This past Christmas, something happened here in the Dallas metro that hasn’t happened in over 100 years. On Christmas Eve, DFW recorded its first measurable snowfall to occur on Christmas Eve since they began keeping records in 1898. Along with the fairy tale Christmas came a winter storm that the likes of which has not been seen in decades.
My family had traveled to Oklahoma earlier in the week and had been celebrating Christmas with our families. When we woke up on Christmas Eve, we anticipated another wonderful day with family. Then around 10am, sleet began to fall from the sky. For two hours, a steady stream of sleet come down and the ground began to look like one huge ice rink. We loaded my truck and went to Shannon’s grandma’s house as the weather began to worsen. The wind was gusting up to 50 mph and the roads were already become very difficult to navigate. I decided that we needed to leave very soon if we were going to make it back to Denton for Christmas. We only stayed at Shannon’s grandma’s for a few minutes and we quickly left out: Starting what would be a very memorable trip home.
After traveling south for about 20 miles, I quickly realized that the driving conditions were going to be very challenging. When we turned east on Hwy 70, a highway patrol pulled me over. When I got out of the car, I realized it was a friend of mine, Darren. The first thing he asked was, “what are you doing out here?” Immediately, he encouraged me to turn back. He said, “Scott, people are dying out here. The best thing you can do is turn around.”
Knowing the difficulty that we had just getting that far, and the fact that my truck was loaded full of our stuff, turning around really wasn’t very appealing. But to be honest, if I had known how difficult and dangerous it was, I probably would have never left. But now we were already 40 minutes from home, so we pressed on toward I35.
It took us 2 and a half hours to drive 50 miles. It was slow going. We couldn’t go fast and we had to be careful where we pulled over because if you sat in the same place very long, you would get stuck. Over and over we would have to pull to the side of the road and clean off the windshield because it would become so iced over that we couldn’t see the road in front of us. There were times when I had to bend over to see out a little hole near the dash that provided the only sight of the road.
I kept telling myself, “If we can just get to the interstate, we will be home free.” We finally got to I35 and turned south. We were just a few miles from the Red River and that’s when I saw lights on the highway that looked like a million Christmas trees in the road. Unbeknown to us, the bridge over the river had been closed and we came to a dead stop about 1 mile from the bridge.
We sat there in the middle of the interstate in a line of cars that reached farther than the eye could see. I was thankful that I had filled up with gas before I left because at that point I thought that we might be in for a long night in the truck. I saw some people who had turned off their cars and guessed that they didn’t fill up before they left home or they were extremely frugal.
After about an hour, the bridge was opened and a few cars began to try and navigate the treacherous icy bridge. Some didn’t make it. Others spun out but got some help from those around them and they got back on the road. We drove for another 2 hours. There were accidents and people off the road all the way to Denton. After 7 ½ hours, the trip that should have only taken 2 hours was finally over.
As I thought about our journey on Christmas Eve, I compare it to our journey in starting our new church. There are several things that stood out to me.
1. You have to know where you are going.
Vision is necessary. If you don’t have a destination, you are lost before you get started. I knew where I was trying to get to and anything short of that destination was not acceptable. The vision that I had was for my family as much as it was for me. I wanted my kids to wake up in their own house on Christmas day. I wanted my kids to be able to have their gifts on Christmas morning. I wanted us to be able to sit down to our traditional Christmas morning pancakes. It wasn’t just a matter of getting to Denton. It was what Denton had in store for us. Starting a church is as much about the shaping of its leader and his family as it is the growing of a congregation.
2. Faith is a requirement.
Just like the snowy trip on the icy roads, starting a church is a dicey proposition. Many have tried and failed. You usually don’t hear about them as much as you do about the one’s that survived. Had I know how difficult the roads were, I might not have ever tried to get home. I just believed that we would make it home just like we always did. If I had known what I know now about starting a church, I might have second guessed myself and God. But I knew enough not only to make an informed decision, I had faith that God would not fail even if I did. My faith was put in His abilities and not in mine. That conclusion forced me to pray. Just like in the truck that night. We prayed…continuously! It is amazing how little we pray when life is easy for us. When you set out on a journey like starting a new church, you will pray like you’ve never prayed before.
3. It works better with others working together.
I noticed that driving became much easier when there were several cars together. During the time my windshield was icing up so bad, I couldn’t see the road but I could see the lights of the car in front of me. I made ruts that allowed my brother-in-law to follow me. They didn’t have 4wd so I told them to “just stay in my tracks.” Teamwork helped us get to where we needed to go.
4. Trust your training.
There were times that I could not see the road in front of me but I could see the fence posts on each side. I knew my boundaries. Most of the time your training will not give you specifics, but it will give you the boundaries that you need in order to keep going in the right direction. You may not know the exact decision that needs to be made but you should have the knowledge to know which decision will keep you on the right road.
5. You have to work hard to keep the vision.
For most of my trip, ice covered my windshield. There where times when I had to bend over to see out a small hole just above the dashboard. The elements were crowding out my ability to see where I was going. When starting a church, everything will try and crowd out the original vision and direction for the church until it becomes so small you have to strain to find it. I found myself constantly chipping away at the build up on my windshield. Constant work is required to keep your vision on the main thing. As you have heard many say, "you have to keep the main thing, the main thing."
6. Never do anything without a full tank.
As we sat at a stand still on the interstate waiting for the bridge to open, I noticed some had turned off their engines. Dead and cold. That is exactly what churches can become who aren’t full of the life giving energy of the Spirit. I remember calling my dad and he asked me this, “do you have a full tank of gas?” I replied, “yes.” He said, “then you will be fine.” I knew that me and my family were safe because we had what we needed to keep us going through the night. The Spirit of God is the power behind any endeavor. Without a full tank of the Spirit's power, we will find ourselves at a stand still and could eventually be in danger of coldness and even spiritual death.
