Article
Quick to Listen?
The challenge in James 1:19 for us in the 21st century is timely in all kinds of ways.
My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. — James 1:19
In a world saturated with social media that’s way too often characterized by being slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry, James’s challenge for us in the 21st century is timely in all kinds of ways. However, for the purposes of this article, let’s focus on the first call from James of being “quick to listen.”
Listen to Unexpected Voices
We’ve all heard the adage for the reason God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth, but, really, how quick are we to listen? And, if we’re honest, how much does it depend upon whom we are listening to?
Why do some voices matter to us more than others?
The project that sits behind this series of articles is an attempt for the church planting community to be more quick to listen, though not to the “experts” or the usual “voices of authority,” but rather to those who have struggled in their church planting journey. Let’s listen to those whose church did not last. Let’s hear from the planters who are limping and plodding along. What wisdom can we learn from the voices of those who have known the pain of nothing going according to (their) plan? Of dashed dreams and, for some, questions of their callings and even God’s faithfulness.
Gain Wisdom from Worldwide Planting
In my research, I spoke to planters from 26 countries—from Albania to Zambia—representing 80 struggling plants from across the globe. These churches were in various stages from core groups of a single-family or upwards of 200 people, and they planted in urban areas, rural areas, and everywhere in between. But they were all united in that they found it hard. Some planters found it too hard.
The plan for my column here at New Churches over these next months is to be quick to listen to these planters and their hard-earned-scabby-knees-costly-wisdom, and to reconsider what wise church planting and wise ministry might look like. Rather than ignoring their voices and sweeping them under the carpets as slightly awkward statistics, we’ll be quick to slow down and open our ears and see what they have to teach us, even if in one sense their project was not successful.
Learn from Problems in Planting
You will see in this series how lots of the problems in these plants often begin within the church pastor, ministry team, and the church family. And at the same time, pressures from the outside very often lead to more mess and stress within. I want us to hear the wise voices of these ministers and their teams, but also consider the voice of God as He speaks into their contexts and circumstances through the pages of the Bible.
One of my sons is just getting ready for cross-country season in the Autumn. Whenever he heads to a new race, he arrives an hour early and walks the entire course so that he knows what will be coming up—where there are slopes and narrow bits and bogs and tree roots. If he knows where the pitfalls are, he’ll be more able to deal with them. Well, if we can know in advance where some of these “planting pitfalls” might be, perhaps we’ll be more able to cope, or at least, not as surprised when they appear.
The question is: Will we be quick to listen?
