12.05.2007

Some Things Gained....Some Things Lost (Maybe)

This morning I took a quick drive by our soon-to-be-completed Student Zone. To be honest, the thing is amazing. Over 50,000 square feet of incredible space dedicated to our junior high and high school students plus an outdoor activity area. It will give us incredible new opportunities to minister to our community. As excited as I am, I also fear the leadership of our ministry could lose a little bit of what I love so much about us:

- Flexibility: We've never had our own space so we've always been super flexible. We get bumped, double-booked in rooms, etc. A couple years ago, our junior high ministry met for an entire Summer in our parking lot with a portable stage!

- Sense of Gratitude: Because we haven't had a lot of 'stuff' historically, I fear the building could begin to usher in a sense of entitlement; that we somehow always deserve the best. Right now we're thankful when the facilities team remembers to help re-set the chairs after the women's bible study!

- Creativity: Having a world-class facility sets the stage for laziness. Why think outside the box when we have the world's coolest box right here?

- Generosity: We've been super generous with the resources we've been given in the past. I hope we'll view the new Student Zone as an opportunity to be more generous than ever. Human nature tends to want to horde nice stuff.

6 comments:

Josh(ua) Treece said...

Kurt,

the fact that you're already thinking about these things shows a great sense of God's spirit. I know that with the staff and volunteers that are there, and your leadership of them, there's a greater chance of this not becoming a problem.

Thanks for being willing to share these thoughts with everyone.

marko said...

fantastic awareness, kurt. you should post these in the office of your new place once you move in, as a manifesto or treatise of caution.

Jeremy Lokey said...

i experienced a lot of what you're expressing when we moved into a new building. i've seen the "entitlement" bug bite a lot of our students and leaders. but like the others have said, knowing it going in is half the battle (my gi joe days are coming out).

Unknown said...

Kurt, these are some great insights, as they are encouraging. I'm going to have to journey on down there to see the new pad. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Jeremy is right; the entitlement bug has been the biggest challenge after having moved into our student center. We constantly have to remind our students that the ministry is not about the building. It's about loving their friends and God with all their heart, no matter if you meet in a home, tent, basement, or amazing youth center.

Unknown said...


Hello my name is Matha Smith I want to give a testimony about my HIV virus that was cured by a great spell caster. Since last 4years I have being a HIV AID patient. I never think I will live long again and am so grateful about him prophet suleman who help me cured my HIV AIDS last 3 weeks. I was in a great pain so I told one of my best friend; he told me that there is a great spell caster that can cure my VIRUS. I asked her if she had his email, she gave me his email, I emailed him he talk to me and he perform the necessary rituals and he told me that after two weeks I should go for a test. Which I did, when the doctor told me that am now a HIV negative I couldn’t believe myself I went to see another doctor the result was still the same, I was human on planet earth, so I emailed him and thanked him. Please if you are having a similar autism problem please visit him/contact him at; prophetsuleman@hotmail.com ALL THANKS TO PROPHET SULEMAN, I DONT HAVE MUCH TO SAY ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS GOD BLESS YOU SIR