Taming An Elephant
Friday, March 7th, 2008
As church planters, it is easy to procastinate tackling the inevitable when it comes to dealing with controversal issues. All of us like to be liked and most don’t cherish the thought of being labeled. Besides, we are to be “seeker friendly” and not offend those we are trying to reach. The big question: “When do you take an stand on a controversial issue?”
May I be so bold as to suggest that a church planter MUST take a stand when the opportunity presents itself. If not, then the stage is being set for a message of confusion and mixed signals being sent to those who watch our ministry. James the Apostle states that “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” We can come across as being double minded and thus bring confusion into the congregation.
A number of years ago I was visiting the San Antonio zoo with my family and was privileged to have had a lengthy conversation with the elephant keeper. I had observed that the elephant was “chained to a stake” and was curious as to how such a small stake could hold such an enormus beast in it’s place. The zoo keeper explained that as soon as a baby elephant begins to get rambunctious, trying to test his strength, the staff of the zoo will quickly drive down a huge stake that can’t be pulled up by the baby elephant. After trying many times unsuccessfully, the baby elephant will finally give up and concede never trying to pull up the stake again. The elephant, as it grows, never trys to pull up the stake, because it learned early on its boundaries and capabilities. As a huge adult, it never crosses the elephants mind to test the chain and the stake.
In the same way, a church planter MUST get a chain and stake on the “elephants in the room” or run the risk of the elephant getting loose later on when the congregation is much larger and the damage can be far greater.
As a veteran church planter, I remember waiting too long to address an “elephant in the room” and four years after the church was planted, the elephant finally broke loose and we lost 90 members who were hurt and disillusioned. If it had been clearly defined early on, then the aftermath would not have been so devastating. In all fairness, those in a new church plant need to know the parameters, boundaries, and stances on various controversial issues as soon as they surface. A new church planter MUST get a chain and stake on the young elephant, to spare the congregation pain later on.
The chain and stake are the convictions, precepts, doctrines, and principals that will define the church. Whether it be the issue of ordaining homosexuals or taking a stand to “signs and wonders”, a church planter needs to be a person who has prayed, fasted, and thought through how to take a biblical stand in a loving way that will not bring confusion. May God help church planters become good elephant tamers!
For church planters and other leaders, it is imperative to address the “Elephants in the Room” on the front end of a ministry, instead of a later in the life of a new church. Delaying addressing the Elephants in the Room (those things we avoid discussing at all costs), will cost us greater later on. The Herd of Elephants is huge, controversial, and dangerous. When an elephant steps on you it H-U-R-T-S, and can even kill. There have been way too many casualties in church situations where the elephants stampeded. In subsequent blogs we will address some of the elephants in the room and challenge every christian to leader to PRE - determine how they are going to handle the charging elephant BEFORE the fact.