Jump Start # 1559

Luke 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?”

This week we are looking at the subject of planning, particularly, spiritual planning. Our verse today, comes from the theme of discipleship. Counting the cost, is what Jesus is driving at. Calculate the cost. Figure out how much you can afford. Financial terms and words that express the idea of planning are used here. We understand this concept in other areas.

Car shopping involves looking at different kinds of cars, colors, options, sitting in the driver’s seat, taking in the smell, touching buttons and being amazed. Before long a person looks at the sticker on the side of the car window. That ends it for many people right there. It’s too expensive. I can’t afford that. Calculate the cost before you sit down and sign papers.

In the story Jesus tells, a builder is constructing a tower. Without careful planning, he’ll run out of money and the tower will stand unfinished. Unable to finish, he becomes the source of jokes, ridicule and embarrassment. A foundation was laid, but no tower was ever built. He ran out of money. He failed to calculate. He did not finish what was started. Before he ever turned over dirt, he should have planned. His failure to plan lead to a failure to build. Planning. Thinking things out. Looking at the current situation and then looking to the future to improve things is what he should have done.

Throughout our lives there are all kinds of planning stages. Before the baby is born, a young couple will pick out names, fix a room up and make plans for the new baby. Before we purchase a car, a house or even take a vacation, the wise person will plan things out. These plans include counting costs and finding the best deals. These plans involve looking at calendars and schedules. These plans are put on paper. They are thought about and thought about. Often the plans are scratched out and new plans are drawn up. It is amazing that we can put so much planning in picking out a college for our kids, buying a house for ourselves or even purchasing a car, but give so little thought to things spiritually. How rare is it that anyone asks, “Where does this congregation plan to be in five years?” Like an old river, too many just keep rolling along like they always have. A funeral here and a funeral there and the numbers dip down. No one speaks about what everyone sees, “We are decreasing, not increasing.” No one thinks about what needs to be done to turn the tide. No one seems concerned about the future. And so, the church continues doing what it has in past decades. Dusty tracts line the wall and no one thinks that these haven’t been touched in years. The same class format is used over and over and no one tries a new method. Every spring and every fall a series of lessons are presented by a visiting preacher. That brings a bit of hope and excitement, but it quickly goes away about as fast as it came. No one follows up with further teaching. No one suggests a different format for those lessons. No one is even sure what the purpose of those special meetings are. No thought is given to who will replace the current shepherds. Everything moves along slowly until one of the men dies. Then there is a swarm of activity to find his replacement. No thought was ever given to this before. Someone reluctantly agrees to serve and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Things return to the lifeless normal. Nothing more is ever said about leaders again until the next one dies.  Without realizing it the church slowly dies right before their eyes. Folks wonder what happened. It used to be big but now it’s not. Some claim that all the young people moved away. Others say, “it’s just the times. No one is interested these days.” Still, nothing changes. No plans. No direction. No future. Smaller and smaller the church becomes. More and more discouraged are the members. This is the scene in many, many congregations today. I know. I’ve been with them. I’ve asked them questions of which they have never thought about before and which they don’t know how to answer. Questions such as, “How are you going to turn this around?” “What are your plans in ten years?” Sometimes, a few will give safe, guarded answers, such as, “We want to be as big as we can be.” Really? How are you going to do that? What you are doing now doesn’t seem to be working. Is it time to get back to the drawing board and think of other things? How about a class during the week?  How about a class in the homes? How about a specific meeting to address the specific things that they are facing? Are you kidding? Think these thoughts? That would involve plans, changes and a roadmap to get from point A to point B. No. Instead, they will just keep doing what they are doing!

Sit down and calculate. If Jesus wants us to do this in discipleship, don’t you think that He’d expect us to do the same in leading His people. Calculate what it’s going to take to get these folks stronger. Calculate what it takes to spread the word in the community. Calculate how to get more elders. Calculate. Count. Figure out. Get together and do some talking, thinking and praying.

Maybe it’s time to have a planning meeting. Maybe it’s time to think about what teaching we are putting folks through. Maybe it’s time to think about developing leaders. Planning. Thinking things out. Making adjustments to meet goals. This is what shepherds need to be doing. In the great Psalms, the shepherd led him to green pastures. How did he know where the green pastures were? Why was he leading him through the dark valleys of the shadow of death? He was going some where. Often, in the spring the grass is eaten in the lowlands and the shepherds would move flocks to the higher, cooler pastures in the summer. To get there they had to travel through those dark canyons. He was on a destination. He was going somewhere. He had a plan. Do you see that? Shepherds need a plan to get their people to Heaven. What is it?

Calculate the cost. Figure out how much that tower is going to cost before it is built. Leadership involves not just those things in the present but also looking into the future. Where are we going and how are we getting there. Too many places are stuck on auto-pilot. It’s time to turn it off, put your hands on the wheel and map out a course that will accomplish what needs to be done.

What’s it going to cost? The wise builder knows that before he starts building.

Roger