Its All About People

Moving to Wisconsin and helping plant a church has been incredibly tough but also very rewarding.  I feel like I have learned a ton these past 16 months.  I would say the one truth that has become crystal clear for me is that…

its all about people.

So what does that mean? Well, here’s what it doesn’t mean:

1.) It doesn’t mean that numbers don’t matter.  We track our attendance numbers for our Sunday morning services and for our Growth Groups because each of those numbers represents a soul that will spend an eternity somewhere.  Those numbers represent real, living, breathing persons who are trying to become more like Jesus.

2.) It doesn’t mean that we don’t strive for excellence and creativity in all that we do.  We believe that God is a creative God and we reflect that when we give our best.  We want to inspire other churches to be creative and excellent. We want to show that church doesn’t have to be cheesy or lame.

3.) It doesn’t mean that we carelessly spend our money just so we can make some people happy for a little while.

So what does it mean?

It means that at the end of the day- none of this matters if we aren’t loving God and loving people.  Its so easy to get caught up in doing THINGS that we forget about the PEOPLE.  I’ve worked in big churches (6,000+) and small churches (less than 50 people).  I’ve seen both kinds of churches forget what its all about- people.

So what does that mean for me?

I believe that God has called me to be a Pastor.

Not an administrator.  Not a musician.  Not a graphic designer or webmaster.  Not a scheduler or volunteer coordinator.  Not even a preacher.  Those are all things I do.  They aren’t my calling.  I’m called to be a pastor.  A shepherd.  And that means that its all about people.  I want to love people and get to know their story and what brings them joy.  I want to share in their triumphs and sorrows.  And together, we’ll stumble after Jesus and with his help we’ll form a community- a people of the Book- who are inviting others into this great journey of faith.