My Wednesday Post...on Thursday! (ROBBIE)

Well, the dynamic duo of Jared & Harrison are basking in the sunny rays of Florida this week! That means, the blogworld is left to Pastor Todd & yours truly. Since Todd usually posts every Monday & Friday, i figured I would I would post on Wednesday! Well, with the excitement of Wednesday Night Community around here, it totally fell of my radar...but no worries! To all you faithful nlcblog readers, your daily dose of theLATEST from nlc has finally arrived.

But I know, I know. One of the hardest parts can be the waiting game! As I've been reading about the life of Noah in the Old Testament, I think the most frustrating thing about his 40 years of building the ark is probably not what we think it would be. I heard another pastor talk about this one time. I would think the most frustrating thing would have been actually building that joker or even dealing with the criticism from those around him as he built it. I’m sure those things sucked but the part that was the worst I believe was the waiting part. God had given him a vision and it took 40 years of PREPARATION and WORK before the PAYOFF ever happened.

I’m convinced that the reason most church leaders never accomplish what God wants for their life is because they aren’t willing to go through the preparation and work process that MUST happen before the payoff arrives.

4 years ago, Next Level Church was born with a few clear cut things that the founding guys felt God truly wanted them to accomplish. Some of those things, like being known for doing whatever it takes to reach those people disconnected from God, happened quickly. Others like creating a culture of really edgy, quality, rocking worship that men can relate to has happened just over the last couple of years. Then there are some things like being a launching pad, (of around 1500 people) for church campuses or church-plants all over the city that is still in the work and preparation stage. We’ve done great things to influence church planters, and even planted a couple churches, but we’re still not where we want to be yet. But at NLC, we don't sweat it because we know the payoff will come. We’re willing to wait on God and pay the price of preparation and work!

Waiting sucks. But God forms and molds you in the process of waiting. Far to many leaders miss the importance of this with their impatience and that is why they never accomplish what God truly wanted them to accomplish. But I believe, with all my heart, that at NLC, we have a KILLER group leaders...some of the best in the nation. These leaders are head deep in the preperation, and the work...and I KNOW...we're fixin to see a really BIG PAYOFF!