Shannon Chapman

STanD

Well after years of praying about the future I think I am starting to hear a little small voice that says just "stand."  I don't know about you but I can drive myself crazy about wanting to know God's will.  Just the moment I think I heard something I start questing.

Over this past week I have had some time to reflect and all I keep coming back to is "stand."  When you don't know what to do and you are so tired of asking God to write it in the clouds or send a stranger to your house to give you a word.  You have to learn to just STAND!!! Stand on what?  That if you and I will be obedient to the daily journey putting one foot in front of the other that the path will ultimately lead us to the place of God's will.

You see I like to plan and I like to know the future but sometimes the future comes by "standing."  Now I don't mean just doing nothing.  I mean that God will take our ordinary life and our routines and make them extraordinary.  I need to stop stressing about the future and stand on the promises and believe that the promises will come true if I stand on what I really believe.

The mark of perseverance is not having all the answers to all the questions.  Perseverance is walking daily not having all the answers to all the questions.  Listen anyone can follow when it is easy.  But those that are willing to persevere will follow into what seems to be the unknown.  _{^{My challenge to you and to me is just to STAND and let God be God and in the end the unknown will be beautiful in time.}}

My understanding of simple church

Ok so simple church seems to be the new kind of church that everyone wants to have.  You see to me the idea of simple church is really not the standard but having clear focus on few things are.  As I have been evaluating things I have come to discover that we are constantly starting and stopping things in church.

My question has always been when is the right time to stop something in a church.  What I am starting to discover is stopping a program just because it's hard and I really don't like it is not a good enough reason to stop it.  Stopping a program because it's just so hard to get volunteers to help with it is still not a good enough reason to stop it.  But if someone tell me Shannon "I want to stop this program/ministry because I feel that God wants me to focus more and take this other ministry to  whole new level" then I am really interested.

You see simple is not the goal if you mean easy.  There is nothing easy about having a few things as a church or organization that you want to do well.  It will still take energy, time and working with people.  So, let's make sure that we understand that simple can be the goal but I am not sure that easy church is.

Simple does not always means it's easy.

100000000000000 ideas in my head

One of the hardest things as a leader I think is doing less for more.  Doing less is not the goal, but doing less so that you can focus is.  The concept of simple church to me is not just keeping things simple just because.  The simple church model is still VERY hard on the staff and volunteers.

The idea that I am starting to really buy into is the reality of doing less so that you can give your time, energy, and passion to fewer things.  This will in the end give you a greater return on those goals.  Another way to say it is your productivity will go higher.  

One of the hardest things we fight in the church is to be all things to all people.  The reality is one church can't do that.  We have to find what God has called us to be and fight hard not to let the newest program or peoples wants to determine what we focus on.  The season I'm in right now is this...I am truly asking God what and who have you called our church to be.  I don't want to be like any other church but I truly desire to be the church God has called us to be.

This has caused me to ask questions like:

• what do we do well
• what do we do because we feel we have to
• what comes naturally to us as a church
• what slows down our momentum 
• what do the people in our community actually want from a church...and should that 100% control what we do
• what are the things that keep us up at night because we are passionate about it
• what are the foundations we see in the first church in Acts that must be at the core of who we are
• what are ways we can begin to grow as a church body and see more people come to faith 
• how are we supposed to impact the world globally 

This is what I am working through these days.  Would really love it if you could help me pray through these questions and so much more.  I am not asking God to make us the best church in Chattanooga but what I am asking God is to help us BE the church that He has called us to be and reach the people he wants us to reach with the gospel.  

Sometimes I just think it's so easy to get distracted with the urgent that we miss the important.   

Random Thoughts

• I am in Chicago at a conference- so far so good
• God has been speaking some things into my spirit about the future of our church
• I have to make sure in the busyness of life that I keep my relationship with God and my family the PRIORITY.
• Sin is powerful and we have to fight to keep it out of our lives.
• Really felt good about the message God gave me this past Sunday on the topic of Eternal Security. 
• I would really like to figure out what my strengths are and do my best to use them in my leadership.  I feel like so many times I do things that are not my strengths and miss my calling.
• Prayer has to be in the center of everything
• Execution is key to any God-given vision
• For example, you know what automatic doors do right?  They open when you walk up to them.  Over the last few months I feel like I have been waiting for doors to open but I have not been moving at all. Just waiting on God.  I am starting to feel that it's time for some motion in my life and then the doors will open.
• I am trying to figure out what matters most when it comes to the life of a healthy church.
• Being obedient to the call on our lives is SO hard many times, but the most rewarding thing ever.
• I have been a reading a book on this trip called Steering Through Chaos, so far it's been a great read. Not sure you have ever thought about it like this but leading a church feels like Chaos, but that is where God has called me.  So, I have to learn how to stay the course and at the same time learn the art of charting new territory.
• This is very random...I was cutting my grass last week and I did something different.  I cut my back yard differently.  I normally cut it in a big square getting smaller and smaller.  But this time I broke the yard into 3 different sections.  You know some times the routines in life get old, but if we try to create a different rhythm in our routines we can get different perspective and the task still gets done.  So take something that you do but it's hard because you have done it the same way forever and try to accomplish it in a different way.
• I am asking God lately to really give me a heart of a shepherd for the people I am called to lead.  
• Ok I think I got all my Random Thoughts out today.  Hope everyone has a great day/week. 
• I pray that you will sense God's Spirit in your life as you go through your daily routines of life.

I must keep fighting

Over the last 12 weeks I have been really trying hard to get healthy.  It has by far been one of the hardest things I have ever done.  I have been working out 3 times a week at Fitness Together and road biking on my Fuji bike at least least three times a week.  

Two week ago I went to Albania and ever since then things have been super hard. Then this last week with Day Camp at our church and not feeling good I allowed some very bad habits of mine to sneak back into my routine.  I asked Mande at dinner tonight what in the world I was going to do.  She said, "Shannon you have to fight hard not to lose what you have been doing."  To be honest eating and exercising is SOOOO hard for me.  I have never done it consistently over 3 months-EVER!  

I came back in to my computer really just a little down and got on my computer and I was to Don Millers blog and his word hit me like ton of bricks, "so how are your habits robbing your dreams." Thats it - this week on a personal level has been very hard and because of that I let some bad habits back into my life. I keep telling myself "Shannon you are going to have weeks when it is easy, but there are going to be weeks when its hard.

I must not let my bad habits in my life on the hard week.  I am not sure if anyone can relate to this but if you can my must keep fighting.  Why you might ask..well because our dreams are with it! Believe it!!!!