Why Pop?

I was recently building a picket fence in my yard. My son, Mark, and granddaughter, Aly, came over to see what I was doing. Aly's first words were, “Why are you digging that hole, Pop?” What a great question! I explained to her that this is where the posts for the fence would go and that I could not complete the fence without the holes.
With that she was satisfied and jumped in to help in any way she could.  Well, actually, she began to supervise me in how to dig the holes, but that's another story for another time.

But I wonder: How many times do we do things without first asking "Why?"  Why is this important? Why does it need to be done? How does it fit into the big picture of what I'm trying to achieve?It's so easy to get all caught up in doing things without asking the fundamental questions.

Church planting has taught me the importance of always keeping the "why" in the forefront: To continuously ask why is what we are doing and how we are doing it important and moving us toward the vision. It's so easy for a church to get trapped in the motions of expending their energies, spending the majority of their resources in just "doing" without much rhyme, reason or purpose about their action.

Maybe Aly is going to be a church planter one day. Or perhaps part of the new reformation of people who are asking that great question: Why do we do church the way(s) we do? Why are we doing the programs, ministries, rituals, budgets, staffing, buildings, and on and on it goes.  How is it helping us achieve the one and only mission of the Church - to make disciples for Jesus?

“Why are you digging that hole, Pop?” Thanks Aly for keeping me reminded of the absolute importance of making the main thing the main thing, and not getting so caught up in the hole, that I forget I'm building a fence.