so many; Mark Driscoll's charm and good looks…the list goes on and on.
But the thing that I continue to emphasize over and over is that there is a brotherhood who deeply loves Jesus we have together that is rare in the church. I’ve heard many of you say the same thing. This past season has been an incredibly difficult one for many of us. I think I’ve cried and prayed for more men and women, including myself, this year than any since we started. It probably will not get easier as Mark aptly encouraged us to see this season as the new normal. Yet, in the midst of this season, I have observed our men engage in extraordinary prayer, Gospel-centered encouragement, Godly Biblical exhortation and Selfless servanthood, showing yourselves to be Jesus’ men and women. Though being a theologically strong network is imperative, working out our theology in real life with genuine love for one another is the evidence of what we believe and who we belong to.
With that said, I want to remind you of some things…
In our church, I often find myself reminding those who might struggle with the direction of Soma or with the thought that certain kinds of ministry or service could be done better in our community, by reminding them that THEY are the church – the church isn’t just the elders who oversee and lead – it’s the people of God saved by Him for His purposes. I usually encourage them to get busy with the work God is leading them to do by his Spirit and not displace frustration or responsibility for that onto a group of leaders.
Sometimes as leaders in a network, we can slip into the same kind of thinking. We can start to believe that Acts 29 is really Mark Driscoll, Scott Thomas, the Admin team or the Board. Then, if we get frustrated with one of the above and how some decisions or actions are taken, we often get "stuck" in the us and them mindset - speaking of Acts 29 as something other than ourselves.
The thing I want to remind all of you about is this: YOU are Acts 29. Acts 29 isn’t just one or two men, a board, an administrative office…Acts 29 is the men who are working out the Gospel in the everyday stuff of life through church planting and serving our brothers and sisters in the ways we have been experiencing. Mark, Scott, the administrative office and the board are here to serve you in the work you’re doing on the ground – and you are doing it! Don’t let the enemy deceive you into believing that position or popularity has more significant power than the Gospel worked out in the everyday stuff of life.
I am regularly encouraged by all of your work and gracious acts of service to each other as I observe in my travels how God in his grace is using you to build up this network and his church. This network is really being built and led on the ground by God’s grace through you.
So, I find myself today thanking God for giving me the privilege of serving some of the best leaders in the church. I thank him for your leadership and your passion for the Gospel. I praise him for doing a work in each of you that is overflowing to the many in our world. I am humbled that I get to serve with you.
And, I exhort you to continue on in the grace of the Gospel, serving and leading with humility and patience, bearing with one another in love, being alert because the enemy hates it when we make much of Jesus and little of ourselves and he is going to try and destroy what we have. Don’t be concerned about position or power, the world longs for these things. We don’t need them because we are already seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Serve him faithfully where he has you and be content knowing that Jesus can be exalted through us through big or small platforms, pleasant times and pain, “success” or failure…let him choose how he wants to be glorified in you and embrace it fully for his fame’s sake!
I love you men and your families and I pray that we will serve more joyfully and suffer together more graciously this next year than ever before.
And don’t let what is so great about Acts 29 ever be any of us – it is Jesus and the way he is loving his church through each of you.
Enjoy Jesus and His Grace More this Season!
Jeff
