3 Ways Church Planting is BIZARRO COLLEGE
I am currently living in what I am affectionately referring to as, “bizarro world”. You know, where things are familiar, but not quite the same. In the Superman world, Bizarro was opposite of Superman in every way. Bizarro is depicted as having all the abilities of Superman, although in some incarnations several of these traits have been reversed, such as “freeze vision” instead of heat vision. “Flame breath” instead of freeze breath. “Vacuum breath” instead of super breath. You are probably sensing the pattern. This also applies to weaknesses, as Bizarro is vulnerable to blue kryptonite, as opposed to green kryptonite, which is lethal to Superman. Bizarro is actually strengthened by green kryptonite as opposed to blue kryptonite. Who knew?
I am not trying to imply anything negative. We walk to lunch… We have launched out of Heritage and yet run into them left and right. I have been in close to 10 hours of Elders meetings. What? It’s just bizarro world in the same way college is like the real world, but not really.
1. The world appears to be your oyster
Stepping into college classes felt like the world had opened up. In many ways it had. Granted, most of us had never heard of this internet thing. I actually took a PC to the University of Oklahoma, but it was little more than a puffed up typewriter. We were having conversations and studying concepts I had never even heard of… Stepping onto campus without any idea of what I wanted to major in meant the possibilities were limitless and the destination could be anywhere.
The Residency has some similarities. There is something similar to “coursework”. We have something close to “classes”. The difference is everything is “lab” and the stakes are so high. At the end, I will not be popping out with some certificate. We are planting a church and the weight of this is tremendous. That being said, there is a camaraderie which feels very collegiate.
2. Your schedule is a dirty liar
When going to college, I was initially overwhelmed by the amount of free time. Ultimately, I became a much better basketball player and had the opportunity to do my freshman year twice. Today I am thankful for those lessons.
We have a busy schedule, but there is a great deal of time we don’t “have to be anywhere”. As in college, you better make the most of your time. What looks like free time, is where the real dirt work of this church plant is taking place. We meet. We talk. We process. We pray. We eat. The moments alone, on your free time, are where the drafting and sketchwork is taking place.
3. There are people from all over the place
Remember your first day on campus. There was a sea of people pulsing and lurching, streaming and ever-present. College is a collection of people from all over the place and the world. If you were interested in anything there was someone to ask.
This Residency presents many of the same scenaarios. Want to reach 500 million people in India tomorrow? I know the guy to talk to… Interested in using snow cones to spread the Gospel? Well, let me put you in contact with someone. Whenever I throw my hand up with a question the answer is invariably, “Let’s ask _________ about that.”
It is a tremendous blessing to have this time of learning and planning. This article started with 3 items, but could have been expanded to include, “Food like crazy”, “There are no sick days”, “Honey, Where are my pants?”and “Options upon options”.
So much of my week involves board work followed. Unlike college, we take pictures of everything going on the board and then move forward. Ohhh, and just like college… There is a tremendous amount of coffee. Bizarre.
