“Did you have a clear definition of what successful meant?”
Great question, posed by a reader after I wrote last time about struggling to hold success and following Jesus together. They were right – in those early years, at least, I let metrics like more riders and especially more dollars intrinsically define success. It never really felt comfortable because I knew that’s not where Jesus wanted me to aim.
As often happens, my lovely wife clarified things for me. She says the FREEDOM TOUR is a community. We aren’t fundraisers. Our purpose is bringing people together to support the kids at the Home of Hope.
She is, of course, exactly right. The early church was a community centered on the person of Jesus, following his way of living and relating to others. The remarkable growth of the early church was a byproduct of this remarkable way of working together.
Growth wasn’t the goal. Early church leaders would have measured success by unity and by sacrificial service to the surrounding community.
I think about the FREEDOM TOUR community, about how many folks I wouldn’t agree with on many topics. But those things don’t matter.
Jesus invited unity, not uniformity. And the folks who so generously support our kids are absolutely united in their opposition to child sex trafficking. We all believe every child is a precious creation, and we’re willing to sacrifice to bring hope and freedom to at least this one group of 22 kids.
Viewed through this lens, our work isn’t more people or more dollars. Those are byproducts.
Just like the early church, our work ought to be generously sharing with each other and with those around us, without fussing about the results.
The growth and the dollars and how all of it is multiplied – that’s up to Jesus.