It's Nice to Be Needed... It's Better NOT to Be!

Late last night, I posted here some thoughts about my personal journey in planting a church.

What I intended to share was how amazing & awesome our Launch Team has been... What came across, however, was something TOTALLY different!

I don't know if I was distracted, tired, or just having a fit of stupid, but if I came across to you as doing ANYTHING other than bragging on our Launch Team, then I am deeply sorry... WIll you please forgive me (ESPECIALLY if you're on our Launch Team)?

Thanks.

So... I'm gonna try this again. Let's see if I can get it right this time.
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Planting the church you've always wanted to be a part of is really exciting! It's really hard work, but it's SO worth it!

One of the things that has made it so rewarding for me has been watching God transform a group of people into a team.  And a huge part of that has been seeing the vision that God gave Jennifer & I become the Launch Team's vision!

For the last 6 months, they have put aside their preferences & plans to be a part of launching Inspire. During those 6 months, there were times when they didn't see the vision the way Jennifer & I did, but they believed in God & they believed in us & they kept going.

During those days when they loved us (but hadn't yet caught the vision), one of my chief responsibilities was to keep the vision before them. You see, before they saw the vision, they needed Jennifer & I to see it & tell them what we saw.

But somewhere along the journey, the got it... They SAW the vision for themselves! Some of them were seeing it & knew it;  others were seeing it, but didn't know it yet. (They do now, by the way!)

And once they saw it for themselves, they didn't just follow us anymore... They no longer needed Jennifer or me to keep seeing & telling them what we saw.

They saw it for themselves!

They grabbed ahold of the vision and started carrying it for themselves.

That shift from needing us to see the vision for them to seeing it themselves has been one of the most-amazing things I have ever witnessed or had the privilege of being part of!

And let me just tell you, I couldn't be more proud of our Launch Team! They absolutely knocked it out of the park on Launch Day (and week 2, I might add)!

Jennifer & I have been waiting 12 years to be a part of a church like Inspire... A church that is life-giving, creative, diverse, & passionate!

And now we get to!

And let me confess: it ain't because of me & Jennifer that Inspire is like this... It's because of our Launch Team. (They're called the Dream Team now, since the launch is over.)

Let me tell ya: it's nice to be needed, but when it comes to vision, it's SO much better NOT to be!

Thanks, Inspire Dream Team for making our dreams come true... And this is JUST the beginning!!

Jennifer & I love y'all!

Jeff