You may or may not know this about me, but I'm a major 90s music fan. My favorite band of all time are the Barenaked Ladies (don't @ me). The iconic earworms of the 90s are arguably some of the most absurd and addictive. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba is one such song. You know the tune, I promise. Look it up at your own risk.
This song hits on a note that is essential for the world of church planting: resilience. Before starting the process of planting, I would never have used the word scrappy to describe myself. Creative, sure. Innovative, maybe. Scrappy? Nah. Nearly one year into planting Checkpoint and I can fully affirm that I have had to become bafflingly resilient.
Sometimes you have your gallbladder removed. Sometimes you have to can a project after working on it for two months. Sometimes you write, film, and edit twenty daily devotionals over the three weeks of Advent. Sometimes you gain forty followers overnight. Sometimes you lose thirty followers over the course of an hour.
Through the thick and the thin, the harsh truth of the planting life is that we must must be resilient through all of it. Chumbawamba described their song as being written for the admirable resilience of the average person. Perhaps one of the great hallmarks of being human is just that... it's not unique to be resilient. It's in our nature, but we only get to discover it when placed under pressure.
So... whether it's by a whiskey drink or a lager drink, let me boldly proclaim that nothing will ever keep us down. Not because we're special, but because we're scrappy humans and we're called to this great thing together.
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