Led by Ordinary People

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Perception is reality”? This was a new one to me, heard on the radio recently. It was used to describe baseball player Barry Bonds alleged steroid use. People form an opinion about Barry Bonds, not because they have accurate, truthful information about it, but rather based on how they perceive the situation. This is why lawyers and politicians rely on spin doctors to position their story in a way that the public will receive it the way they want. Our culture will grow continually suspect of information they receive. Who can you believe anymore? Network news? Cable news? Talk radio? Internet bloggers? These sources all spin their stories according to an agenda. If I want to know how the war in Iraq is doing, who do I believe? At any point during the day I can find conflicting reports, one says it’s going well; the other says it’s a lost cause. So who do I believe when I want to know the condition of the Church As We Know It? Media will tell me one thing. Denominational leaders will tell me another. The Emergent Guy has his opinion. So does the Purpose Driven guy. GodMen think they’ve got the answer, as does the numerous Christian authors who are pissed at the church but not at Jesus. The answer? I’m not really sure, but I do think I see a result. More and more ordinary people like you and me will realize that it doesn’t really matter what everyone else thinks. The average, everyday, ordinary guy will find that the experts don’t really have all the answers and that what really matters is how he lives his life each day. Once this shift occurs, men will stop feeling like they have to rely on the Church As We Know It to validate their visions. They will act upon what they believe needs to be done, not upon what is perceived as the common, acceptable way of doing ministry. More and more men will take hold of leadership of the Church of the Future and stop waiting around for someone to validate and affirm their manhood.